SB1098 - 541R

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 36-405, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE36-405. Powers and duties of the director

A. The director shall adopt rules to establish minimum standards and requirements for the construction, modification and licensure of health care institutions necessary to ensure the public health, safety and welfare. The standards and requirements shall relate to the construction, equipment, sanitation, staffing for medical, nursing and personal care services, and recordkeeping pertaining to the administration of medical, nursing, behavioral health and personal care services, in accordance with generally accepted practices of health care. The director shall use the current standards adopted by the joint commission on accreditation of hospitals and the commission on accreditation of the American osteopathic association or those adopted by any recognized accreditation organization approved by the department as guidelines in prescribing minimum standards and requirements under this section.

B. The director, by rule, may:

1. Classify and subclassify health care institutions according to character, size, range of services provided, medical or dental specialty offered, duration of care and standard of patient care required for the purposes of licensure. Classes of health care institutions may include hospitals, infirmaries, outpatient treatment centers, health screening services centers and residential care facilities, including secure behavioral health residential facilities. Whenever the director reasonably deems distinctions in rules and standards to be appropriate among different classes or subclasses of health care institutions, the director may make such distinctions.

2. Prescribe standards for determining a health care institution's substantial compliance with licensure requirements.

3. Prescribe the criteria for the licensure inspection process.

4. Prescribe standards for the selection of health care-related demonstration projects.

5. Establish nonrefundable application and licensing fees for health care institutions, including a grace period and a fee for the late payment of licensing fees, and fees for architectural plans and specifications reviews.

6. Establish a process for the department to notify a licensee of the licensee's licensing fee due date.

7. Establish a process for a licensee to request a different licensing fee due date, including any limits on the number of requests by the licensee.

C. The director, by rule, shall adopt licensing provisions that facilitate the colocation and integration of outpatient treatment centers that provide medical, nursing and health‑related services with behavioral health services consistent with article 3.1 of this chapter.

D. Ninety percent of the fees collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited, pursuant to sections 35‑146 and 35‑147, in the health services licensing fund established by section 36‑414 and ten percent of the fees collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited, pursuant to sections 35‑146 and 35‑147, in the state general fund.

E. Subsection B, paragraph 5 of this section does not apply to a health care institution operated by a state agency pursuant to state or federal law or to adult foster care residential settings. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Housing assistance pilot program; advisory board; report; delayed repeal

A. The housing assistance pilot program is established to provide grants to assist individuals who are transitioning off of public assistance or who are eligible for housing pursuant to subsection C, paragraph 3 of this section in securing housing.

B. The housing assistance advisory board is established to administer the pilot program. The advisory board consists of the following members:

1. The director of the Arizona health care cost containment system administration or the director's designee.

2. The director of the state department of corrections or the director's designee.

3. The director of the Arizona department of housing or the director's designee.

4. The director of the department of economic security or the director's designee.

C. The advisory board shall:

1. Establish criteria for housing assistance grants.

2. Establish the application process for housing assistance grants.

3. Award housing assistance grants to qualified applicants. The grant monies may be spent for seriously mentally ill persons in the following settings:

(a) A community living home that is for persons who hold their own leases and that has embedded in-home support to meet the individualized needs of the person and up to twenty-four hours of support and supervision as indicated by the person's individual treatment plan.

(b) A behavioral health residential facility that:

(i) Is licensed by the department of health services.

(ii) Provides in-house wraparound services and secure twenty‑four‑hour on-site support, treatment and supervision by staff with behavioral health training for persons who have serious mental illness of sufficient severity as to require assistance to live in the community and who are subject to a plan of care that is ordered by a mental health court, a mental health division of the probate court, a criminal court as part of a plea agreement or judgment and conviction or a court as part of guardianship proceedings or that is part of a diversion agreement entered into with a law enforcement agency.

4. Submit a report regarding the advisory board's activities, the number of housing assistance grants awarded and the results of the pilot program on or before December 15, 2022 to the governor, the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives and provide a copy of this report to the secretary of state.

D. The advisory board may accept matching grant monies from any lawful source.

E. This section is repealed from and after September 30, 2023.

Sec. 3. Seriously mentally ill residential setting; program study

The Arizona health care cost containment system administration shall issue a request for proposals for a third-party entity to conduct a program study that measures the outcomes of seriously mentally ill residents in each setting described in section 2, subsection C, paragraph 3 of this act for a twelve-month period. The program study shall include an analysis of costs and effectiveness of the services provided in each setting that takes into consideration the encounters of the seriously mentally ill residents related to inpatient care, emergency department visits, hospitalization, civil commitment proceedings, incarceration, homelessness, employment, community engagement, encounters with police and fire personnel, including petitioning and contact with crisis centers, citation in lieu of detention, jail bookings and other contact with first responders.

Sec. 4. Department of health services; rules; exemption from rulemaking

A. On or before January 1, 2020, the director of the department of health services shall adopt rules to allow a behavioral health residential facility to be a secure facility if the behavioral health residential facility is the least restrictive environment that meets the resident's treatment needs and the resident is an incapacitated person as defined in section 14-5101, Arizona Revised Statutes, and is either ordered by the court or part of a post-conviction or pretrial diversion agreement to a secure behavioral health residential facility. The director may use the assisted living facility rules as guidelines in determining standards for a secure residential facility.

B. The department of health services is exempt from the rulemaking requirements of title 41, chapter 6, Arizona Revised Statutes, for one year after the effective date of this act. The department shall provide the public an opportunity to comment on the proposed rules.

Sec. 5. Appropriation; purposes of this act

The sum of $5,000,000 is appropriated from the state general fund in fiscal year 2019-2020 to the housing assistance advisory board for the purposes of this act.

Sec. 6. Legislative intent

It is the intent of the legislature to provide housing assistance grant monies to assist individuals in securing housing and full employment.