S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1119
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              January 9, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  FORREST, WEPRIN, HEVESI, GALLAGHER, JACKSON,
   ANDERSON, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, BURDICK, EPSTEIN, MAMDANI, KELLES, MITAYNES,
   BICHOTTE HERMELYN, SIMON, MEEKS, GLICK, CUNNINGHAM,  ROSENTHAL,  CRUZ,
   REYES,   WALKER,   VANEL,  DE LOS SANTOS,  DAVILA,  R. CARROLL,  COOK,
   SEAWRIGHT, RAGA, SHRESTHA, BORES,  OTIS,  KIM,  CLARK,  TAPIA,  GIBBS,
   CHANDLER-WATERMAN,  SEPTIMO,  K. BROWN,  LEVENBERG,  ALVAREZ, SHIMSKY,
   STECK, ZACCARO, SIMONE, STIRPE, DINOWITZ, HYNDMAN, LEE, RIVERA -- read
   once and referred to the Committee on Health
 
 AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to the transparency
   and quality of care of operators of adult care facilities
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Paragraph  (b)  of  subdivision 2 of section 461-b of the
 social services law, as amended by chapter 15 of the laws  of  2016,  is
 amended to read as follows:
   (b)  For existing licensed operators in good standing and their affil-
 iates, the department shall develop a streamlined application review and
 approval process, in collaboration with representatives of  associations
 of  operators AND REPRESENTATIVES OF RESIDENT ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS, to
 be available for use in relation to approval of an  additional  facility
 of  the same type. Notwithstanding any provision of law or regulation to
 the contrary, the streamlined application review  and  approval  process
 shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
   (i) a certification process and form for the operator or its affiliate
 to  attest that it will have sufficient financial resources, revenue and
 financing to meet facility expenses  and  resident  needs,  which  shall
 satisfy the statutory and regulatory financial component of the applica-
 tion review and approval process;
   (ii)  a  certification process and form for the operator or its affil-
 iate to attest that its legal, corporate  and  organizational  documents
 comply  in  substance  with department requirements, which shall satisfy
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02071-01-5
              

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 the statutory and regulatory legal component of the  application  review
 and approval process;
   (iii)  a certification process and form for the operator or its affil-
 iate to attest that it is in substantial compliance with all  applicable
 codes,  rules  and  regulations in any other state in which it operates,
 and to disclose any enforcement or administrative action  taken  against
 it in any other state;
   (iv)  FOR  OPERATORS  OF  ADULTS  HOMES, ENRICHED HOUSING PROGRAMS, OR
 RESIDENCIES FOR ADULTS, OR ITS AFFILIATES,  AN  OPPORTUNITY  FOR  PUBLIC
 COMMENT  ON  THE APPLICATION SHALL BE POSTED ON THE DEPARTMENT'S WEBPAGE
 AND BY NOTICE TO THE LONG-TERM CARE OMBUDSMAN PROGRAM.  COMMENTS MAY  BE
 SUBMITTED BY ELECTRONIC OR REGULAR MAIL, AND SHALL BE CONSIDERED AS PART
 OF  THE  CHARACTER  AND  COMPETENCE REVIEW OF THE APPLICATION AND MAY BE
 CONSIDERED THE BASIS FOR REJECTING THE APPLICATION  OR  IMPOSING  CONDI-
 TIONS  THAT MUST BE SATISFIED PRIOR TO THE EXPIRATION OF THE CONDITIONAL
 APPROVAL PERIOD;
   (V) A PERIOD OF PUBLIC COMMENT AND REVIEW  OF  NO  LONGER  THAN  SIXTY
 DAYS.    CONDITIONAL  APPROVAL  SHALL ONLY BE GRANTED ONCE THE PERIOD OF
 PUBLIC COMMENT HAS BEEN CLOSED AND THE DEPARTMENT HAS DULY REVIEWED  AND
 CONSIDERED ANY ISSUES WHICH MAY BE RELEVANT TO THE APPROVAL PROCESS;
   (VI)  issuance  by the department of a conditional approval to operate
 the facility for a specified period of time upon substantial  completion
 of  the  character  and  competence,  legal, financial and architectural
 components of the application, so long as the operator or its  affiliate
 agrees in writing to satisfy all pending conditions prior to the expira-
 tion  of  the conditional approval period or a time frame established by
 the department;
   [(v)] (VII) issuance by the department of a  conditional  approval  to
 construct  a  facility,  at  the operator's or its affiliate's own risk,
 upon substantial completion of the architectural component of the appli-
 cation;
   [(vi)] (VIII) elimination of duplicative submission and review of  any
 application  information which has been previously reviewed and approved
 by the department or any of its regional offices  within  the  past  two
 years  through  a certification process and form whereby the operator or
 its affiliate will attest that such application information is  duplica-
 tive;
   [(vii)]  (IX) with respect to any programmatic application information
 to be reviewed by the regional office, such review  shall  be  conducted
 on-site  by  the  regional  office  during the pre-opening inspection or
 first full annual inspection, if the department has previously  approved
 the  operator  or  its  affiliate to operate the same type of program at
 another facility within the past two years;
   [(viii)] (X) electronic submission of applications; and
   [(ix)] (XI) a combined application for  licensure  as  an  adult  care
 facility,  assisted  living residence and/or assisted living program, to
 the extent the department determines  such  a  combined  application  is
 feasible.
   §  2.  Paragraph (b-2) of subdivision 2 of section 461-b of the social
 services law, as amended by chapter 15 of the laws of 2016,  is  amended
 to read as follows:
   (b-2)  For purposes of paragraph (b) of this subdivision, "good stand-
 ing" shall mean the operator and its affiliates have not:  (A)  received
 any  official  written  notice from the department of a proposed revoca-
 tion, suspension, denial or limitation on the operating  certificate  of
 the  facility  or residence; (B) within the previous [three] FIVE years,
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 been assessed a civil penalty after  a  hearing  conducted  pursuant  to
 subparagraph  one  of paragraph (b) of subdivision seven of section four
 hundred sixty-d of this article for a violation that has not been recti-
 fied;  (C)  within the previous [year] FIVE YEARS, received any official
 written notice from the department of a proposed assessment of  a  civil
 penalty  for  a violation described in subparagraph two of paragraph (b)
 of subdivision seven of section four hundred sixty-d  of  this  article;
 (D)  within the previous [three] FIVE years, been issued an order pursu-
 ant to subdivision two, five, six  or  eight  of  section  four  hundred
 sixty-d  of  this  article;  (E) within the previous [three] FIVE years,
 been placed on, and if placed on, removed from the department's "do  not
 refer  list"  pursuant  to  subdivision  fifteen of section four hundred
 sixty-d of this article; OR (F) WITHIN THE PREVIOUS  THREE  YEARS,  BEEN
 CITED BY THE DEPARTMENT FOR A VIOLATION OF RESIDENTS' RIGHTS REGULATIONS
 PURSUANT  TO  SUBDIVISION  THREE  OF SECTION FOUR HUNDRED SIXTY-ONE-D OF
 THIS ARTICLE. Provided, however, that in the  case  of  an  operator  or
 affiliate  that  is  not in good standing as provided in this paragraph,
 the department may permit the operator or affiliate to use  the  stream-
 lined  application process, in its discretion, if it determines that the
 disqualifying violation was an isolated  occurrence  that  was  promptly
 corrected by the operator or affiliate.
   §  3.  Paragraph  (a)  of subdivision 3 of section 461-b of the social
 services law, as amended by chapter 591 of the laws of 1999, is  amended
 to read as follows:
   (a)  The department shall not approve an application for establishment
 of an adult care facility unless it is satisfied insofar as  applicable,
 as  to  (i)  the character, competence and standing in the community, of
 the applicant; provided, however, with respect to any such applicant who
 is already or within the past ten years has been an incorporator, direc-
 tor, sponsor, stockholder, operator, administrator, member or  owner  of
 any  adult  care facility which has been issued an operating certificate
 by the board or the department, or of a halfway house, hostel  or  other
 residential facility or of a program or facility licensed or operated by
 a health, mental hygiene, social services or education agency or depart-
 ment  of  this  or  any  state, or a program serving persons with mental
 disabilities, or other persons with disabilities as defined in  subdivi-
 sion  twenty-one of section two hundred ninety-two of the executive law,
 the aged, children or other persons receiving  health,  mental  hygiene,
 residential,  social or educational services, no approval of such appli-
 cation shall be granted unless the department shall  affirmatively  find
 by  substantial  evidence as to each such applicant that a substantially
 consistent high level of care is being or was  being  rendered  in  each
 such  facility  or  institution  with which such person is or was affil-
 iated; for the purposes of this paragraph, there may be a finding that a
 substantially consistent high level of  care  has  been  rendered  where
 there have been violations of applicable rules and regulations, that (1)
 did not threaten to directly affect the health, safety or welfare of any
 patient  or  resident, [and] (2) DID NOT VIOLATE RIGHTS OF A RESIDENT OF
 THE FACILITY, AND (3) were promptly corrected and  not  recurrent;  (ii)
 the  financial  resources  of  the  proposed facility and its sources of
 future revenue; and (iii) such other matters as it shall deem pertinent,
 INCLUDING, FOR ADULT HOMES, ENRICHED HOUSING PROGRAMS, OR RESIDENCES FOR
 ADULTS, PUBLIC COMMENT RECEIVED BY THE DEPARTMENT. IN THE CASE OF APPLI-
 CATIONS FOR ADULT HOMES, ENRICHED HOUSING PROGRAMS,  OR  RESIDENCES  FOR
 ADULTS, THE DEPARTMENT SHALL POST ON ITS WEBPAGE, AND WITH NOTICE TO THE
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 LONG TERM CARE OMBUDSMAN PROGRAM, AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, AND
 SHALL ACCEPT COMMENTS BY ELECTRONIC OR REGULAR MAIL.
   § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
 it  shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be  made  and
 completed on or before such effective date.