2011 Legislative Session
These bills are the result of the 2011 Legislative Session.
| Bill Number and Title | Description | Affected Section(s) |
|---|---|---|
| H200 State Budget Bill | Home care licensure moratorium. See Section 10.49A on page 135. Prohibits licensure of new home care agencies that intend to offer in-home aide services.
Move Radiation Protection Section from Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources to DHSR effective July 1, 2011. See Section 13.3(e) on page 152. |
Acute and Home Care Radiation Protection |
| H397 DHHS Penalties and Remedies | Implement new penalty/remedy provisions immediately upon signing by Governor. | Adult Care Mental Health Nursing Homes |
| H474 Protect Adult Care Home Residents | Implement annual training program as required by 12/1/11. In 2013 Requires training and passage of exam prior to working as medication aide in an adult care home.
Develop examination for adult care home employees by 10/1/12. Survey for compliance with law by 7/1/2012. |
Adult Care |
| H509 Exclusions for Licensure – Home Services | Cease requiring licensure of certain services under G.S. 122C, Article 2. | Mental Health |
| H618 Streamline Oversight of DHHS Providers | Participate in study, review and recommendations for streamlining oversight processes for DHHS providers. | All Sections |
| H622 Nursing Homes/Food Service Inspections | Reduce food service inspections for nursing homes. | Nursing Homes |
| H677 Discharge of Adult Care Home Residents | Make rule changes under 10A NCAC 13F and 13G as necessary to conform with law. | Adult Care |
| H678 Pilot Release of Inmates to Adult Care Homes | Pilot program is for one facility only.
Allows certain Department of Correction (DOC) or medical release inmates to reside in an adult care home.
Secretary can waiver certain rules (10A NCAC 13F) as needed to protect public health and safety. DHSR will need to coordinate with Division of Aging and Adult Services (DAAS) and DOC on implementing the bill. |
Adult Care |
| H808 Revise Laws on Adult Care Homes | Allows DHSR to conduct inspections of adult care homes every two years for those homes with the highest rated certificates (4 stars).
Mandates DHSR to put an informal dispute resolution process in place similar to what is currently in place for nursing home providers. |
Adult Care |
| S143 Detention Facility Requirements | Amends G.S. 153A-221(d) to read as rewritten:
"(d) Notwithstanding any law or rule to the contrary, each dormitory in a county detention facility may house up to 64 inmates as long as certain dormitory requirements are met.
The law applies only to those counties that have a population in excess of 300,000, according to the most recent decennial federal census.
Amended law also restricts inmate access to certain records absent a court order. |
Construction Section |
| S512 (SL2011-104) Authorize Overnight Respite Pilot | Mandates DHHS to develop rules for licensing overnight respite facilities for adults.
DHSR will need to coordinate with DAAS on rule development. |
Adult Care |
| S578 Facilitate Transfer of State Psychiatric Beds to Community Facility | Allows the Secretary of DHHS to transfer state operated psychiatric beds to a hospital authority that has a single county local management entity (Mecklenburg). | Mental Health |
| S781 Regulatory Reform Act | Removes final agency decision and makes Administrative Law Judges decisions final. | All Sections |
2010 Legislative Session
These bills are the result of the 2010 Legislative Session.
| Bill Number and Title | Description | Affected Section(s) |
|---|---|---|
| H1670 2010 Appointments Bill | Appoints persons to various public offices upon the recommendation of the speaker of the house of representatives and the president pro tempore of the senate and to fill an unexpired term of a member of the board of directors for the North Carolina partnership for children, inc., upon the recommendation of the Majority Leader of the Senate. | OEMS |
| S354 Continuing Care Retirement Community/Home Care | Permits continuing care retirement communities to provide or arrange for home care services without providing lodging when those services are provided adjunct to a contract for continuing care and to require the Department of Insurance and the Department of Health and Human Services to study issues related to continuing care retirement communities providing home care services without providing lodging. | Acute and Home Care |
| S897 Appropriations Act of 2010 | Cost allocation for home care licensing activities of the Acute and Home Care Section that will infuse Medicaid administrative funds in place of state appropriations. Establishes a $25 testing fee for the Adult Care Medication exam. Establishes a $50 fee for Adult Care Home Administrator testing fee and a $30 administrator certificate renewal fee. Home base Adult Care and Mental Health Licensing Sections staff that currently operate out of the Lexington office and close the Lexington office. Replaces, on a non-recurring basis, state appropriations that support nursing home survey and certification activities with nursing home CMP funds. | Acute and Home Care Adult Care Mental Health Nursing Home |
| S900 Studies Act of 2010 | Provide for studies by the Legislative Research Commission, statutory oversight committees and commissions, and other agencies, committees, and commissions. | Nursing Home Mental Health |
| S1191 Nurse Aide Training Review | Directs the Division of Health Service Regulation, Department of Health and Human Services, to coordinate a review of the education and training requirements for nurse aides, as recommended by the North Carolina study commission on aging. | HCPR |
2009 Legislative Session
These bills are the result of the 2009 Legislative Session.
| Bill Number and Title | Description | Affected Section(s) |
|---|---|---|
| H436 Fairness CON Determination/Quality of Life Improvements | Exempts from Certificate of Need (CON) review certain capital expenditures for Nursing Homes, Adult Care Homes, and Intermediate Care Facilities for the mentally retarded that entail innovative renovations and expansions to improve the quality of life. | CON |
| H456 Technical & Organizational Changes/Certain DHHS Licensed Facilities | Makes technical and organizational changes to the law regarding the licensure and inspection of facilities for aged and disabled individuals. | Adult Care |
| H878 EMS Personnel/Recovery Rehabilitation/N.C. Physicians Health Program | Authorizes the Secretary of DHHS to identify programs for aiding in the recovery and rehabilitation of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel with chemical addiction or abuse and to make changes to the North Carolina Physicians Health Program. | EMS |
| H994 Wilson Housing Authority-Aging in Place | Directs DHHS to advise the Housing Authority of the city of Wilson on the requirements for registration as a multiunit assisted housing with services program and on the requirements for licensure as a home care agency in order to assist the Housing Authority with their efforts to help individuals age in place. | Adult Care |
| H1186 DHHS/ Update Current Inspection Practices | Authorizes county Departments of Social Services to conduct follow-up monitoring of adult care homes. | Adult Care |
| H1297 Provider Credentials/Insurer/ Provider Contract |
Clarifies a CON exemption criterion; and modifies inspection practices of certain hospital outpatient locations. | CON Construction |
| H1309 Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Residential Treatment Facilities/TBI Council | Directs the Commission for Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services (MH/DD/SAS) to adopt rules providing for the licensure and accreditation of residential treatment facilities for people with traumatic brain injury and to make changes to the North Carolina Traumatic Brain Injury Advisory Council. | Mental Health |
| S804 CON Changes | Makes changes to CON law with respect to time lines for issuance of a certificate of need; to modify bond requirements for appeals; to prohibit the approval of a CON for certain types of Emergency Departments for a specified time period; and to require DHHS to study the licensure of hospital-based off-site Emergency Departments. | CON Health Planning Acute and Home Care Construction |
| S884 Amend Cigarette Safety Standard/DHHS Electronic Supervision | Directs DHHS, DHSR, to establish a pilot program to study alternative staffing requirements for facilities that use electronic supervision devices and to direct the commission for MH/DD/SAS to adopt rules establishing acceptable electronic supervision standards and related personnel requirements at facilities for children and adolescents who have a primary diagnosis of mental illness and/or emotional disturbance. | Mental Health Licensure |
| S633 Stipulation for final decision by Office of Administrative Hearings | Allows an administrative law judge to make the final decision in a contested case when the disposition of the case has been agreed upon by the parties. | Adult Care CON HCPR Mental Health |
| S202 Appropriations Act of 2009 | Base budget appropriations for current operations of state departments, institutions, and agencies, and for other purposes. Increases license renewal fees, creates fees for initial licenses and provides for the Institute of Medicine to study mixed populations in adult care homes. | All Sections |
| H996 Replace DHHS with UNC Poverty-Adult Care Home/Public Housing Study | Repeals a requirement that DHHS study the feasibility of operating a licensed Adult Care Home in a public housing facility and to direct the UNC Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity to conduct the study. | Adult Care Construction |
| H945 The Studies Act of 2009 | Provides for studies by the Legislative Research Commission, Statutory Oversight Committees and Commissions, and other agencies, committees, and commissions. Two studies identified related to DHSR are the study of the statewide trauma system and the study of requiring long-term care facilities to require drug testing of all applicants for employment and employees. | EMS Adult Care Mental Health Nursing Homes |
2008 Legislative Session
These bills are the result of the 2008 Short Legislative Session.
| Bill Number and Title | Description | Affected Section(s) |
|---|---|---|
| H93 - Wheelchair Transportation Study | Directs the Department of Transportation to study issues relating to individuals being transported in vehicles while seated in wheelchairs. | Adult Care Nursing Home Mental Health |
| H964 - Expand the Definition of Home Care Services | Expands the definition of home care services to include In‑Home Companion, Sitter, and Respite Care services provided to an individual and increases the annual license fee for home care agencies to $400. Fee increase effective January 1, 2009 and service definition effective January 1, 2010. | Acute and Home Care |
| H1113 - Public Duty Doctrine as Affirmative Defense | The act limits the use of the public duty doctrine as an affirmative defense for claims under the state tort claims act in which the injuries of the claimant are the result of the alleged negligent failure of certain parties to protect claimants from the action of others. | All |
| H2409 - Multiunit Assisted housing with services | Establishes a registration fee of $350 as well as penalties for failure to register. Act takes effect on January 1, 2010. | Adult Care |
| H2431 - Legislative Study Bill | Section 2.11. Certificate of Need Process and its Impact on the Availability of Local Health Care Services. | CON |
| Part XIII. Department of Health and Human Services to study the feasibility of operating a licensed adult care home in a public housing facility. | Adult Care | |
| Part XIV. Direct the Department of Health and Human Services to study issues relating to respite care. | Adult Care | |
| Part XXXI. North Carolina Institute of Medicine to study issues relating to access to health care. | CON and Medical Facilities Planning | |
| Part XXXIV. Continue the Joint Legislative Study Committee on Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Management Recovery. | OEMS | |
| Session Law 2008-107 Budget Act | Section 29.5.(a) Increases fees for departmental review of licensed health care facility or Medical Care Commission bond‑financed construction projects. Increase effective July 20, 2008. | Construction |
2007 Legislative Session
These bills are the result of the 2007 Legislative Session.
| Bill Number and Title | Description | Affected Section(s) |
|---|---|---|
| S56 - Adult Care Penalty Review Committee, HCPR Expansion and Adult Care Rating System | The Bill amends the penalty review committee process, expands the Health Care Personnel Registry and authorizes the Medical Care Commission to adopt rules allowing the issuance of rated certificates to adult care homes. | Adult Care Health Care Personnel Registry |
| H535 - EMS Criminal Background Reviews | The Bill authorizes criminal background reviews for current and future EMS personnel. | OEMS |
| H634 - Advance Directives | The Bill clarifies the right to make advance directives and to designate health care agents; and improves and simplifies the means of making these directives and designations. | OEMS |
| H720 - Name Change for DFS | The Bill changes the name of the Division of Facility Services and the Commission for Health Services to better reflect the functions and duties performed by the division and the commission. | All |
| S748 - Extend Restriction on Home Care Licenses | The Bill directs DHHS to extend the restriction on the issuing of licenses for home care agencies by one year (expires January 1, 2009). | Acute and Home Care |
| H772 - Licensure Changes | The Bill authorizes the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to suspend admissions or services in hospitals as part of taking adverse action against a hospital's license; to allow for the waiver of hospital licensure rules during an emergency; to allow criminal background checks of employees of licensed mental health facilities by private entities; and to require fines to be paid prior to transfer of ownership of adult care homes. | Acute and Home Care Mental Health Adult Care |
| H1294 - An act to prohibit smoking inside long-term care facilities. | This Bill prohibits the use or possession of any lighted cigarette, cigar, pipe or other lighted smoking product inside adult care homes, nursing homes, skilled nursing facilities and other licensed facilities that provide long-term care services. | Acute and Home Care Adult Care Nursing Home Mental Health |
| Session Law 2007-323 H1473 State Budget Bill | Section 30.4 changes the fee schedule for CON applications effective October 1, 2007. Section 30.5 changes the fee schedule for Construction Reviews effective October 1, 2007. |
CON Construction |