Section 1416.70 Of Article 5. Enforcement From California Health And Safety Code >> Division 2. >> Chapter 2.35. >> Article 5.
1416.70
. (a) The program shall establish a system for the issuance
of citations to licensees, examinees, or participants of any program
activity offered or approved by the program. The citations may
contain an order of abatement, an order to pay an administrative fine
assessed by the program chief, or both, where the licensee,
examinee, or participant is in violation of any state or federal
statute or regulation governing licensed nursing home administrators.
(b) The system shall contain all of the following provisions:
(1) Citations shall be in writing and shall describe with
particularity the nature of the violation, including specific
reference to the provision of law determined to have been violated.
(2) Where appropriate, the citation shall contain an order of
abatement fixing reasonable time for abatement of the violation.
(3) (A) Administrative fines assessed by the program shall be
separate from and shall not preclude the levying of any other fines
or any civil or criminal penalty.
(B) In no event shall the administrative fine assessed by the
program be less than fifty dollars ($50) or exceed two thousand five
hundred dollars ($2,500) for each violation. The total assessment
shall not exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each
investigation or for counts involving fraudulent billings submitted
to insurance companies, Medi-Cal, or Medicare programs.
(4) In assessing a fine, the program shall give due consideration
to the appropriateness of the amount of the fine with respect to
factors such as the gravity of the violation, the good faith effort
of the licensee, examinee, or participant, the unprofessional
conduct, including, but not limited to, incompetence and negligence
in the performance of the duties and responsibilities of an
administrator, the extent to which the cited person has mitigated or
attempted to mitigate any damage or injury caused by his or her
violation, whether the violation was related to patient care, the
history of any previous violations, and other matters as may be
appropriate.
(5) A citation or fine assessment issued pursuant to a citation
shall inform the licensee, examinee, or participant that if he or she
desires a hearing to contest the finding of a violation, the hearing
shall be requested by written notice to the program within 30 days
after the date of issuance of the citation or assessment. A licensee
may, in lieu of contesting a citation pursuant to this section,
transmit to the state department 75 percent of the amount specified
in the citation for each violation within 15 business days after the
issuance of the citation.
(6) Failure of a licensee, examinee, or participant to pay a fine
within 30 days of the date of the assessment, unless the citation is
being appealed, may result in further disciplinary action being taken
by the program. Where a citation is not contested and a fine is not
paid, the full amount of the assessed fine, along with any accrued
penalty interest, shall be added to the fee for renewal of the
license. A license shall not be renewed without payment of the
renewal fee, fine, and accrued interest penalty. A citation may be
issued without the assessment of an administrative fine.
(c) Assessment of administrative fines may be limited to only
particular violations of the applicable licensing act.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, where a fine is paid to
satisfy an assessment based on the finding of a violation, payment of
the fine shall be represented as satisfactory resolution of the
matter for purposes of public disclosures. Administrative fines
collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the State
Department of Public Health Licensing and Certification Program Fund
established by Section 1266.9.