NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A9428C
SPONSOR: Millman TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the public health law, in relation to
specifying procedures for the closure of privately funded assisted
living residences
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Specifies procedures for the closure of assisted living residences.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
In the event that an operator of an assisted living residence elects to
close the residence and to surrender an operating certificate and or
certification as an enhanced or special needs assisted living residence,
the operator shall notify the appropriate regional office of the depart-
ment in writing at least one hundred and twenty days prior to the antic-
ipated date of closure. Such written notice shall include a proposed
plan for closure and decertification.
JUSTIFICATION:
Under current rules and regulations the closure of an assisted living
facility only requires the operator to give ninety days notice. This
bill will increase the amount of time the residents have to acquire new
living accommodations. Today even older New Yorkers of means can have
difficulty finding a place to live. In a recent
NEW YORK TIMES article
it mentions the limited amount of senior housing available in New York
"There's a sort of hysteria that there is only so many places for people
to move". With seniors being evicted in 90 days with limited places to
go it makes it all the more difficult for our elderly population. Giving
them 120 days would alleviate some of the stress of this situation.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
None
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Failure to notify the department of intent to cease operations, failure
to submit an approvable plan to execute the approved plan, closure or
decertification before all residents have been appropriately relocated,
shall result in the imposition of civil penalties.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9428--C
Cal. No. 860
IN ASSEMBLY
April 29, 2014
___________
Introduced by M. of A. MILLMAN, GOTTFRIED, MILLER, JAFFEE, MOSLEY,
BROOK-KRASNY, SKOUFIS, ROSENTHAL, JACOBS, COOK, DINOWITZ, CAMARA,
SCARBOROUGH, WRIGHT, TITONE, BARRETT, OTIS, PERRY, CLARK, BRAUNSTEIN
-- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BRENNAN, MARKEY -- read once and
referred to the Committee on Health -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee -- reported and referred to the Committee on Codes -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee -- reported from committee, advanced to a third
reading, amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place on the
order of third reading
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to specifying proce-
dures for the closure of privately funded assisted living residences
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Article 46-B of the public health law is amended by adding
2 a new section 4653-a to read as follows:
3 § 4653-a. Closure of privately funded assisted living residences. 1.
4 For purposes of this section, privately funded means a residence in
5 which the residents are not recipients of supplemental security income.
6 2. In the event that an operator of a privately funded assisted living
7 residence elects to close the residence and to surrender an operating
8 certificate and/or certification as an enhanced or special needs
9 assisted living residence, the following provisions shall apply:
10 (a) The operator shall notify the appropriate regional office of the
11 department in writing prior to the anticipated date of closure of the
12 assisted living residence and, if applicable, the adult care facility,
13 and/or the decertification of the residence.
14 (b) Such written notice shall include a proposed plan for closure
15 and/or decertification. The plan shall be subject to department
16 approval, shall include timetables for all steps entailed in the closure
17 process and shall describe the procedures and actions the operator will
18 take to:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14852-09-4
A. 9428--C 2
1 (i) notify residents of the closure, and/or decertification, including
2 provisions for termination of admission agreements and involuntary
3 discharge;
4 (ii) assess the needs and preferences of individual residents;
5 (iii) assist residents in locating and transferring to appropriate
6 alternative settings; and
7 (iv) maintain compliance with these regulations until all residents
8 have relocated.
9 3. (a) The operator shall take no action to close the residence prior
10 to department approval of the plan for closure and/or decertification.
11 (b) The operator shall not close the residence until all residents of
12 the residence have transferred to appropriate alternative settings.
13 (c) The operator shall not increase the amount of any rent, fees or
14 other surcharges charged to the residents of the assisted living resi-
15 dence, their families or their insurance companies, if any, prior to
16 department approval of the plan for closure and/or decertification. The
17 operator shall not institute any new fees or other surcharges charged to
18 the residents of the assisted living residence, their families or their
19 insurance companies, if any, prior to department approval of the plan
20 for closure and/or decertification.
21 (d) The operator shall not accept new residents or applications for
22 residency after the operator has notified the appropriate regional
23 office of the department that the operator intends to close or decertify
24 the assisted living residence.
25 4. As part of the final approval of the closure plan, the department
26 and operator shall agree upon a target closure date, which shall be at
27 least one hundred twenty days from the actual date the operator notifies
28 residents of the closure. In providing notification of such target
29 closure date to residents, the operator shall also notify residents that
30 additional time will be provided to residents who make good faith
31 efforts to secure an alternative setting and have demonstrated a reason-
32 able basis for needing more than one hundred twenty days to transfer to
33 an appropriate alternative setting, so long as it remains safe and
34 appropriate to reside in the building at such time.
35 5. The operator shall implement the approved plan to insure that
36 arrangements for continued care which meet each resident's social,
37 emotional and health needs are effectuated prior to closure and/or
38 decertification.
39 6. Failure to notify the department of intent to cease operations,
40 failure to submit an approvable plan to execute the approved plan,
41 closure or decertification before all residents have been appropriately
42 relocated, shall result in the imposition of civil penalties.
43 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January, 2015 and
44 shall apply to all closures of privately funded assisted living resi-
45 dences occurring on or after such effective date and to all closures of
46 privately funded assisted living residences pending such effective date.
