By CANHR supported, opposed, and closely followed the below pieces of legislation during the 2022 session. Please check www.canhrlegislation.com for updated details on current legislation, and www.leginfo.ca.gov for information on specific bills.
CANHR Sponsored Bills
AB 1663 (Maienschein): Conservatorship
The Britney Spears conservatorship case exposed deep flaws within California’s probate conservatorship system – demonstrating how easily people can become trapped in a conservatorship and how difficult it is to escape. People with disabilities and older adults are often caught in the pipeline to conservatorship, a system that strips them of basic civil rights and their ability to advocate for themselves. The system offers little meaningful oversight and many opportunities for abuse.
Status: Signed into law.
AB 1809 (Aguiar-Curry): Informed Consent
Despite dangerous side effects, condemnation by care providers, and a decade-long national and state campaign to reduce the inappropriate use of psychotropic drugs in nursing homes, over half of California nursing home residents are being given psychotropic drugs, typically without informed consent. AB 1809 would codify and expand existing informed consent rules to ensure nursing home residents are given important information about drugs that are prescribed for them and an opportunity to consent or withhold consent.
Status: Vetoed by the Governor
AB 1900 (Arambula): The Share of Cost Reform
This bill would would increase the maintenance need for community based Medi-Cal recipients from $600 to 138% of the Federal Poverty Level.
Status: DEAD
AB 2823 (Levine): Home Upkeep Allowance
This bill would increase the Home Upkeep Allowance (HUA) from $209 to the actual costs of maintaining a home.
Status: DEAD
CANHR Support
AB 895 (Holden): Skilled Nursing and Intermediate Care Facilities
This bill would require a skilled nursing facility or intermediate care facility to provide a prospective resident of a skilled nursing facility or intermediate care facility, or their representative, prior to or at the time of admission, a written notice that includes specified contact information for the local long-term care ombudsman.
Status: Signed into law.
AB 1855 (Nazarian): Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program: Facility Access
This bill, notwithstanding any other law, would prohibit a skilled nursing facility or residential care facility from denying entry to a representative of the office acting in their official capacity, under any circumstances. The bill would make related findings and declarations.
Status: Signed into law.
AB 1995 (Arambula): Eliminating Medi-Cal Premiums
This bill will ensure pregnant individuals, children, and people with disabilities can access the health care services that they need to stay healthy and thrive by eliminating their monthly Medi-Cal premiums.
Status: In Senate. Held under submission.
AB 2077 (Calderon): Medi-Cal
This bill would increase the monthly maintenance amount for personal and incidental needs from $35 to $50, and would specify that the cost of this benefit would be supplemented by federal funds, to the extent they are available.
Status: Vetoed by Governor.
AB 2145 (Davies): Skilled Nursing Facilities: Dental Services
This bill would provide that a registered dental hygienist in alternative practice may render dental services to a patient in a skilled nursing facility or an intermediate care facility/developmentally disabled. The bill would also authorize a registered dental hygienist in alternative practice to provide oral health inservice training to staff in a skilled nursing facility or an intermediate care facility/developmentally disabled.
Status: Signed into law.
AB 2338 (Gipson): Health Care Surrogates
This bill would specify individuals, in an order of priority, who may be chosen as a surrogate if a patient lacks the capacity to make a health care decision or to designate a surrogate.
Status: Signed into law.
AB 2511 (Irwin): SNF Backup Power Source
This bill would require skilled nursing facilities to have an alternative source of power to protect resident health and safety for no fewer than 96 hours during any type of power outage.
Status: Signed into law.
AB 2673 (Irwin and Allen): Hospice Licensure: Moratorium and New Licenses
This bill would extend the existing moratorium on issuing new licenses to hospices and enact some of the recommendations made by the California State Auditor in his March 29, 2022 report, which found that the California Department of Public Health’s weak oversight of hospice agencies has enabled large-scale fraud and abuse.
Status: Signed into law.
SB 602 (Laird): Conservatorship: Care Plans
This bill would require a conservator, within 30 days of appointment and within 30 days before a hearing to determine the continuation or termination of an existing conservatorship, to submit a care plan to specified persons regarding the care, custody, and control of the conservatee.
Status: DEAD
SB 1093 (Hurtado): Criminal Background Checks in RCFEs
This bill will focus on procedures for transferring criminal background checks for people who wish to operate community care facilities residential care facilities for persons with chronic, life-threatening illness, residential care facilities for the elderly, childcare centers, and home care services.
Signed into law.
SB 1323 (Archuleta): Foreclosure: Equity Sale
This bill would recast provisions to require that an equity sale, as defined, of property under a power of sale of a mortgage or deed of trust be made by a licensed realtor and by publicly listing the property for sale on the California Multiple Listing Service with an initial listing price at the property’s appraised value, as specified.
Status: DEAD
HR6698 (Schakowsky): Eliminate Medicaid Recovery
To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to repeal the requirement that States establish a Medicaid Estate Recovery Program and to limit the circumstances in which a State may place a lien on a Medicaid beneficiary’s property.
Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health
CANHR Oppose
AB 499 (Rubio): Referral Source for Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly
This bill would require an RCFE referral agency to provide certain disclosures to seniors, and to maintain a minimum amount of liability coverage, but does not provide oversight or sufficient enforcement mechanisms.
Status: Vetoed by Governor
AB 1502 (Muratsuchi and Wood): Skilled Nursing Facilities
CANHR was the bill’s sponsor and worked diligently to secure its passage. Unfortunately the recent extensive amendments eviscerated the bill and will harm nursing home residents. Please see our legislation website for further updates on this.
Status: Signed into Law
AB 2724 (Arambula): Medi-Cal: Alternate Health Care Service Plan
This bill would authorize the department to enter into one or more comprehensive risk contracts with an alternate health care service plan (AHCSP), as defined, to serve as a primary Medi-Cal managed care plan for specified eligible beneficiaries in geographic regions design ated by the department.
Status: Signed into Law
SB 965 (Eggman): Conservatorship
Existing law, the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act, authorizes a conservator of the person, of the estate, or of the person and the estate to be appointed for a person who is gravely disabled as a result of a mental health disorder or impairment by chronic alcoholism. This bill would make technical, non-substantive changes to that provision.
Status: DEAD
SB 1338 (Umberg and Eggman): Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court Program
This bill would enact the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act, which would authorize specified people to petition a civil court to create a CARE plan and implement services, to be provided by county behavioral health agencies, to provide behavioral health care, stabilization medication, and housing support to adults who are suffering from schizophrenia spectrum and psychotic disorders and who lack medical decision making capacity.
Status: Signed into Law