BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 1863
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 14, 2010

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                 AB 1863 (Gaines) - As Introduced:  February 12, 2010

          Policy Committee:                              Health Vote:18-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          Yes    Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill extends until January 1, 2016, provisions of law  
          related to resting diesel back-up generators in hospitals. This  
          bill extends provisions according to national testing standards.  


           FISCAL EFFECT  

          No direct fiscal impact to hospitals to continue to conform to  
          published guidelines on this issue.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  . This bill is sponsored by the California Hospital  
            Association (CHA) and allows hospitals to conform to  
            recommendations by the national accreditation body for  
            hospitals, the Joint Commission, until the Department of  
            Public Health (DPH) updates guidance on testing. 

          The Joint Commission provides accreditation to 17,000 hospitals  
            nationwide and requires hospitals to test generators monthly  
            according to specified standards. The current California  
            regulations about diesel generators are more than two decades  
            old and require weekly testing. Such frequent testing creates  
            environmental health hazards. The monthly Joint Commission  
            practice allows hospitals to balance environmental concerns  
            created by generator exhaust with patient safety to ensure  
            functioning during an emergency.  

           2)Related Legislation  . AB 390 (Montanez), Chapter 676, Statutes  
            of 2003, moved hospitals from weekly to monthly testing of  
            generators according to the Joint Commission until DPH updated  








                                                                  AB 1863
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            guidance. AB 2216 (Gaines), Chapter 232, Statutes of 2008  
            extended the sunset established in AB 390 until 2011. 

           

           

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Mary Ader / APPR. / (916) 319-2081