CANHR's 2009 Legislative Advocacy Campaign

2009 California Legislative Update

CANHR Sponsored or Co–sponsored Bills:

SB 303 (Alquist): Nursing Homes/Informed Consent for Psychoactive Drugs – This bill would have fought the excessive drugging of nursing home residents by ensuring that residents and their representatives are better warned about the substantial risks of psychoactive drugs. It would have prohibited use of mind-altering drugs without informed consent, required that residents and their representatives be informed in writing about pertinent FDA warnings, and required the Department of Public Health to evaluate compliance during licensing inspections.
Status: Vetoed by the Governor on October 11, 2009.

SB 660 (Wolk): Suitability Standards for Reverse Mortgages – This bill would create suitability standards for lenders, brokers, or persons or entities who recommend the purchase of a reverse mortgage.
Status: Held in Senate. Final action pending.

SB 781 (Leno): The RCFE Eviction Protection Act - This Act strengthens eviction protections by requiring RCFEs to notify residents in writing of their rights when faced with an eviction and requires facilities to provide a list of resources available to identify alternative housing and care options.
Status: Signed by the Governor on October 11, 2009.

AB 329 (Feuer): The Reverse Mortgage Elder Protection Act of 2009 - This Act prohibits any person who participates in the origination of a reverse mortgage from referring the borrower to anyone for the purchase of other financial products. It requires the lender to provide the prospective borrower with a list of not fewer than 10 HUD approved nonprofit counseling agencies and requires the lender or mortgage counselor to provide the borrower a suitability checklist specifying issues the borrower should discuss with a counselor before the loan application is approved.
Status: Signed by the Governor on October 11, 2009.

AB 392 (Feuer/Jones): Long Term Care Ombudsman Funding – This Act appropriates $1.6 million for local long term care ombudsman programs in California. On a one-time basis, it partially restored a $3.8 million cut to the ombudsman programs made by the Governor in September 2008.
Status: Signed by the Governor on August 5, 2009.

AB 407 (Beall): CCRC Closure Protections - This Act requires a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) provider faced with a permanent closure to ensure residents have adequate time to find new housing and to ensure that residents receive adequate compensation should they be required to move.
Status: Signed by the Governor on October 11, 2009.

AB 1169 (Ruskin): Continuing Care Retirement Contracts (CCRCs)- This Act increases transparency in financial reporting by CCRCs and establishes limits on the transfer of CCRC funds.
Status: Signed by the Governor on October 11, 2009.

Supported by CANHR

SB 38 (Alquist): Silver Alert – This bill would have laid the groundwork for developing an alert system to rescue seniors with dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease who wander away from their homes or long term care facilities.
Status: Did not pass. Held by Assembly Appropriations Committee.

AB 76 (Yamada): Life and Annuity Consumer Protection Fund – This Act extends the sunset provision until 2015 for the $1 fee imposed against insurers for sales of annuities and life insurance policies sold in California. Fees from the Fund are distributed to the Department of Insurance and to the District Attorney offices to provide protections for consumers of life insurance and annuity products.
Status: Signed by the Governor on August 5, 2009.

AB 215 (Feuer/Smyth): Posting Nursing Home Ratings – Effective January 1, 2011, this Act requires nursing homes to post ratings issued by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in a visible, public location.
Status: Signed by the Governor on October 11, 2009.

AB 249 (Carter): Protecting Nursing Home Residents’ Equipment – This bill would have strengthened protection of nursing home residents’ equipment by requiring that residents’ property inventories include a listing, by a unique identification number, of all resident-owned mobility, hearing, or breathing equipment.
Status: Vetoed by the Governor on October 11, 2009.

AB 292 (Yamada): Alzheimer’s Disease Donations – This Act maintains the check-off box on California income tax forms that allows taxpayers to make donations to the California Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorder’s Research Fund.
Status: Signed by the Governor on October 11, 2009.

AB 324 (Beall): Elder Economic Security Standard Index – This bill would have required the Department of Aging and Area Agencies on Aging to utilize the Elder Economic Security Standard Index for analysis of needs and programs.
Status: Vetoed by the Governor on October 11, 2009.

AB 1457 (Davis): Nursing Home Admission Contracts, Ownership Disclosure –This Act requires nursing home admission contracts to contain an attachment that discloses the name of the owner and the name and contact information of a single entity that is fully accountable for all aspects of patient care and operation at the facility and also requires written notice to residents and their representatives containing the name and contact information for a new owner when a change of ownership takes place.
Status: Signed by the Governor on October 11, 2009.

Of Interest

SB 117 (Corbett): Adult Day Health Care Rates – This Act delays planned reforms to Medi-Cal rates for Adult Day Health Care Services.
Status: Signed by the Governor on October 11, 2009.

AB 369 (Yamada): Adult Day Health Care – This bill would have allowed two adult day health care centers under development by the California Department of Veteran Affairs to obtain Medi-Cal certification through an exception to an existing moratorium.
Status: Vetoed by the Governor on October 11, 2009.

AB 773 (Lieu): Posting of Citations – This Act amends nursing home posting obligations for class “AA” and “A” citations. CANHR supported the original version of AB 773, which would have increased the range of fines against nursing homes, but these provisions were later deleted from the bill.
Status: Signed by the Governor on October 11, 2009.

Opposed by CANHR

AB 411 (De La Torre): Nursing Home Rates – In its original form, this bill addressed another subject, but it was gutted and amended during the closing days of the legislative session to provide a rate increase for skilled nursing facilities and subject skilled nursing facilities within Continuing Care Retirement Communities to the quality assurance fee. The nursing home rate increase version of the bill was withdrawn at the end of the session and it was then amended back to its original purpose.
Status: Pending.

Page Last Modified: October 28, 2009


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