(a) (1) Each applicant for a license to operate a skilled nursing facility or intermediate care facility shall disclose to the state department the name and business address of each general partner if the applicant is a partnership, or each director and officer if the applicant is a corporation, and each person having a beneficial ownership interest of 5 percent or more in the applicant corporation or partnership.

(2) If any person described in paragraph (1) has served or currently serves as an administrator, general partner, trustee or trust applicant, sole proprietor of any applicant or licensee who is a sole proprietorship, executor, or corporate officer or director of, or has held a beneficial ownership interest of 5 percent or more in, any other skilled nursing facility or intermediate care facility or in any community care facility licensed pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 1500) of this division, the applicant shall disclose the relationship to the state department, including the name and current or last address of the health facility or community care facility and the date the relationship commenced and, if applicable, the date it was terminated.

(3) (A) If the facility is operated by, or is proposed to be operated in whole or part under, a management contract, the names and addresses of any person or organization, or both, having an ownership or control interest of 5 percent or more in the management company shall be disclosed to the state department. This provision shall not apply if the management company has submitted an application for licensure or a change of ownership pursuant to this chapter with the state department and has complied with paragraph (1).

(B) If the management company is a subsidiary of one or more other organizations, the information shall include the names and addresses of the parent organizations of the management company and the names and addresses of any officer or director of the parent organizations. The failure to comply with this subparagraph may result in action to revoke or deny a license. However, once the information that is required under this subparagraph is provided, the action to revoke the license shall terminate.

(4) If the applicant or licensee is a subsidiary of one or more other organizations, the information shall include the names and addresses of the parent organizations of the subsidiary and the names and addresses of any officer or director of the parent organizations.

(5) The information required by this subdivision shall be provided to the state department upon initial application for licensure, and any change in the information shall be provided to the state department 30 calendar days prior to that change, except as provided in Section 1253.3.

(6) The information required by this subdivision and by Section 1253.3 shall be provided to the department upon application for a change of ownership or change of management in compliance with the time requirements of Section 1253.3.

(7) Except as provided in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3), the failure to comply with this section may result in action to revoke or deny a license.

(8) The information required by this section shall be made available to the public upon request, shall be included in the public file of the facility, and by July 1, 2002, shall be included in the department’s automated certification licensing administration information management system.

(b) (1) On and after January 1, 1990, no person may acquire a beneficial interest of 5 percent or more in any corporation or partnership licensed to operate a skilled nursing facility or intermediate care facility, or in any management company under contract with a licensee of a skilled nursing facility or intermediate care facility, nor may any person become an officer or director of, or general partner in, a corporation, partnership, or management company of this type without the prior written approval of the state department. Each application for departmental approval pursuant to this subdivision shall include the information specified in subdivision (a) as regards the person for whom the application is made.

(2) The state department shall approve or disapprove the application, other than an application submitted pursuant to Section 1253.3, within 30 days after receipt thereof, unless the state department, with just cause, extends the application review period beyond 30 days.

(c) The state department may deny approval of a license application or of an application for approval under subdivision (b) if a person named in the application, as required by this section, was an officer, director, general partner, or owner of a 5-percent or greater beneficial interest in a licensee of, or in a management company under contract with a licensee of, a skilled nursing facility, intermediate care facility, community care facility, or residential care facility for the elderly at a time when one or more violations of law were committed therein that resulted in suspension or revocation of its license, or at a time when a court-ordered receiver was appointed pursuant to Section 1327, or at a time when a final Medi-Cal decertification action was taken under federal law. However, the prior suspension, revocation, or court-ordered receivership of a license shall not be grounds for denial of the application if the applicant shows to the satisfaction of the state department (1) that the person in question took every reasonably available action to prevent the violation or violations that resulted in the disciplinary action and (2) that they took every reasonably available action to correct the violation or violations once they knew, or with the exercise of reasonable diligence should have known of, the violation or violations.

(d) No application shall be denied pursuant to this section until the state department first (1) provides the applicant with notice in writing of grounds for the proposed denial of application, and (2) affords the applicant an opportunity to submit additional documentary evidence in opposition to the proposed denial.

(e) Nothing in this section shall cause any individual to be personally liable for any civil penalty assessed pursuant to Chapter 2.4 (commencing with Section 1417) or create any new criminal or civil liability contrary to general laws limiting that liability.

(f) This section shall not apply to a bank, trust company, financial institution, title insurer, controlled escrow company, or underwritten title company to which a license is issued in a fiduciary capacity.

(g) As used in this section, “person” has the same meaning as specified in Section 19.

(h) This section shall not apply to the directors of a nonprofit corporation exempt from taxation under Section 23701d of the Revenue and Taxation Code that operates a skilled nursing facility or intermediate care facility in conjunction with a licensed residential facility, where the directors serve without financial compensation and are not compensated by the nonprofit corporation in any other capacity.

(Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 578, Sec. 6. (AB 1502) Effective January 1, 2023.)