(a) A licensee of a licensed residential care facility for the elderly shall, prior to transferring a resident of the facility to another facility or to an independent living arrangement as a result of the forfeiture of a license, as described in subdivision (a), (b), or (f) of Section 1569.19, or a change of use of the facility pursuant to the department’s regulations, take all reasonable steps to transfer affected residents safely and to minimize possible transfer trauma, and shall, at a minimum, do all of the following:
(1) Prepare, for each resident, a relocation evaluation of the needs of that resident, which shall include both of the following:
(A) Recommendations on the type of facility that would meet the needs of the resident based on the current service plan.
(B) A list of facilities, within a 60-mile radius of the resident’s current facility, that meet the resident’s present needs.
(2) Provide each resident or the resident’s responsible person with a written notice no later than 60 days before the intended eviction. The notice shall include all of the following:
(A) The reason for the eviction, with specific facts to permit a determination of the date, place, witnesses, and circumstances concerning the reasons.
(B) A copy of the resident’s current service plan.
(C) The relocation evaluation.
(D) A list of referral agencies.
(E) The right of the resident or resident’s legal representative to contact the department to investigate the reasons given for the eviction pursuant to Section 1569.35.
(F) The contact information for the local long-term care ombudsman, including address and telephone number.
(3) Discuss the relocation evaluation with the resident and the resident’s legal representative within 30 days of issuing the notice of eviction.
(4) Submit a written report of any eviction to the licensing agency within five days.
(5) Upon issuing the written notice of eviction, a licensee shall not accept new residents or enter into new admission agreements.
(6) (A) For paid preadmission fees in excess of five hundred dollars ($500), the resident is entitled to a refund in accordance with all of the following:
(i) A 100-percent refund if preadmission fees were paid within six months of notice of eviction.
(ii) A 75-percent refund if preadmission fees were paid more than six months but not more than 12 months before notice of eviction.
(iii) A 50-percent refund if preadmission fees were paid more than 12 months but not more than 18 months before notice of eviction.
(iv) A 25-percent refund if preadmission fees were paid more than 18 months but less than 25 months before notice of eviction.
(B) No preadmission refund is required if preadmission fees were paid 25 months or more before the notice of eviction.
(C) The preadmission refund required by this paragraph shall be paid within 15 days of issuing the eviction notice. In lieu of the refund, the resident may request that the licensee provide a credit toward the resident’s monthly fee obligation in an amount equal to the preadmission fee refund due.
(7) If the resident gives notice five days before leaving the facility, the licensee shall refund to the resident or the resident’s legal representative a proportional per diem amount of any prepaid monthly fees at the time the resident leaves the facility and the unit is vacated. Otherwise the licensee shall pay the refund within seven days from the date that the resident leaves the facility and the unit is vacated.
(8) Within 10 days of all residents having left the facility, the licensee, based on information provided by the resident or resident’s legal representative, shall submit a final list of names and new locations of all residents to the department and the local ombudsman program.
(b) If seven or more residents of a residential care facility for the elderly will be transferred as a result of the forfeiture of a license or change in the use of the facility pursuant to subdivision (a), the licensee shall submit a proposed closure plan to the department for approval. The department shall approve or disapprove the closure plan, and monitor its implementation, in accordance with the following requirements:
(1) Upon submission of the closure plan, the licensee shall be prohibited from accepting new residents and entering into new admission agreements for new residents.
(2) The closure plan shall meet the requirements described in subdivision (a), and describe the staff available to assist in the transfers. The department’s review shall include a determination as to whether the licensee’s closure plan contains a relocation evaluation for each resident.
(3) Within 15 working days of receipt, the department shall approve or disapprove the closure plan prepared pursuant to this subdivision, and, if the department approves the plan, it shall become effective upon the date the department grants its written approval of the plan.
(4) If the department disapproves a closure plan, the licensee may resubmit an amended plan, which the department shall promptly either approve or disapprove, within 10 working days of receipt by the department of the amended plan. If the department fails to approve a closure plan, it shall inform the licensee, in writing, of the reasons for the disapproval of the plan.
(5) If the department fails to take action within 20 working days of receipt of either the original or the amended closure plan, the plan, or amended plan, as the case may be, shall be deemed approved.
(6) Until the department has approved a licensee’s closure plan, the facility shall not issue a notice of transfer or require any resident to transfer.
(7) Upon approval by the department, the licensee shall send a copy of the closure plan to the local ombudsman program.
(c) A licensee shall inform the city and county in which the facility is located of a proposed closure, including whether the licensee intends to sell the property or business, no later than 180 days before the proposed closure, or as soon as practicably possible.
(d) (1) If a licensee fails to comply with the requirements of this section, or if the director determines that it is necessary to protect the residents of a facility from physical or mental abuse, abandonment, or any other substantial threat to health or safety, the department shall take any necessary action to minimize trauma for the residents, including caring for the residents through the use of a temporary manager or receiver as provided for in Sections 1569.481 and 1569.482 when the director determines the immediate relocation of the residents is not feasible based on transfer trauma or other considerations such as the unavailability of alternative placements. The department shall contact any local agency that may have assessment, placement, protective, or advocacy responsibility for the residents, and shall work together with those agencies to locate alternative placement sites, contact relatives or other persons responsible for the care of these residents, provide onsite evaluation of the residents, and assist in the transfer of residents.
(2) The participation of the department and local agencies in the relocation of residents from a residential care facility for the elderly does not relieve the licensee of any responsibility under this section. A licensee that fails to comply with the requirements of this section shall be required to reimburse the department and local agencies for the cost of providing the relocation services or the costs incurred in caring for the residents through the use of a temporary manager or receiver as provided for in Sections 1569.481 and 1569.482. If the licensee fails to provide the relocation services required in this section, then the department may request that the Attorney General’s office, the city attorney’s office, or the local district attorney’s office seek injunctive relief and damages in the same manner as provided for in Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 17200) of Part 2 of Division 7 of the Business and Professions Code, including restitution to the department of any costs incurred in caring for the residents through the use of a temporary manager or receiver as provided for in Sections 1569.481 and 1569.482.
(e) A licensee who fails to comply with requirements of this section shall be liable for the imposition of civil penalties in the amount of one hundred dollars ($100) per violation per day for each day that the licensee is in violation of this section, until such time that the violation has been corrected. The civil penalties shall be issued immediately following the written notice of violation. However, if the violation does not present an immediate or substantial threat to the health or safety of residents and the licensee corrects the violation within three days after receiving the notice of violation, the licensee shall not be liable for payment of any civil penalties pursuant to this subdivision related to the corrected violation.
(f) A licensee, on and after January 1, 2015, who fails to comply with this section and abandons the facility and the residents in care resulting in an immediate and substantial threat to the health and safety of the abandoned residents, in addition to forfeiture of the license pursuant to Section 1569.19, shall be excluded from licensure in facilities licensed by the department without the right to petition for reinstatement.
(g) A resident of a residential care facility for the elderly covered under this section may bring a civil action against any person, firm, partnership, or corporation who owns, operates, establishes, manages, conducts, or maintains a residential care facility for the elderly who violates the rights of a resident, as set forth in this section. Any person, firm, partnership, or corporation who owns, operates, establishes, manages, conducts, or maintains a residential care facility for the elderly who violates this section shall be responsible for the acts of the facility’s employees and shall be liable for costs and attorney’s fees. Any such residential care facility for the elderly may also be enjoined from permitting the violation to continue. The remedies specified in this section are in addition to any other remedy provided by law.
(h) This section does not apply to a licensee that has obtained a certificate of authority to offer continuing care contracts, as defined in paragraph (8) of subdivision (c) of Section 1771.
(Amended by Stats. 2020, Ch. 11, Sec. 11. (AB 79) Effective June 29, 2020.)