HB2529 - 532R - Senate Fact Sheet

ARIZONA STATE SENATE

Fifty-Third Legislature, Second Regular Session

AMENDED

FACT SHEET FOR H.B. 2529

~~sober living homes; certification~~

(NOW: assisted living; referrals; disclosure)

Purpose

Requires a referral agency to disclose to any prospective resident who is referred to an assisted living facility the business relationship between the referral agency and the assisted living facility and the fee the agency receives for referrals.

Background

Assisted living facility means a residential care institution, including an adult foster care home, that provides or contracts to provide supervisory care services, personal care services or directed care services on a continuous basis (A.R.S. § 36-401).

There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.

Provisions

1. Requires a referral agency to disclose to any prospective resident or representative of a prospective resident who has been referred by the referral agency for care at an assisted living facility the following:

a) the existence of any current business relationship between the referral agency and the assisted living facility; and

b) the fee the assisted living facility pays to the referral agency in connection with the referral.

2. Establishes that the documentation of disclosure must be signed and dated by both the prospective resident or their representative and the referral agency and maintained on file at the assisted living facility.

3. Requires that a copy of the disclosure be provided to the assisted living facility before the resident is admitted to the facility.

4. Allows disclosure documentation to be in written or electronic format.

5. Prohibits an assisted living facility from paying any referral fee associated with a resident until the assisted living facility receives the signed disclosure.

6. Enables the Attorney General or a county attorney to institute a proceeding in Superior Court to recover a civil penalty of 1,000 dollars for each violation, if a referral agency violates disclosure requirements.

7. Requires that any civil penalty recovered be deposited in the General Fund of the prosecuting jurisdiction.

8. Defines referral agency as a person or entity that provides referrals for a fee and excludes an assisted living facility, its employees, a resident of an assisted living facility or their family.

9. Becomes effective on the general effective date.

Amendments Adopted in Committee

· Adopted the strike-everything amendment.

Amendments Adopted in Committee of the Whole

1. Requires that a proceeding to recover a civil penalty related to a violation of referral agency disclosure requirements occur in Superior Court.

2. Removes city attorneys and aggrieved patients as individuals who are authorized to institute proceedings to recover civil penalties related to violations of referral agency disclosure requirements.

3. Allows documentation to be in written or electronic format.