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Senate hears SB 596 to define hospitals’ on‑call lists and allow emergency regulations for psychiatric‑hospital staffing
Summary
SB 596 would define what qualifies as an on‑call list for hospitals to claim exemptions from nurse‑staffing penalties, require that an on‑call list represent at least 10% of nursing staff (subject to amendment), and authorize emergency rulemaking for staffing in psychiatric hospitals.
Senators in the Health Committee heard SB 596, a bill to tighten enforcement and clarify exemptions to existing nurse‑staffing ratio laws. The 2019 law that set penalties for staffing violations allowed an exemption when hospitals could show they had exhausted an on‑call list, but the definition of an on‑call list has been contested.
Senator Menjivar, the author, said SB 596 will define the on‑call list to require a pool representing about 10% of a hospital’s nurse staffing, clarify that separate daily violations be treated as distinct enforcement…
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