Seniors' Legislation
SB 140 (Thompson-D) Income taxes: senior citizens
Suspends, until 2002, the inflation adjustment for the senior citizen personal exemption credit, and transfers the money to the California Seniors Special Fund. Makes money generated from the suspension available, in specified amounts, to the California Commission on Aging, the California Senior Legislature, the Triple A Council of California and the State Department of Health Services for a long-term care demonstration program.
(In Senate Appropriations Committee)
SB 478 (Haynes-R) Residential care facilities for the elderly
Extends the length of time required to report a licensee's death to the State Department of Social Services in order to identify the person who has control of a residential care facility for the elderly.
(In Assembly Human Services Committee)
SB 588 (Hughes-D) Elder abuse
States legislative intent to implement an omnibus elder abuse reform effort, in coordination with the California Commission on Aging, for the prevention of elder abuse. Requires the commission to prepare guidelines establishing standard procedures that may be followed by law enforcement in the investigation and response to cases of elder or dependent adult abuse or neglect. Authorizes certain peace officers to issue a certification to a financial institution or escrow company that a person is substantially unable to manage his/her financial resources or to resist fraud, is in imminent danger of losing his/her property as a result of fraud or misrepresentation, and he/she suffers from that inability as a result of deficits in one or more mental functions.
Requires the State Department of Social Services to implement procedures to ensure that the prevention of elder abuse, intervention, and treatment services become a very high priority for the state, to pursue the establishment of a 24-hour emergency shelter for victims of elder abuse in each county and develop minimum standards for the protection of victims and potential victims of elder abuse. Requires specified state agencies to jointly implement a pilot program of elder abuse prevention, protection and education for a period of 5 years.
(In Senate Judiciary Committee)
SB 628 (Kopp-I) Elders and dependent adults: conservatorships
Prohibits the establishment of a conservatorship for a nonresident, unless specified criteria are met; and expands the law to include liability for the abduction of an elder or dependent adult.
Chapter 663, Statutes of 1997
SB 942 (Solis-D) Long-term care reimbursement rates
Requires the State Department of Health Services to increase rate payments for long-term health care facilities under the Medi-Cal program to maintain reasonable wage differentials for employees earning wages above minimum wage levels, and appropriates $12.2 million from the General Fund to the department for that purpose.
(In Senate Appropriations Committee)
SB 1061 (Vasconcellos-D) Long-term health care facilities
Requires, by January 1, 2000, long-term health care facilities to use a standard admission agreement developed and adopted by the State Department of Health Services.
Chapter 631, Statutes of 1997
SB 1231 (Watson-D) Residential care for the elderly: home health care
Allows residential care facilities for the elderly to provide incidental medical care through a home health agency when specified conditions are met. Specifies that the bill is not intended to expand the scope of care and supervision for a residential care facility for the elderly.
Chapter 494, Statutes of 1997
SB 1238 (Johannessen-R) Sentence enhancement: elder and dependent adult abuse
Provides for the imposition of a sentence enhancement in specified elder abuse cases.
Chapter 698, Statutes of 1997
AB 72 (Knox-D) Citizenship assistance: immigrants
Provides for citizenship assistance to elderly, blind, and disabled and other legal immigrants receiving public social services.
(In Senate Appropriations Committee)
AB 100 (Granlund-R) Aging
Modifies provisions defining the roles of the State Department of Aging, the Area Agencies on Aging, the California Commission on Aging, the California Senior Legislature, and community-based programs designed to provide information and services to elderly residents of the state.
Chapter 216, Statutes of 1997
AB 779 (Woods-R) Aging
Amends, reorders, renumbers and makes various other changes, primarily non-substantive in nature, to current statutes governing the State Department of Aging's Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, to eliminate obsolete, redundant and overly prescriptive provisions of the Older Californians Act.
(On Assembly Inactive File)
AB 789 (Cardenas-D) Long-term health care facilities: employees
Prohibits a person from providing direct patient care in a long-term health care facility if that person has been convicted of a violation of certain provisions of the Penal Code, with certain exceptions.
(In Senate Public Safety Committee)
AB 846 (Knox-D) Residential care facilities for the elderly: eviction
Clarifies the rights and responsibilities of both the resident and the residential care facility for the elderly in eviction situations, and provides a process for resolving eviction disputes.
Vetoed by the Governor
AB 870 (Hertzberg-D) Elder abuse: law enforcement training
Requires every city police officer or deputy sheriff at a supervisory level or below, who is assigned field or investigative duties, to complete an elder abuse training course certified by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training by January 1, 1999, or within 18 months of assignment to field duties, as specified.
Chapter 444, Statutes of 1997
AB 1032 (Frusetta-R) Long-term health care facilities: employees
Prohibits a person from providing direct patient care in a long-term care facility if that person has been convicted of a violation of certain provisions of the Penal Code, with certain exceptions.
(In Assembly Health Committee)
AB 1068 (Campbell-R) Nursing and long-term care
Requires the State Department of Health Services to develop a comprehensive resident, client or patient bill of rights for specified categories of long-term health care facilities. Requires all long-term health care facilities to afford their residents, clients or patients certain rights described in federal law.
(In Assembly Health Committee)
AB 1087 (Aguiar-R) Nursing facilities
Requires the State Department of Health Services (DHS) to conduct a pilot project, in a selected licensing district, to test the viability of using a Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Health Care Organizations review process in lieu of the existing Medicare and Medicaid certification survey enforcement process for the oversight of nursing facilities. Requires DHS to seek any necessary federal waivers after the federal government indicates its willingness to entertain these waivers, and to implement the project immediately upon approval of the waivers, for a period of 30 months. Requires DHS to report the results to the Legislature upon completion of the pilot project.
(Failed passage in Senate Appropriations Committee; reconsideration granted)
AB 1133 (Gallegos-D) Long-term health care facilities
Increases civil penalties for violations affecting the health of patients in long-term care facilities, eliminates the waiver of civil penalties for a particular violation corrected within the time specified, and eliminates facilities' ability to pay a lesser penalty after the penalty has been reduced following an appeal, or as an alternative to appeal.
(In Senate Health and Human Services Committee)
AB 1147 (Shelley-D) Elderly and dependent adults: abuse: civil actions
Provides that health care providers, such as skilled nursing facilities, are subject to civil remedies provided by the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act when the remedies are authorized by that Act. Declares its provisions declaratory of existing law.
(On Senate Inactive File)
AB 1215 (Mazzoni-D) Long-term care
Requires the Health and Welfare Agency to prepare a report on state long-term care programs that provide services to adults. Requires the report to consider options for integration of key programs, options for integration of licensure functions, and an implementation timetable.
Chapter 269, Statutes of 1997
AB 1242 (Granlund-R) Intermediate care facilities: administrator
Establishes consistency in current law related to administrators in all types of intermediate care facilities that provide services to persons with developmental disabilities and properly align state law with federal requirements. Solves another issue related to the training of administrators in an intermediate care facility/developmental disabled by removing the current mandate that these administrators must always be licensed nursing home administrators, rather than a qualified mental retardation professional.
Chapter 776, Statutes of 1997
AB 1249 (Davis-D) Aging: respite care program and registry
Requires the State Department of Aging to establish a statewide respite care program and registry to provide services to individuals providing care to the elderly and the disabled. Requires the department to conduct a criminal background check on each respite care provider.
(In Assembly Human Services Committee)
AB 1380* (Ashburn-R) Human services
Extends the expiration date of the California Partnership for Long-Term Care Pilot Project from June 30, 1998 to June 30, 2000.
Chapter 37, Statutes of 1997
AB 1483* (Gallegos-D) Insurance: long-term care
Requires insurers offering "federally tax qualified" long-term care insurance policies to also offer "federally non tax qualified" policies and requires both types of policies to use specified thresholds for benefits eligibility.
Chapter 700, Statutes of 1997
ACR 23 (Morrissey-R) Senior Citizens' Week
Designates May 4 through May 10, 1997 as Senior Citizens' Week.
Resolution Chapter 23, Statutes of 1997
AJR 13 (Havice-D) Social Security: Medicare: balanced budget amendment
Calls on the President and the Congress to protect the interest of older Americans and to ensure that Social Security and Medicare are not threatened.
