Brown Signs 10 Bills To Overhaul Assisted-Living Facilities in Calif.
On Sunday, Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed 10 bills aimed at overhauling assisted-living facilities in California, the Sacramento Business Journal reports (Robertson, Sacramento Business Journal, 9/30).
Background
Many of the measures were part of a larger package of bills, called the RCFE Reform Act of 2014 (California Healthline, 9/2). The package was introduced following reports about a lack of oversight among assisted-living facilities, according to the Business Journal.
There are more than 7,400 such facilities in California.
Details of Signed Bills
The new legislation includes reforms to increase staff training and provide statutory rights to senior citizens, among other things (Sacramento Business Journal, 9/30). Specifically, the bills that Brown signed include:
- AB 1570, which increases training requirements for staff and applicants for licenses to operate a facility, including 80 hours of coursework and a state-administered test of at least 100 questions (Siders, "Capitol Alert," Sacramento Bee, 9/28);
- AB 1751, which requires the governing boards of assisted-living facilities to have resident representatives and to submit quarterly financial statement reports (Sacramento Business Journal, 9/28);
- AB 1899, which makes individuals who have had their licenses revoked or forfeited for facility abandonment permanently ineligible for reinstatement of a license;
- AB 2044, which requires sufficient staff to be at facilities at all times, including at least one staff member trained in CPR and first aid;
- AB 2171, which creates a Bill of Rights for assisted-living facility residents (California Healthline, 9/2);
- AB 2231, which re-establishes a property tax deferment program for the elderly and disabled (Sacramento Business Journal, 9/30);
- SB 895, which requires the state Department of Social Services to make inspection reports for long-term care facilities publicly accessible on the agency's website by Jan. 1, 2020, and requires such facilities to fix problems found during inspections within 10 days in most cases;
- SB 911, which increases training requirements for assisted-living center administrators and requires facilities that accept residents with certain health conditions to hire trained medical personnel;
- SB 1153, which establishes new penalties for non-compliant facilities; and
- SB 1382, which increases licensing fees for assisted-living facilities (California Healthline, 9/2).
Brown said the new laws are meant to "protect the health and safety of seniors residing in assisted living facilities across the state" (McGreevy, "PolitiCal," Los Angeles Times, 9/28).
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