Senate committee advances bill to ease assisted-living licensing, shift penalty funds to grants

Senator Camille Blaylock, who represents District 11, told the Senate Health and Welfare Committee that Senate Bill 1102 aims to reduce what she called “over regulation” of assisted-living and residential care communities and to update statute by folding some IDAPA rule language into code. "This seeks to address the over regulation of residential care and assisted living communities in Idaho," Blaylock said in her presentation.

The nut of Blaylock's proposal is threefold: make it easier for providers to open and expand facilities, reduce operational burdens for existing providers, and foster a partnership model between the Department of Health and Welfare and providers rather than an adversarial compliance posture. "First making it easier for providers to open communities and expand here. Second making it easier for providers to operate those communities. And then third, fostering a partnership between the Department of Health and Welfare and those providers," Blaylock said.

Under the bill as described to the committee, licensing procedures would be simplified for new facilities and for existing licensees opening additional buildings; fire, life and safety inspections could carry over when ownership changes; administrators licensed by the state could oversee up to three facilities under a single license; administrators could delegate day-to-day operational duties to on-site managers; and some administrative requirements would be removed…