AB 2231: Care facilities: civil penalties.

Existing law establishes the State Department of Social Services and sets forth its powers and duties, including, but not limited to, the licensure and regulation of community care facilities, residential care facilities for persons with chronic life-threatening illnesses, residential care facilities for the elderly, day care centers, and family day care homes. Existing law authorizes the department to impose various civil penalties for a licensing violation under those provisions, as specified, and requires moneys collected from the imposition of those penalties to be expended for certain purposes. Existing law establishes a process for the appeal of a citation under these provisions.

This bill would, commencing July 1, 2017, increase the amount of civil penalties to be imposed for a licensing violation under those provisions, and would impose civil penalties for a repeat violation of those provisions, as specified. The bill would authorize the department, in its sole discretion, to reduce the civil penalty for the cited repeat violation to the level of the underlying violation, if applicable, if it determines that the cited repeat violation is not substantially similar to the original violation. The bill would delete the provisions that authorize the department to impose those civil penalties, and instead would require the imposition of civil penalties under those provisions. The bill would require the department to make a good faith effort to work with the licensee to determine the cause of the deficiency and ways to prevent any repeat violations, and to adopt regulations setting forth the appeal procedures for deficiencies. The bill would require civil penalties to be due and payable when administrative appeals have been exhausted and to be subject to late fees, except as specified. The bill would also delete obsolete provisions.

This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 1548 of the Health and Safety Code proposed by AB 1997, that would become operative only if AB 1997 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2017, and this bill is chaptered last.