Senate committee advances SB 434 to lengthen eviction notice and require discharge planning for assisted-living residents

The Senate Human Services Committee voted Thursday to advance SB 434, which would increase eviction notice protections for residents of residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs) and require facilities to demonstrate efforts to secure safe alternative placements when eviction is necessary.

Sen. Dr. Wahab, author of the bill, told the committee the measure is intended to protect vulnerable older adults and Californians with disabilities and to preserve federal Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waiver funding that requires parity with state tenant protections. "SB 434 aligns RCFE eviction protections with the civil code," she said.

Advocates described cases they called "hospital dumping," where residents were removed from facilities after a hospital stay or sudden decline without adequate notice or relocation help. Jacqueline Flores, an advocate with California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR), described repeated calls from family members and gave an example of a resident placed on an involuntary psychiatric hold who was then prevented from returning to the RCFE.

Family members and lived-experience witnesses gave emotional testimony. Carmen Brammer described her mother's hospitalization and a subsequent eviction that, she said, left her mother without a timely placement while critically ill.

Providers and trade associations opposed the bill as drafted. Representatives from 6BEDS, the California Assisted Living Association, and other provider groups said existing RCFE eviction rules already provide more protection than standard landlord-tenant law in many cases and argued that extending notice periods could hinder good-faith dispute resolution or keep unsuitable residents in settings where they posed safety risks to themselves or others. Providers also raised operational concerns about requirements to prepare "safe discharge plans" and the burden of finding placements within a large geographic radius.

The bill passed out of committee on a recorded vote after committee amendments were discussed; committee members asked for technical fixes and said they wanted to avoid unintended consequences for residents. Supporters said the measure would not bar legitimate good-cause evictions and that DHCS/DSS procedures for relocations exist but are infrequently used in practice.

Ending: SB 434 advances to the Judiciary Committee. The author and advocates said they will continue working with providers and licensing agencies to refine the discharge-planning and notice provisions.