BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 40
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 40 (Yamada)
As Amended August 23, 2012
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |58-18|(May 23, 2011) |SENATE: |35-0 |(August 28, |
| | | | | |2012) |
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Original Committee Reference: AGING & L.T.C.
SUMMARY : Requires mandated reporters of elder or dependent
adult abuse to report suspected or known instances of physical
abuse, occurring in a long-term care facility, to both the
Long-Term Care Ombudsman (LTCO) and local law enforcement.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Declares any person who has assumed full or intermittent
responsibility for the care of an elder or dependent adult,
(whether compensated or not), health practitioner, clergy
member or employee of an Adult Protective Services or law
enforcement agency as a mandated reporter.
2)Declares all employees and officers of a financial institution
to be mandated reporters of financial abuse of an elder or
dependent adult.
3)Mandated reporters of elder and dependent adult abuse are
required to report observed or known incidents that reasonably
appear to be physical abuse, abandonment, abduction,
isolation, financial abuse, or neglect. When the abuse occurs
within a long-term care facility, the mandated reporters
report to the LTCO or the local law enforcement.
The Senate amendments
1)Add Senator Alquist as a Principal coauthor.
2)Define "Serious Bodily Injury."
3)Specify that mandated reporters of elder and dependent adult
abuse who, in their professional capacity or within the scope
of their employment, have observed or have knowledge of an
incident that reasonably appears to be physical abuse within a
long-term care facility that results in serious bodily injury,
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must report such incidents immediately by telephone to the
local law enforcement agency, and must send follow-up written
reports to law enforcement, the corresponding licensing
agency, and the LTCO within two hours.
4)Specify all other incidents of suspected or alleged physical
abuse be reported to law enforcement, and follow-up written
reports be made to local law enforcement, the corresponding
licensing agency, and the LTCO within 24 hours.
5)Provide for an exemption from reporting directly to law
enforcement when the suspected abuse is allegedly caused by a
resident with a physician's diagnosis of dementia, and directs
those reports to either the local law enforcement agency or
the LTCO within 24 hours.
6)Deem, when applicable, reports of alleged or suspected
physical abuse made pursuant to this bill, compliant with the
federal Elder Justice Act, and unusual incident reports
required by the Department of Public Health, or the Department
of Social Services.
7)Allow local law enforcement and the LTCO to collaborate on the
most appropriate and immediate response warranted to
investigate the report.
8)Provide that implementation may be by means of an all-county
letter.
9)Add double jointing language to SB 1051 (Liu).
10)Make other technical changes.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Specified that mandated reporters of elder and dependent adult
abuse who, in their professional capacity or within the scope
of their employment, observed or had knowledge of an incident
that reasonably appears to be physical abuse or financial
abuse within a long-term care facility, to report such
incidents to both law enforcement and the LTCO within two
working days, and follow-up with written reports to both law
enforcement and LTCO.
2)Changed references from "ombudsperson" to "ombudsman."
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
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Committee:
1)One-time minor costs for the Department of Social Services
(DSS) and Department of Public Health (DPH) to develop
instructions to implement the revised reporting requirements.
2)Potential cost pressure on state agencies to provide
training/guidance to ombudsmen and mandated reporters on the
revised reporting requirements.
3)Non-reimbursable local enforcement costs associated with
increased investigation of elder abuse reports offset to a
degree by fine revenue.
4)Ongoing costs to the Judicial Branch, potentially in the range
of $25,000 to $50,000 (General Fund) for additional
misdemeanor and felony court filings.
5)Potential ongoing increased local and state incarceration
costs in excess of $100,000 statewide to the extent the
provisions of this bill result in a significant increase in
reports to law enforcement and subsequent prosecutions.
COMMENTS : This bill, as amended, requires mandated reporters to
report physical abuse which occurs within a long-term care
facility, and financial abuse of a resident of a long-term care
facility, to both the LTCO and local law enforcement. Current
law provides for a report to the Long-Term Care Ombudsman or
local law enforcement.
The LTCO program is operating under conflicting mandates. Under
federal law, the LTCO serves as a "resident advocate" and is
prohibited from disclosing personal information on reports of
abuse without the written consent of the subject of the report.
However, under state law, the LTCO is required to investigate
reports of abuse. Without the consent of the resident(s)
involved, or their legal representatives, criminal activities
are not shared with law enforcement by the LTCO.
Analysis Prepared by : Robert MacLaughlin / AGING & L.T.C. /
(916) 319-3990
FN:
0005718
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