Amended  IN  Assembly  July 05, 2019
Amended  IN  Senate  May 21, 2019
Amended  IN  Senate  April 25, 2019
Amended  IN  Senate  April 01, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 683

Introduced by Senator Grove

February 22, 2019

An act to amend Section 4629.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to developmental services.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 683, as amended, Grove. Developmental services: regional centers.
Existing law, the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act, requires the State Department of Developmental Services to contract with private nonprofit corporations for the establishment of regional centers to provide services and supports to individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.
Existing law requires a regional center to include specified information on its internet website for the purpose of promoting transparency and access to public information, including, among other things, regional center annual independent audits and purchase of service policies. Existing law requires the department to establish and maintain a transparency portal on its internet website that allows consumers, families, advocates, and others to access provider and regional center information, and requires posted information on the department’s internet website transparency portal to include, among other things, a link to each regional center’s internet website information.
This bill would, on or before July 1, 2020, require the department, in consultation with stakeholders, to determine the most appropriate machine-readable format to be used when disclosing numeric data and would, on or before January 1, 2021, require the department and regional centers to provide all numeric data disclosed to the public in a machine-readable format, as specified, in addition to any other format in which the data may be provided. that format. The bill would also, on or before June 30, July 1, 2020, require the department to develop, provide to regional centers, and post on its internet website, in consultation with stakeholders, transparency guidelines for the disclosure of information that regional centers are required to post on their internet website pursuant to existing law. websites. The bill would require the department to post the finalized transparency guidelines on its internet website. The bill would, on or before January 1, 2021, require each regional center to ensure that all disclosures of publicly disclosed information made by the regional center on its internet website are accessible through a public disclosures menu located on the homepage of its internet website, and that the regional center’s internet website conforms to the transparency guidelines developed by the department. guidelines.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 4629.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:

4629.5.
 (a) In addition to the requirements set forth in Section 4629, the department’s contract with a regional center shall require the regional center to adopt, maintain, and post on its internet website a board-approved policy regarding transparency and access to public information. The transparency and public information policy shall provide for timely public access to information, including, but not limited to, information regarding requests for proposals and contract awards, service provider rates, documentation related to establishment of negotiated rates, audits, and IRS Form 990. The transparency and public information policy shall be in compliance with applicable law relating to the confidentiality of consumer service information and records, including, but not limited to, Section 4514.
(b) To promote transparency, each regional center shall include on its internet website, as expeditiously as possible, at least all of the following:
(1) Regional center annual independent audits.
(2) Biannual fiscal audits conducted by the department.
(3) Regional center annual reports pursuant to Section 4639.5.
(4) Contract awards, including the organization or entity awarded the contract, and the amount and purpose of the award.
(5) Purchase of service policies and any other policies, guidelines, or regional center-developed assessment tools used to determine the transportation, personal assistant, or independent or supported living service needs of a consumer.
(6) The names, types of service, and contact information of all vendors, except consumers or family members of consumers.
(7) Board meeting agendas and approved minutes of open meetings of the board and all committees of the board.
(8) Bylaws of the regional center governing board.
(9) The annual performance contract and yearend performance contract entered into with the department pursuant to this division.
(10) The biannual Home and Community-based Services Waiver program review conducted by the department and the State Department of Health Care Services.
(11) The board-approved transparency and public information policy.
(12) The board-approved conflict-of-interest policy.
(13) Reports required pursuant to Section 4639.5.
(14) A link to the page on the department’s internet website, specified in subdivision (d).
(15) The salaries, wages, and employee benefits for all managerial positions for which the primary purpose is the administrative management of the regional center, including, but not limited to, directors and chief executive officers.
(16) Regional center-specific reports generated pursuant to, and for the purposes of, subdivision (h) of Section 4571.
(c) The department shall establish and maintain a transparency portal on its internet website that allows consumers, families, advocates, and others to access provider and regional center information. Posted information on the department’s internet website transparency portal shall include, but need not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) A link to each regional center’s internet website information referenced in subdivision (b).
(2) Biannual fiscal audits conducted by the department.
(3) Vendor audits.
(4) Biannual Home and Community-based Services Waiver program reviews conducted by the department and the State Department of Health Care Services.
(5) Biannual targeted case management program and federal nursing home reform program reviews conducted by the department.
(6) Early Start Program reviews conducted by the department.
(7) Annual performance contract and year-end performance contract reports.
(d) The department shall establish and maintain a page on its internet website that includes both a list of services purchased by regional centers or provided directly to consumers by regional centers and a brief description of those services.
(e) (1) On or before July 1, 2020, the department, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, including, but not limited to, regional centers, regional center consumers, and consumer advocates, shall determine the most appropriate machine-readable format, including, but not limited to, comma-separated values (.csv), to be used by the department and regional centers when disclosing numeric data to the public.
(2) On or before January 1, 2021, the department and regional centers shall provide all numeric data disclosed to the public, including, but not limited to, data made available on their respective internet websites or upon request, in the machine-readable format determined pursuant to paragraph (1).
(f) On or before January 1, 2021, each regional center shall include on its internet website a public disclosures menu in order to facilitate ease of access to information disclosed to the public.
(g) (1) (A) On or before July 1, 2020, the department, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, including, but not limited to, regional centers, regional center consumers, and advocates, shall develop transparency guidelines for the disclosure of information that regional centers are required to post on their internet websites, which shall include uniform standards for the public disclosures menu described in subdivision (f).
(B) In developing the transparency guidelines pursuant to subparagraph (A), the department shall hold at least one public hearing to allow members of the public and other interested parties to provide input in person.
(C) The department shall, upon finalization of the transparency guidelines developed pursuant to subparagraph (A), provide the transparency guidelines to regional centers and shall post the transparency guidelines on the department’s internet website.
(2) On or before January 1, 2021, each regional center shall ensure that all publicly disclosed information made available on its internet website complies with the transparency guidelines developed pursuant to paragraph (1).

SECTION 1.Section 4629.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:
4629.5.

(a)In addition to the requirements set forth in Section 4629, the department’s contract with a regional center shall require the regional center to adopt, maintain, and post on its internet website a board-approved policy regarding transparency and access to public information. The transparency and public information policy shall provide for timely public access to information, including, but not limited to, information regarding requests for proposals and contract awards, service provider rates, documentation related to establishment of negotiated rates, audits, and IRS Form 990. The transparency and public information policy shall be in compliance with applicable law relating to the confidentiality of consumer service information and records, including, but not limited to, Section 4514.

(b)To promote transparency, each regional center shall include on its internet website, as expeditiously as possible, at least all of the following:

(1)Regional center annual independent audits.

(2)Biannual fiscal audits conducted by the department.

(3)Regional center annual reports pursuant to Section 4639.5.

(4)Contract awards, including the organization or entity awarded the contract, and the amount and purpose of the award.

(5)Purchase of service policies.

(6)The names, types of service, and contact information of all vendors, except consumers or family members of consumers.

(7)Board meeting agendas and approved minutes of open meetings of the board and all committees of the board.

(8)Bylaws of the regional center governing board.

(9)The annual performance contract and yearend performance contract entered into with the department pursuant to this division.

(10)The biannual Home and Community-based Services Waiver program review conducted by the department and the State Department of Health Care Services.

(11)The board-approved transparency and public information policy.

(12)The board-approved conflict-of-interest policy.

(13)Reports required pursuant to Section 4639.5.

(14)A link to the page on the department’s internet website specified in subdivision (d).

(15)The salaries, wages, and employee benefits for all managerial positions for which the primary purpose is the administrative management of the regional center, including, but not limited to, directors and chief executive officers.

(c)The department shall establish and maintain a transparency portal on its internet website that allows consumers, families, advocates, and others to access provider and regional center information. Posted information on the department’s internet website transparency portal shall include, but need not be limited to, all of the following:

(1)A link to each regional center’s internet website information referenced in subdivision (b).

(2)Biannual fiscal audits conducted by the department.

(3)Vendor audits.

(4)Biannual Home and Community-based Services Waiver program reviews conducted by the department and the State Department of Health Care Services.

(5)Biannual targeted case management program and federal nursing home reform program reviews conducted by the department.

(6)Early Start Program reviews conducted by the department.

(7)Annual performance contract and year-end performance contract reports.

(d)The department shall establish and maintain a page on its internet website that includes both a list of services purchased by regional centers or provided directly to consumers by regional centers and a brief description of those services.

(e)(1)On or before January 1, 2021, the department and regional centers shall provide all numeric data disclosed to the public, including, but not limited to, data made available on their internet website or upon request, in a machine-readable format, such as comma-separated values (.csv), in addition to any other format in which the data may be provided.

(2)The department, in collaboration with regional centers and other relevant stakeholders, shall determine the appropriate machine-readable format to be used by the department and regional centers in implementing this subdivision.

(f)(1)(A)On or before June 30, 2020, the department shall develop, provide to regional centers, and post on its internet website, transparency guidelines for the disclosure of information, whether numeric or nonnumeric in nature, that regional centers are required to post on their internet website pursuant to existing law.

(B)The transparency guidelines shall include uniform standards for the public disclosures menu described in paragraph (2), including, but not limited to, the location and title of the public disclosures menu on the homepage of each regional center’s internet website and the title, format, content, and ease of access of each specific disclosure listed in the public disclosures menu.

(C)In formulating the transparency guidelines, the department shall solicit stakeholder input and hold at least one public hearing to allow stakeholders and other interested parties to provide input in person.

(2)On or before January 1, 2021, each regional center shall ensure both of the following:

(A)All disclosures of information made by the regional center on its internet website are accessible through a public disclosures menu located on the homepage of its internet website.

(B)The regional center’s internet website conforms to the transparency guidelines, including the uniform standards for the public disclosures menu, developed pursuant to paragraph (1).