CANHR 2010 Legislative Update

Residential Care Foreclosures:

SB 1329 (Leno): The RCFE Residents Foreclosure Protection Act
This bill would have required licensees of Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly to notify Community Care Licensing of certain events that indicate fiscal distress and potential foreclosure and to notify all residents or their representatives of foreclosure. (Co-sponsored by CANHR and Bet Tzedek Legal Services)  SB 1329 was passed by the Senate and Assembly and was vetoed by the Governor. Fact Sheet on AB 1329

Nursing Homes:

SB 853: Budget Trailer Bill on Health
This budget measure reauthorized and amended the Medi-Cal payment system for skilled nursing facilities. It eliminated Medi-Cal’s $160 million bonus system for nursing home operators and directed Medi-Cal to develop a less expensive reward system. It restricts, but does not eliminate, Medi-Cal payments for nursing home legal fees and liability insurance. The law requires the Department of Public Health to evaluate nursing home compliance with minimum staffing standards and establishes limited fines for noncompliance. It provides $1.9 million for local long term care ombudsman programs, acting as a substitute for AB 2555 (Feuer). The Governor signed the bill on October 19, 2010 and it took immediate effect.

CCRCs:

AB 1433 (Beall & Eng): Temporary Closures of CCRCs
Sponsored by Aging Services, this bill includes provisions for providers and protections for residents in case of a temporary relocation when the facility is renovating the CCRC. Most of the amendments suggested by CANHR and CALCRA were incorporated into AB 1433. Signed by the Governor and effective January 1, 2011.

Elder Fraud and Abuse:

SB 105 (Harman) Donative Transfers Restrictions: Care Custodians
This bill changed provisions in the Probate Code and reduced the burden of proof needed to overcome a long standing presumption that undue influence has occurred whenever an elder's will was changed to make gifts to individuals who drafted or transcribed those changes to the will.  Although initially opposed as being overly broad in its approach, CANHR worked with the author's office and minimized the categories of those who would no longer be subject to the traditional high level of scrutiny. The Governor signed SB 105 on September 30, 2010.

SB 660 (Wolk): Suitability Standards for Reverse Mortgages
This reverse mortgage bill would have defined what fair dealing means in transactions between lenders and borrowers and created a duty of fair dealing on the part of lenders of reverse mortgages. Status: Did not pass. This bill failed in the Assembly Committee on Banking and Finance.

Page Last Modified: March 4, 2011