BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1119
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 1119 (Wright)
As Amended June 23, 2010
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :30-0
HEALTH 19-0 BUSINESS & PROFESSIONS 6-2
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|Ayes:|Monning, Fletcher, |Ayes:|Conway, Hernandez, Hill, |
| |Ammiano, Carter, Conway, | |Niello, Smyth, Nestande |
| |De La Torre, De Leon, | | |
| |Eng, Gaines, Hayashi, | | |
| |Hernandez, Jones, Bonnie | | |
| |Lowenthal, Nava, | | |
| |V. Manuel Perez, Salas, | | |
| |Smyth, Audra Strickland, | | |
| |Gilmore | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | |Nays:|Hayashi, Ruskin |
| | | | |
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APPROPRIATIONS 16-0
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|Ayes:|Fuentes, Conway, |
| |Bradford, |
| |Charles Calderon, Coto, |
| |Davis, |
| |De Leon, Gatto, Hall, |
| |Harkey, Miller, Nielsen, |
| |Norby, Solorio, |
| |Torlakson, Torrico |
| | |
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SUMMARY : Requires temporary licensed nursing employment
agencies to verify a nurse's fitness to work, requires certain
reporting of unfit nurses, and specifies penalties for failures
to do so. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires agencies that refer licensed nursing staff for
temporary employment in health facilities, including general
acute care, acute psychiatric, and special hospitals, to meet
SB 1119
Page 2
requirements similar to those that apply to the referral of
licensed nursing staff to long-term care facilities.
2)Requires an employment agency that refers temporary staff for
employment in a health facility, as defined, to do the
following:
a) Adopt policies and procedures regarding prevention of
resident or patient abuse by temporary staff;
b) Verify that individuals referred to facilities are
licensed and in good standing, have successfully completed
the criminal record process required by the applicable
licensing board, have had health exams and TB screening, as
specified, and do not have any unresolved allegations
against them involving the mistreatment, neglect, or abuse
of a patient;
c) Provide, upon the request of the State Department of
Public Health, a list of temporary employees who have been
referred to a specified health facility during the period
in which the facility is involved in a labor action;
d) Provide that no licensed nursing staff referred by an
employment agency to a health facility may be solely
responsible for a unit unless that person has received a
full orientation to the facility and the applicable unit
for which he or she is assigned;
e) Require that any employee referred to a long-term care
facility be identified as a temporary staff person in the
facility's daily staffing levels required to be posted, as
specified; and,
f) Comply with specified advertising requirements.
3)Requires an employment agency to report to the Board the
suspension or termination for cause by a health facility of a
licensed vocational nurse (LVN) or psychiatric technician
(LPT) referred to the facility by the agency.
4)Requires a health facility that makes a report of an unfit
nurse to send a copy of the report to the employment agency
that placed the relevant LVN or LPT with the health facility.
SB 1119
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5)Makes any employment agency that violates any part of this
bill subject to a $5,000 penalty for each violation, and up to
$10,000 for each willful or knowing violation and states that
civil penalties may be assessed and recovered through a civil
action brought by the Attorney General, by any district
attorney, or any city attorney.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee this bill will create unknown fee-supported workload
of less than $50,000 to the Board of Registered Nursing and the
Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians,
combined, to comply with oversight of increased reporting of
license suspensions and terminations.
COMMENTS : The author cites that there are 3,000 to 6,000
temporary nurse staffing agencies nationwide. Additionally,
19,000 licensed registered nurses in California service as
temporary nurses. According to the author, the health care
staffing industry is poorly regulated and acts as a haven for
problem nurses. There is no regulatory oversight of nurse
registries in California except when nursing staff are referred
to long-term health care facilities. The author states that
this bill seeks to address this problem by requiring agencies
that refer licensed nursing staff for temporary employment in
health facilities, including general acute care, acute
psychiatric, and special hospitals to meet background check
requirements similar to those that apply to the referral of
licensed nursing staff to long-term care facilities. This bill
also requires an employment agency to report to the Board the
suspension or termination for cause by a health facility of a
licensed vocational nurse or psychiatric technician referred to
the facility by the agency, which will ensure that problem
nurses are not continually referred to health facilities.
Analysis Prepared by : Martin Radosevich / HEALTH / (916)
319-2097
FN: 0005684