Bill Text: CA SB526 | 2025-2026 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Health facilities: affiliate clinic licensing.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Engrossed) 2026-08-05 - August 5 set for first hearing. Placed on suspense file. [SB526 Detail]

Download: California-2025-SB526-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Assembly  June 11, 2026

Amended  IN  Senate  April 29, 2025

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 526

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Introduced by Senator Menjivar Pérez
(Coauthor: Senator Gonzalez)

February 20, 2025

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An act to add Section 40458.7 to the Health and Safety Code, amend Section 1218.1 of, and to add Section 1218.15 to, the Health and Safety Code, relating to air pollution. health facilities.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 526, as amended, Menjivar Pérez. South Coast Air Quality Management District: air quality. Health facilities: affiliate clinic licensing.

Under existing law, the State Department of Public Health is responsible for the licensing and regulation of clinics, as defined. A violation of these provisions is a crime. Existing law requires any person, firm, association, partnership, or corporation desiring a license for a clinic or a special permit for special services to file with the department a verified application on forms prescribed and furnished by the department. A clinic corporation, on behalf of a primary care clinic that has held a valid, unrevoked, and unsuspended license for at least the immediately preceding 5 years, with no demonstrated history of repeated or uncorrected violations of specified provisions that pose immediate jeopardy to a patient, and that has no pending action to suspend or revoke its license, is authorized to file an affiliate clinic application to establish a primary care clinic at an additional site or a mobile health care unit.

This bill would authorize a clinic corporation on behalf of at least one primary care clinic to file an affiliate clinic application pursuant to the above-described provisions for any of its primary care clinic locations to establish a new primary care clinic at an additional site of a mobile health care unit. The bill would authorize a primary care clinic that meets the conditions for licensure as an affiliate clinic described above to file a change of location or file a change of ownership, as specified. The bill would authorize a primary clinic that meets the conditions for licensure as an affiliate cline to identify a parent clinic or designate a new parent clinic through a simple notice to the department. Because this bill would change the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing law provides for the creation of the South Coast Air Quality Management District (south coast district) in those portions of the Counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino included within the area of the South Coast Air Basin, as specified. Existing law provides that the south coast district is governed by a board consisting of 13 members and requires the district to adopt rules and regulations to carry out the south coast district air quality management plan that are not in conflict with state and federal laws and rules and regulations. The south coast district has adopted the Final 2021 PM10 Maintenance Plan for the South Coast Air Basin, which includes specified air quality attainment rules, including Rule 1157 (PM10 Emission Reductions from Aggregate and Related Operations) (Rule 1157). Rule 1157 establishes performance standards and specifies operational PM10 controls for aggregate and cement operations in order to minimize particulate emissions.

This bill would require the south coast district board to update Rule 1157 to improve air quality and increase data collection. The bill would require the owner or operator of a covered facility, as defined, on or before January 1, 2027, to take specified actions, including maintaining fencing around the entire property fenceline that is a specified height and maintaining open storage piles no taller than 8 feet high, as provided, if the covered facility is within 500 feet of a sensitive receptor. The bill would define a sensitive receptor to mean a residence, school, park, or hospital, among other, similar facilities. The bill would require, on and after July 1, 2027, (1) the owner or operator of a covered facility with a demonstrated history of PM10 emissions at or above the threshold limit set by the south coast district and whose property line is within 500 feet of a sensitive receptor to fully enclose the existing open storage piles and (2) the south coast district to inspect the covered facility monthly until PM10 emissions remain below threshold limits for 3 consecutive months. By imposing additional duties on a local entity, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the south coast district.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Digest Key

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

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Bill Text

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

SECTION 1.

 Section 1218.1 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:

1218.1.

 (a)  A clinic corporation on behalf of a at least one primary care clinic that has held a valid, unrevoked, and unsuspended license for at least the immediately preceding five years, with no demonstrated history of repeated or uncorrected violations of this chapter or a regulation adopted under this chapter that pose immediate jeopardy to a patient, as defined in subdivision (f), and that has no pending action to suspend or revoke its license, may file an affiliate clinic application under this section to establish a new primary care clinic at an additional site or a mobile health care unit, either of which shall hereafter be referred to as the affiliate clinic. The department, upon receipt of the completed affiliate clinic application submitted by the clinic corporation, shall approve a license for the affiliate clinic, the application and issue a new license, without the necessity of first conducting an initial onsite survey, if all of the following conditions are met:

(1)  The clinic corporation that operates the an existing licensed primary care clinic, which shall hereafter be referred to as the parent clinic, has submitted a completed affiliate clinic application and the associated application fee. fee on behalf of the affiliate clinic.

(2)  The parent and affiliate clinics’ corporate officers, as specified in Section 5213 of the Corporations Code, are the same.

(3)  The parent and affiliate clinics are owned and operated by the same nonprofit organization with the same board of directors.

(4)  The parent and affiliate clinics have the same medical director or directors and medical policies, procedures, protocols, and standards.

(b) The affiliate clinic application shall consist solely of a simple form and required supporting documents giving the following information:

(1) The name and address of the clinic corporation’s administrative office.

(2) The name and contact information of the clinic corporation’s chief executive officer or executive director.

(3) The name and address of the new affiliate primary care clinic site or the location of the new affiliate mobile health care unit.

(4) The name and contact information of the administrator of the new affiliate primary care clinic site or mobile health care unit.

(5) The expected days and hours of operation and the services to be provided at the new affiliate primary care clinic site or mobile health care unit.

(6) Evidence that the new affiliate mobile health care unit meets the requirements of the Mobile Health Care Services Act (Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 1765.101)).

(7) The type and the manufacturer of the new affiliate mobile health care unit and the proposed area or areas where the new affiliate mobile health care unit will be providing services.

(8) To the extent otherwise required by law, evidence of compliance with the minimum construction standards for adequacy and safety of the new affiliate clinic’s physical plant, pursuant to the OSHPD 3 requirements of the most recent version of the California Building Standards Code applicable to clinics and subdivision (b) of Section 1226. The compliance may be established in the form prescribed by Section 1226.3.

(9) Evidence of fire clearance for the new affiliate clinic site.

(10) A copy of the lease or purchase agreement for the new affiliate clinic site.

(11) A copy of the transfer agreement between the new affiliate clinic and a local hospital.

(12) A current list of clinic corporation board members.

(c) The affiliate clinic application shall be signed by an officer of the clinic corporation’s board of directors or the clinic corporation’s chief executive officer or executive director.

(d) The department shall issue a clinic license under this section within 30 days of receipt of a completed affiliate clinic application. If approved, a clinic license shall be issued within seven days of approval. If the department determines that an applicant does not meet the conditions stated in subdivision (a), it shall identify, in writing and with particularity, the grounds for that determination, and shall instead process the application in accordance with the time specified in Section 1218.

(e) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the department from conducting a licensing inspection of the affiliate clinic at any time after receipt of the completed affiliate clinic application.

(f) For purposes of this section, “immediate jeopardy to a patient” means a situation in which the clinic’s noncompliance with one or more requirements of licensure has caused, or is likely to cause, serious injury, harm, impairment, or death to a patient.

SEC. 2.

 Section 1218.15 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

1218.15.

 (a) A primary care clinic that meets the conditions for licensure as an affiliate clinic in paragraphs (2) to (4), inclusive, of subdivision (a) of Section 1218.1, regardless of when it was licensed or whether it was initially licensed using the affiliate process described in Section 1218.1, may do either of the following using the process described in subdivisions (b) to (d), inclusive, of Section 1218.1:

(1) File a change of location.

(2) File a change of ownership, provided that the clinic corporation acquiring ownership meets the requirements of a parent clinic in subdivision (a) of Section 1218.1.

(b) (1) A primary care clinic that meets the conditions for licensure as an affiliate clinic in paragraphs (2) to (4), inclusive, of subdivision (a) of Section 1218.1, regardless of when it was licensed or whether it was initially licensed using the affiliate process described in Section 1218.1, shall be permitted to identify a parent clinic through a simple notice to the department.

(2) If primary care clinic described in paragraph (1) identifies a parent clinic that subsequently closes or surrenders its license, the clinic corporation may designate a new parent clinic that meets the requirements of this section through a simple notice to the department.

SEC. 3.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.

SECTION 1.Section 40458.7 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

40458.7.

(a)For the purposes of this section, the following definitions apply

(1)“Covered facility” means permanent and temporary aggregate operations.

(2)“Fence-line monitoring system” means equipment that measures and records air pollutant concentrations at or adjacent to a covered facility that can provide continuous direct reading near real time ambient monitoring of PM10 concentrations.

(3)“Sensitive receptors” means one or more of the following:

(A)A residence, including, but not limited to, a private home, apartment condominium unit, group home, dormitory unit, or retirement home.

(B)A school, including, but not limited to, a preschool, prekindergarten, or school maintaining kindergarten or any grades 1 to 12, inclusive.

(C)A daycare facility, including, but not limited to, in-home daycare.

(D)Publicly owned parks, playgrounds, and recreational areas or facilities primarily used by children.

(E)Nursing homes, long-term care facilities, hospices, convalescent facilities, or similar live-in housing.

(F)A hospital, as defined in Section 128700.

(b)Notwithstanding any other law, the south coast district board shall update Rule 1157 PM10 Emission Reductions from Aggregate and Related Operations to improve air quality and increase data collection. The updated rule shall include, but not limited to, the following:

(1)(A)On or before January 1, 2027, the owner or operator of a covered facility shall do the following:

(i)Maintain fencing around the entire property fenceline that is at least 6 inches taller than the height of the tallest open storage pile.

(ii)Maintain open storage piles no taller than 8 feet high throughout the entire property if the property line of the covered facility is within 500 feet of a sensitive receptor.

(iii)Develop, install, operate, and maintain a fence-line monitoring system in accordance with guidance developed by the south coast district.

(iv)Cease all activities and implement dust mitigation measures if PM10 emissions reach the threshold limit in accordance with guidance developed by the south coast district.

(v)Display prominent signage visible to the general public on the perimeter of the property line in accordance with guidance developed by the south coast district informing the public of the south coast district’s Rule 1157, discharges that would be in violation of the rule, and information about the south coast district’s complaint submission processes.

(B)If the threshold limit has been met or exceeded for PM10 emissions, the owner or operator of a covered facility shall inform the south coast district in accordance with guidance developed by the south coast district.

(C)If the threshold limit has been met or exceeded for PM10 emissions, the owner or operator of a covered facility shall provide public notice in accordance with guidance developed by the south coast district.

(2)On and after July 1, 2027, the following shall apply to a covered facility with a demonstrated history of PM10 emissions at or above the threshold limit set by the south coast district and whose property line is within 500 feet of a sensitive receptor:

(A)The owner or operator of the covered facility shall fully enclose the existing open storage piles.

(B)The south coast district shall inspect the covered facility monthly until PM10 emissions remain below threshold limits for three consecutive months.

SEC. 2.

The Legislature finds and declares that a special statute is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the unique air quality concerns in the South Coast Air Basin.

SEC. 3.

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.

However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.