Title HSC — California Health & Safety Code

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the California Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly Act.

The Legislature hereby finds and declares: (a) The Legislature has taken steps in recent years to develop a continuum of long-term social and health support services for older persons in the community that provide a range of options for long-term care and residential care facilit…

No person, firm, partnership, association, or corporation within the state and no state or local public agency shall operate, establish, manage, conduct, or maintain a residential facility for the elderly in this state without a current valid license or current valid special perm…

The department shall inspect and license residential care facilities for the elderly. A license is not transferable.

The department may provide consulting services upon request to any residential care facility for the elderly to assist in the identification or correction of deficiencies and in the upgrading of the quality of care provided by the facility.

(a) The department may contract for state, county, or other public agencies to assume specified licensing, approval, or consultation responsibilities. In exercising the authority so delegated, these agencies shall conform to the requirements of this chapter and to the rules, regu…

No license issued pursuant to this chapter shall have any property value for sale or exchange purposes and no person, including any owner, agent, or broker, shall sell or exchange any license for any commercial purpose.

This chapter shall not apply to any of the following: (a) A health facility, as defined by Section 1250. (b) A clinic, as defined by Section 1200. (c) A facility conducted by and for the adherents of a well-recognized church or religious denomination for the purpose of providing …

(a) Nothing in this chapter authorizes the imposition of rent regulations or controls for licensed residential care facilities for the elderly. (b) Licensed residential care facilities for the elderly are not subject to controls on rent imposed by any state or local agency or oth…

A prospective applicant for licensure shall be notified at the time of the initial request for information regarding application for licensure that, prior to obtaining licensure, the facility shall secure and maintain a fire clearance approval from the local fire enforcing agency…

(a) Any person, entity, or agent signing on behalf of an entity, seeking a license for a residential care facility for the elderly under this chapter shall file with the department, pursuant to regulations, an application on forms furnished by the department, that shall include, …

(a) The department and the licensing agencies with which it contracts for licensing shall review and make a final determination within 60 days of an applicant’s submission of a complete application on all applications for a license to operate a residential care facility for the e…

Upon receipt of an application to operate a residential care facility for the elderly from an applicant who is also applying or intends to apply for a permit to sell deposit subscriptions on life care contracts pursuant to Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 1770), the department…

(a) A corporation that applies for licensure with the department shall list the facilities that any member of the board of directors, the executive director, or an officer has been licensed to operate, been employed in, or served as a member of the board of directors, the executi…

(a) A residential care facility for the elderly, as defined in Section 1569.2, which fails to make reasonable efforts to safeguard resident property shall reimburse a resident for or replace stolen or lost resident property at its then current value. The facility shall be presume…

A theft and loss program shall be implemented by the residential care facilities for the elderly within 90 days after January 1, 1989. The program shall include all of the following: (a) Establishment and posting of the facility’s policy regarding theft and investigative procedur…

No provision of a contract of admission, which includes all documents which a resident or his or her representative is required to sign at the time of, or as a condition of, admission to a residential care facility for the elderly, shall require or imply a lesser standard of resp…

Upon initial licensure, residential care facilities for the elderly shall be provided a printed copy of all applicable regulations by the department, without charge. All licensees shall subscribe to the appropriate regulation subscription service and are responsible for keeping c…

(a) A residential care facility for the elderly shall do all of the following: (1) Not condition the provision of care or otherwise discriminate based on whether or not an individual has executed an advance directive, consistent with applicable laws and regulations. (2) Provide e…

(a) Every licensed residential care facility for the elderly, at the request of two or more residents, shall assist the residents in establishing and maintaining a single resident council at the facility. The resident council shall be composed of residents of the facility. Family…

(a) A residential care facility for the elderly shall not prohibit the formation of a family council. If requested by a member of the resident’s family or the resident representative, the family council shall be allowed to meet in a common meeting room of the facility during mutu…

The State Department of Social Services shall provide to residential care facilities for the elderly a form, which the residential care facility for the elderly shall attach to each resident admission agreement, notifying the resident that he or she is entitled to obtain services…

(a) (1) If an application for a license indicates, or the department determines during the application review process, that the applicant previously was issued a license under this chapter or under Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1200), Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 1250)…

The Legislature recognizes the need to generate timely and accurate positive fingerprint identification of applicants as a condition of issuing licenses, permits, or certificates of approval for persons to operate or provide direct care services in a residential care facility for…

Prior to issuance to any person of a certificate of completion of the administrator certification program pursuant to Section 1569.616, the department shall secure from an appropriate law enforcement agency a criminal record to determine if the person has been convicted of a crim…

The Department of Justice may charge a fee sufficient to cover its cost in providing services in accordance with Section 1569.17 to comply with the 14-day requirement for provision to the department of the criminal record information, as contained in subdivision (c) of Section 15…

(a) In addition to any other requirements of this chapter, any residential care facility for the elderly providing residential care for six or fewer persons at which the owner does not reside shall provide a procedure approved by the licensing agency for immediate response to inc…

(a) (1) An application fee adjusted by facility and capacity shall be charged by the department for the issuance of a license to operate a residential care facility for the elderly. After initial licensure, a fee shall be charged by the department annually on each anniversary of …

A license shall be forfeited by operation of law prior to its expiration date when one of the following occurs: (a) The licensee sells or otherwise transfers the facility or facility property, except when change of ownership applies to transferring of stock when the facility is o…

(a) Notwithstanding Section 1569.19, in the event of a sale of a licensed facility where the sale will result in a new license being issued, the sale and transfer of property and business shall be subject to both of the following: (1) The licensee shall provide written notice to …

(a) A licensee of a residential care facility for the elderly may request inactive license status for either of the following: (1) If the facility is nonoperational due to its destruction, significant damage, or prolonged closure due to an emergency or disaster pursuant to Chapte…

(a) When a licensee dies, an adult relative, or other nonrelated adult, who has control of the property may be designated as the responsible party to continue operation of the facility if the following conditions are met: (1) The licensee has filed a notarized written statement w…

(a) Every residential care facility for the elderly that is licensed or has a valid special permit therefor pursuant to Section 1569.10 shall provide a copy of the disaster and mass casualty plan required pursuant to Section 87223 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations…

As used in this chapter: (a) “Administrator” means the individual designated by the licensee to act on behalf of the licensee in the overall management of the facility. The licensee, if an individual, and the administrator may be one and the same person. (b) “Beneficial ownership…

Upon the filing of the application for issuance of an initial license, the department shall, within five working days of the filing, make a determination regarding the completeness of the application. If the application is complete, the department shall immediately request a fire…

The director may issue provisional licenses to operate residential care facilities for the elderly for the facilities which the director determines are in substantial compliance with this chapter and the rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto; provided, that no life safet…

Immediately upon the denial of any application for a license, the department shall notify the applicant in writing. Within 15 days after the department mails the notice, the applicant may present his or her written petition for a hearing to the department. Upon receipt by the dep…

(a) As a requirement for licensure, the applicant shall demonstrate that he or she has successfully completed a certification program approved by the department. (b) The certification program shall consist of both of the following: (1) Eighty hours of coursework, at least 60 hour…

As a requirement for licensure, the applicant shall attend an orientation given by the department which outlines the applicable rules and regulations, and the scope and responsibility for operation of a residential care facility for the elderly.

Within 90 days after a facility accepts its first resident for placement following its initial licensure, the department shall inspect the facility to evaluate compliance with rules and regulations and to assess the facility’s continuing ability to meet regulatory requirements. T…

(a) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this article to adopt fundamental rights for all persons residing in a residential care facility for the elderly, as defined in Section 1569.2, and to ensure that facilities respect and promote these rights. (b) In establishing …

(a) Rights and liberties set forth in this article do not diminish a resident’s constitutional rights or any other rights set forth in other state or federal laws and regulations. Persons residing in residential care facilities for the elderly shall continue to enjoy all of their…

(a) At admission, a facility staff person shall personally advise a resident and the resident’s representative of, and give a complete written copy of, the rights in this article and the personal rights in Section 87468 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations. The licen…

(a) Residents of residential care facilities for the elderly shall have all of the following rights: (1) To be accorded dignity in their personal relationships with staff, residents, and other persons. (2) To be granted a reasonable level of personal privacy in accommodations, me…

(a) This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the Keep Our Seniors Safe Act. (b) This article does not require a facility to accept, store, or retain firearms or ammunition. (c) The department shall promulgate regulations to implement this article. (d) Until regulations a…

As used in this article, the following terms have the following meanings: (a) “Firearm” means a device, designed to be used as a weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion, including the frame or receiver…

A licensee that permits residents to possess firearms on the facility premises shall do all of the following: (a) Accept and centrally store a resident’s firearm, ammunition, or both. (b) Retain and centrally store a licensee’s firearm, ammunition, or both. (c) Residents’ and lic…

(a) A licensee shall not accept, retain, or store any deadly weapon, as defined in Section 1569.281, of a resident or licensee. (b) A licensee shall not accept, retain, or store any of the following firearms owned or possessed by a resident or licensee: (1) A firearm regulated pu…

The acceptance or storage of a resident’s firearm by a licensee at a facility in accordance with this article, or the retention and storage of a licensee’s firearm, shall not constitute a loan, sale, receipt, or transfer of a firearm within the meaning of Sections 26500, 27545, o…

The license of any facility licensed as a residential facility for the elderly under the California Community Care Facilities Act provided for in Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 1500) on January 1, 1986, shall automatically be transferred for the unexpired term of the license …