California Assembly Bill AB535 Latest Draft

 BILL NUMBER: AB 535AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 14, 2010 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 4, 2010 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 2, 2009 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Ammiano FEBRUARY 25, 2009 An act to add Sections  1418.92 and 102336   102336 and 127286  to the Health and Safety Code, and to amend  Section   Sections 11174.5 and  11174.8 of the Penal Code, relating to elder death review teams. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 535, as amended, Ammiano. Elder death review teams: information requests.  This bill would require a long-term health care facility to report the death of a resident of the facility who is 65 years of age or older to the elder death review team of the county in which the death occurred within 24 hours of the death. The bill would make violation of this provision a class "B" violation. Because this bill would create a new crime, it would impose a state-mandated local program.  Existing law allows a county to establish an interagency elder death  review  team to assist local agencies in identifying and reviewing suspicious elder deaths. Under existing law, the team may request specified information for its review, subject to prescribed confidentiality requirements. This bill would  make conforming changes to refer to elder death review teams and would  allow  the   an  elder death review team to request and obtain copies of certificates of death from the local registrar of births and deaths, subject to any fee requirements. Under existing law, deaths are required to be registered with the local registrar of births and deaths in the district in which the death occurs. Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to enforce the laws pertaining to vital records, including certificates of death. Existing law requires the department to implement an Internet-based electronic death registration system. This bill would authorize the chair, cochair, or an agent of the chair or cochair, of a county elder death  review  team to participate in the Internet-based electronic death registration system to access specified information.  Under existing law, the State Department of Public Health licenses and regulates health facilities, including long-term health care facilities. The Long-Term Care, Health, Safety, and Security Act of 1973 imposes various requirements on long-term health facilities. Violation of these provisions is punishable through administrative penalties. Willful obstruction of the enforcement of the provisions is a misdemeanor.   The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.   This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.   Under existing law health facilities, including skilled nursing facilities, are required to file an annual report to the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development containing prescribed data.   This bill would require skilled nursing facilities, except for a skilled nursing facility that is a distinct part of a general acute care hospital, also to include within this report specified data on persons who have died in the facility. The bill would require the office to compile and make available this data to a requesting county elder death review team and would allow the office, upon request of the team, to provide additional information, as specified.  Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program:  yes   no  . THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:  SECTION 1.   Section 1418.92 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read: 1418.92. (a) A long-term health care facility shall report the death of a resident of the facility who is 65 years of age or older to the elder death review team of the county in which the death occurred. (b) The report required by subdivision (a) shall be made within 24 hours of the death of the resident and shall contain all of the following information: (1) Place of death. (2) Time of death. (3) Gender of decedent. (c) Failure to comply with this section shall constitute a class "B" violation.   SEC. 2.   SECTION 1.  Section 102336 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read: 102336. Notwithstanding paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 11174.8 of the Penal Code, the chair, cochair, or an agent of the chair or cochair  of a county elder death review team  may participate in the Internet-based electronic death registration system established pursuant to Section 102778. Access to the Internet-based electronic death data shall be exclusively for the purpose of obtaining the following information: (a) Place of death. (b) Name, last name followed by first name. (c) Date of death. (d) Cause of death.  SEC. 2.   Section 127286 is added to the   Health and Safety Code   , to read:   127286. (a) A skilled nursing facility, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 1250, except for a skilled nursing facility that is a distinct part of a general acute care hospital, shall include in the annual report required pursuant to Section 127285 data on persons who have died in the facility, including, but not limited to, the date and time of death, age, and gender. (b) The office shall compile and make available the data reported pursuant to subdivision (a) by county and by facility upon the request of a county interagency elder death team, as established in Section 11174.5 of the Penal Code. (c) The office may also include census and utilization information relating to the facilities, including, but not limited to, whether the facility offered a hospice program or another specialized program, such as those for Alzheimer's disease.   SEC. 3.   Section 11174.5 of the   Penal Code   is amended to read:  11174.5. (a) Each county may establish an interagency elder death  review  team to assist local agencies in identifying and reviewing suspicious elder deaths and facilitating communication among persons who perform autopsies and the various persons and agencies involved in elder abuse or neglect cases. (b) Each county may develop a protocol that may be used as a guideline by persons performing autopsies on elder adults to assist coroners and other persons who perform autopsies in the identification of elder abuse, in the determination of whether elder abuse or neglect contributed to death or whether elder abuse or neglect had occurred prior to but was not the actual cause of death, and in the proper written reporting procedures for elder abuse or neglect, including the designation of the cause and mode of death.  SEC. 3.   SEC. 4.  Section 11174.8 of the Penal Code is amended to read: 11174.8. (a) Each organization represented on an elder death review team may share with other members of the team information in its possession concerning the decedent who is the subject of the review or any person who was in contact with the decedent and any other information deemed by the organization to be pertinent to the review. Any information shared by an organization with other members of a team is confidential. The intent of this subdivision is to permit the disclosure to members of the team of any information deemed confidential, privileged, or prohibited from disclosure by any other provision of law. (b) (1) Written and oral information may be disclosed to an elder death review team established pursuant to this section. The team may make a request in writing for the information sought and any person with information of the kind described in paragraph (3) may rely on the request in determining whether information may be disclosed to the team. (2) No individual or agency that has information governed by this subdivision shall be required to disclose information. The intent of this subdivision is to allow the voluntary disclosure of information by the individual or agency that has the information. (3) The following information may be disclosed pursuant to this subdivision: (A) Notwithstanding Section 56.10 of the Civil Code, medical information. (B) Notwithstanding Section 5328 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, mental health information. (C) Notwithstanding Section 15633.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, information from elder abuse reports and investigations, except the identity of persons who have made reports, which shall not be disclosed. (D) State summary criminal history information, criminal offender record information, and local summary criminal history information, as defined in Sections 11075, 11105, and 13300. (E) Notwithstanding Section 11163.2, information pertaining to reports by health practitioners of persons suffering from physical injuries inflicted by means of a firearm or of persons suffering physical injury where the injury is a result of assaultive or abusive conduct. (F) Information provided to probation officers in the course of the performance of their duties, including, but not limited to, the duty to prepare reports pursuant to Section 1203.10, as well as the information on which these reports are based. (G) Notwithstanding Section 10825 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, records relating to in-home supportive services, unless disclosure is prohibited by federal law. (H) Electronic data from certificates of death from the local registrar of births and deaths, subject to any fee requirements. (c) Written and oral information may be disclosed under this section notwithstanding Sections 2263, 2918, 4982, and 6068 of the Business and Professions Code, the lawyer-client privilege protected by Article 3 (commencing with Section 950) of Chapter 4 of Division 8 of the Evidence Code, the physician-patient privilege protected by Article 6 (commencing with Section 990) of Chapter 4 of Division 8 of the Evidence Code, and the psychotherapist-patient privilege protected by Article 7 (commencing with Section 1010) of Chapter 4 of Division 8 of the Evidence Code.  SEC. 4.   No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.