BILL ANALYSIS
SB 442
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Date of Hearing: August 4, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
SB 442 (Ducheny) - As Amended: August 2, 2010
Policy Committee: Health Vote:19-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill streamlines administrative processes for community
clinics to apply for affiliate clinic licensure from the
California Department of Public Health (DPH). Specifically, this
bill:
1)Requires the affiliate clinic application be contained in a
simple form and specifies the contents of the application
form.
2)Establishes related definitions for terms such as "clinic
corporation".
3)Requires a clinic corporation to act as the administrative
headquarters for communications with DPH.
4)Requires DPH to retain information related to clinic
corporations maintaining affiliate clinic licenses. Specifies
the information DPH is required to maintain. Specifies a
clinic corporation will not be required to resubmit
information maintained by DPH about clinic corporations when
applying for affiliate licensure.
5)Requires a clinic corporation to submit a single report of
change of governance for the clinic corporation and a single
payment for all clinic licensure renewal fees.
FISCAL EFFECT
Minor absorbable workload to DPH to continue oversight of
licensing and certification of health clinics and the
requirements of this bill.
SB 442
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COMMENTS
1)Rationale . This bill is co-sponsored by the California Family
Health Council, the California Primary Care Association, and
Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California. According to the
author, a top concern of clinics statewide is difficulties and
delays in state licensing and certification. Many clinic
corporations operate several sites, with some operating up to
25 under common leadership and governance. This bill reduces
administrative burdens for clinics applying for affiliate
licensure.
2)Background . Current law authorizes a primary care clinic
holding a license for five years to apply for an affiliate
license if specified eligibility criteria are met. These
criteria include no history of repeated or uncorrected patient
safety violations and no pending suspensions or revocation
actions. The co-sponsors indicate current law for affiliate
licensure requires the submission of up to 210 pages of
duplicative information, with original signatures of each
corporate officer, board member, and clinic manager for every
new clinic application.
Required documentation includes a copy of the non-profit
corporation filing statement from the California Secretary of
State; Articles of Incorporation; corporation bylaws; the
Internal Revenue Service letter acknowledging tax-exempt
nonprofit corporation status; a list of all clinics operated
by the clinic corporation, including name, address, and
contact information; and, an applicant individual information
form to be completed and signed by each board member, the
corporation's President, the officers of the corporation, and
the clinic manager. The application information forms generate
at least six pages of material about each individual. This
bill proposes consolidating applicant information for the
purposes of affiliate licensure.
Analysis Prepared by : Mary Ader / APPR. / (916) 319-2081