Bill Text: CA SB1249 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2024-09-21 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 337, Statutes of 2024. [SB1249 Detail]

Download: California-2023-SB1249-Introduced.html

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CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 1249

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Introduced by Senator Roth

February 15, 2024

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An act to amend Section 9000 of, to add Section 9103.5 to, and to repeal and add Sections 9001 and 9002 of, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to older adults.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 1249, as introduced, Roth. Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act.

Existing law, the Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act, establishes the California Department of Aging in the California Health and Human Services Agency, and sets forth its mission to provide leadership to the area agencies on aging in developing systems of home- and community-based services that maintain individuals in their own homes or the least restrictive homelike environments. Existing law requires the department to designate various private nonprofit or public agencies as area agencies on aging to work within a planning and service area and provide a broad array of social and nutritional services. Existing law includes various findings and declarations relating to the purposes of the act

This bill would update and revise those legislative findings and declarations, including recognizing the state’s major demographic shift towards an older, more diverse population and declaring the intent to reform provisions of the act related to various functions of the area agencies on aging. The bill, within specified time periods, would require the department to take various actions to reform the act, including giving counties the option to petition the department to assume control of the area agency on aging that serves the local jurisdiction, developing core programs and services, and developing a statewide public awareness engagement strategy. The bill would authorize the department to enter into exclusive or nonexclusive contracts, as specified, for purposes of administering and implementing the act, and to implement, interpret, or make specific that authority by means of information notices, provider bulletins, or other similar instructions.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 Section 9000 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:

9000.

 This division shall be known, and may be cited, as the Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act, that reflects the policy mandates and directives of the Older Americans Act of 1965, as amended, and sets forth the state’s commitment to its older population and other populations older adults, people with disabilities, and family caregivers served by the programs administered by the California Department of Aging.

SEC. 2.

 Section 9001 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is repealed.

9001.

The Legislature hereby finds and recognizes all of the following:

(a)Older individuals constitute a fundamental resource of the state that previously has been undervalued and poorly utilized, and ways must be found to enable older individuals to apply their competence, wisdom, and experience for the benefit of all Californians.

(b)There is a continuing increase in the number of older individuals in proportion to the total population.

(c)Today, 14 percent of California’s population currently is 60 years of age and over.

(d)By the year 2010, the first influx of baby boomers will constitute 29.2 percent of California’s total population over 60 years of age. By the year 2020, baby boomers will constitute 70.2 percent of California’s total population over 60 years of age.

(e)By the year 2020, older individuals will represent 21 percent of California’s total population.

(f)While the number of persons over 60 years of age is increasing rapidly, the number of older women, minorities and persons over the age of 75 are increasing at an even greater rate.

(g)Among persons over 75 years of age, there is a higher incidence of functional disabilities.

(h)The social and health problems of the older individual are further compounded by inaccessibility to existing services and by the unavailability of a complete range of services.

(i)Services to older individuals are administered by many different agencies and departments at both the state and local level.

(j)The planning and delivery of these services is not carried out with any degree of coordination among those agencies.

(k)Enhanced coordination reduces duplication, eliminates inefficiencies, and enhances service delivery for the consumer.

(l)The ability of the constantly increasing number of aged in the state to maintain self-sufficiency and personal well-being with the dignity to which their years of labor entitle them and to realize their maximum potential as creative and productive individuals are matters of profound importance and concern for all of the people of this state.

SEC. 3.

 Section 9001 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

9001.

 The Legislature hereby finds and recognizes all of the following:

(a) In June 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order No. N-14-19, calling for the creation of a Master Plan for Aging (MPA), which seeks to prepare local communities for the year 2030 when 10.8 million Californians – one in four residents – will be 60 years of age or older. The executive order affirms the priority of the health and well-being of older Californians and the need for policies that promote aging with dignity and independence.

(b) The state’s major demographic shift towards an older, more diverse population requires statewide systems and local structures that do all of the following:

(1) Offer, coordinate, and integrate increasingly complex social, medical, cognitive, and behavioral health supports.

(2) Respond to the needs of a growing number of older adults, people with disabilities and family caregivers.

(3) Affirm the important values of race, ethnicity, language, culture, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

(c) In preparing for the aging of California’s population, the state seeks to eliminate disparities and improve access to services and supports to meet the needs of older adults, people with disabilities, and caregivers.

(d) It is the intent of the Legislature to reform provisions of the Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act related to area agencies on aging with respect to all of the following:

(1) Geography and demographics.

(2) Governance, including area agency on aging designations and planning service area boundaries.

(3) Programs and services.

(4) Performance measures.

(5) Funding sources and capacities.

(6) Public awareness.

SEC. 4.

 Section 9002 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is repealed.

9002.

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a)Programs shall be initiated, promoted, and developed through all of the following:

(1)Volunteers and volunteer groups.

(2)Partnership with local governmental agencies.

(3)Coordinated efforts of state agencies.

(4)Coordination and cooperation with federal programs.

(5)Partnership with private health and social service agencies.

(6)Participation by older individuals in the planning and operation of all programs and services that may affect them.

(b)It shall be the policy of this state to give attention to the unique concerns of our most frail and vulnerable older individuals.

(c)Recognizing the diversity in geography, economy, culture, and lifestyles in California and the diversity of local senior citizen networks, it shall be the policy of this state to encourage and emphasize local control to achieve the most effective blend of state and local authority.

(d)In recognition of the many governmental programs serving seniors, and as specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 9102, the California Department of Aging should coordinate, as existing resources permit, with other state departments in doing all of the following:

(1)Promote clear and simplified access to information assistance and services arrangements.

(2)Ensure that older individuals retain the right of free choice in planning and managing their lives.

(3)Ensure that health and social services are available that do all of the following:

(A)Allow older individuals to live independently at home or with others.

(B)Provide for advocacy for expansion of existing programs that prevent or minimize illness or social isolation, and allow individuals to maximize their dignity and choice of living.

(C)Provide for protection of older individuals from physical and mental abuse, neglect, and fraudulent practices.

(4)Foster both preventive and primary health care, including mental and physical health care, to keep older individuals active and contributing members of society.

(5)Encourage public and private development of suitable housing.

(6)Develop and seek support for plans to ensure access to information, counseling, and screening.

(7)Encourage public and private development of suitable housing and recreational opportunities to meet the needs of older individuals.

(8)Encourage development of efficient community services including access to low-cost transportation services, that provide a choice in supported living arrangements and social assistance in a coordinated manner and that are readily available when needed.

(9)Encourage and develop meaningful employment opportunities for older individuals.

(10)Encourage the development of barrier-free construction and the removal of architectural barriers, so that more facilities are accessible to older individuals.

(11)Promote development of programs to educate persons who work with older individuals in gerontology and geriatrics.

(12)Encourage and support intergenerational programming and participation by community organizations and institutions to promote better understanding among the generations.

(e)The California Department of Aging shall ensure that, to the extent possible, the services provided for in accordance with this division shall be coordinated and integrated with services provided to older individuals by other entities of the state. That integration may include, but not be limited to, the reconfiguration of state departments into a coordinated unit that can provide for multiple services to the same consumers. Services provided under this division shall be managed, directly or through contract, by local area agencies on aging or other local systems.

SEC. 5.

 Section 9002 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

9002.

 (a) The California Department of Aging shall ensure that, to the extent possible, the services provided for in accordance with this division shall be, directly or through contract, provided by local area agencies on aging.

(b) Effective January 1, 2025, a county shall be given the option to petition the department to assume control of the area agency on aging that serves the local jurisdiction. A county shall notify the department of its intent to petition to assume control of the area agency on aging that serves its jurisdiction by June 30, 2025. In consultation with area agencies on aging and stakeholders, the department shall develop and submit regulations to the Office of Administrative Law to effect changes in area agencies on aging designations as contemplated in this paragraph. The department shall submit the updated area agency on aging designations and planning service area map to the Legislature within 90 days of final adoption.

(c) On or before September 30, 2026, and in consultation with area agencies on aging and stakeholders, the department shall develop the core programs and services to be provided by all area agencies on aging.

(d) On or before September 1, 2026, in consultation with area agencies on aging and stakeholders, the department shall submit to the Legislature and the federal Administration for Community Living an update to the intrastate funding formula, based on the revised area agencies on aging designations and planning service area map boundaries, and other factors and weights as required under state and federal statute and regulations.

(e) On or before September 30, 2026, and in consultation with area agencies on aging and stakeholders, the department shall develop objectives, key results, and a performance measurement methodology for core programs and services for adoption by the area agencies on aging. The department shall maintain California’s Data Dashboard for Aging, which shall include updates to reflect demographic changes using validated sources including the United States Census, the Department of Finance, the Elder Index, and the California Healthy Places Index.

(f) In consultation with area agencies on aging and stakeholders, the department shall develop a statewide engagement plan by September 30, 2026. The statewide plan shall seek to raise public awareness of programs and services, identify access points, provide consistent messaging to all audiences, and improve outreach to underrepresented and underserved populations, including Asian-Pacific Islander, Black, Latino, Indigenous, LGBTQ+ older adults, people with disabilities, and caregivers.

SEC. 6.

 Section 9103.5 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

9103.5.

 (a) The department may enter into exclusive or nonexclusive contracts, or amend existing contracts, on a bid or negotiated basis for purposes of administering or implementing the requirements of this division.

(b) Contracts entered into or amended pursuant to this section shall be exempt from Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 14825) of Part 5.5 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, Section 19130 of the Government Code, and Part 2 (commencing with Section 10100) of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code, and shall be exempt from the review or approval of any division of the Department of General Services.

(c) Notwithstanding Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, the department may implement, interpret, or make specific this section, in whole or in part, by means of information notices, provider bulletins, or other similar instructions, without further regulatory action.