While California lawmakers consider backup power requirements in assisted living communities, Texas and Maryland lawmakers have adopted legislation aimed at increasing safety in senior living communities, improving transparency and accountability in Medicaid home- and community-based service settings, or increasing public education about Alzheimer’s disease.
Backup power campaign comes to California
An attempt to set parameters around backup power in assisted living communities in California is being met with opposition from industry experts.
SB 435 would require residential care facilities for the elderly with 16 or more residents to have an alternative power source to protect resident health and safety for no less than 72 hours during any type of power outage. The bill would impose specific requirements based on whether a community uses a generator or battery or a combination of batteries and a renewable electrical generational source.
The existing law requires communities to have a plan in place to deal with emergencies for at least 72 hours, but it does not specify mandatory power sources.
LeadingAge California said that although it fully supports efforts to protect resident safety during power outages, it opposes the bill in its current form due to the “significant cost burdens” it would place on assisted living providers, saying that the financial pressures could force community closures.
“At a time when California grapples with a growing need for affordable long-term services for older adults, this legislation risks further reducing availability — particularly for low- and middle-income individuals,” Amber King, LeadingAge California vice president for legislative affairs, told McKnights Senior Living. “LeadingAge California is committed to policies that expand access to long-term services and supports, including assisted living, and is actively working with the author’s office to develop alternative language that enhances resident safety while minimizing adverse impacts on providers and access to care.”
The California Assisted Living Association said that providers take resident and staff safety seriously and already follow “strong existing” emergency preparedness laws that include sheltering in place for up to 72 hours.
“Unfortunately, this bill poses significant implementation challenges related to large, permanently installed generators and on-site fuel storage that could prove insurmountable to many,” CALA President and CEO Heather Harrison told McKnight’s Senior Living.
Meanwhile, in Texas, after two failed attempts to require permanent backup power at assisted living communities, lawmakers are trying again, filing several bills requiring generators in assisted living communities and nursing homes.
The actions in California and Texas follow actions taken in other states:
- For instance, Hurricane Irma prompted Florida to pass backup power legislation for assisted living communities and nursing homes in 2018.
- Virginia passed a law in 2019 that requires assisted living communities to maintain adequately sized emergency generators or to accept mobile generators.
- And Oregon requires assisted living communities offering ventilator-assisted care to have functional emergency backup generators.
- Maryland requires assisted living communities to have emergency electrical power generators on site.
In 2023, the US Senate Finance Committee and Senate Special Committee on Aging recommended that states consider adopting emergency power requirements for assisted living and other residential care settings, as well as better emergency communications between assisted living communities and nursing homes and state and local authorities.
Texas bill creates senior living safety standards
Meanwhile, in Texas, lawmakers have unanimously passed SB 1283, which establishes new statewide standards for resident safety in senior living communities by addressing transparency, communication and risk prevention.
The bill, motivated by convicted senior living serial killer Billy Chemirmir, mandates criminal history background checks for senior living employees, requires transparency in whether third-party service providers also conduct background checks, and enforces a communication policy to keep residents informed about criminal incidents and trespassing within their communities.
Several notable changes from the original bill reflect a broader scope of the bill, clarification of involvement mechanisms, and easier compliance for senior living communities, according to the bill sponsor, state Sen. Tan Parker (R-Flower Mound). One of the major modifications was the expansion of the definition of a “senior retirement community” to include both leased and owned units, extending the bill’s applicability to condominiums for older adults and other ownership-based residential models. The change, according to Parker, was made to ensure that safety and communication standards would be appalled across various types of senior living settings.
Chemirmir was convicted of murdering two older women and was thought to potentially be behind at least two dozen deaths, mostly of female residents of senior living communities. He was murdered in prison in 2023.
His actions prompted the families of his victims and alleged victims to push for safety measures at independent living communities. SB 1283, if signed into law by the governor, would be the second bill spurred by the murders to be signed into law. SB 1132, filed by state Sen. Nathan Johnson (D-Dallas), regulating precious metal dealers, including cash-for-gold and pawn shops, where Chemirmir sold the jewelry he allegedly stole.
Maryland adopts package of care-focused bills
In Maryland, Gov. Wes Moore (D) recently signed a sweeping package of care-focused legislation into law, including bills that affect home- and community-based settings and public education about Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
The Maryland Interested Parties Group Act aims to enhance transparency and accountability for HCBS providers in the state. HB 1142 also ensures that direct care workers, providers and consumers have input into Medicaid provider reimbursement rates.
Another bill signed into law, the Alzheimer’s Treatment and Public Health Surveillance Act, SB 748, aims to improve data collection and increase awareness of Alzheimer’s disease. The new law requires the Maryland Department of Health to establish a website that includes information on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, including Food ad Drug Administration-approved treatments.
Source: McKnights Seniorliving
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