The Legislature hereby finds and declares that in order to protect the health and safety of elders in care at residential care facilities for the elderly, appropriate oversight and regulation of residential care facilities for the elderly requires regular, periodic inspections of these facilities in addition to investigations in response to complaints. It is the intent of the Legislature to increase the frequency of unannounced inspections pursuant to Section 1569.33. In addition to the information that the State Department of Social Services is required to report during the 2015-16 legislative budget subcommittee hearings pursuant to Section 85 of Chapter 29 of the Statutes of 2014, the department shall also at that time report the projected costs of conducting annual inspections of residential care facilities for the elderly beginning January 1, 2018.

(Added by Stats. 2014, Ch. 704, Sec. 2. (SB 895) Effective January 1, 2015.)