(a) The department shall adopt regulations setting forth the minimum number of equivalent nursing hours per patient required in skilled nursing and intermediate care facilities, subject to the specific requirements of Section 14110.7 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. However, notwithstanding Section 14110.7 or any other law, commencing January 1, 2000, the minimum number of actual nursing hours per patient required in a skilled nursing facility shall be 3.2 hours, except as provided in Section 1276.9.

(b) (1) For the purposes of this section, “nursing hours” means the number of hours of work performed per patient day by aides, nursing assistants, or orderlies plus two times the number of hours worked per patient day by registered nurses and licensed vocational nurses (except directors of nursing in facilities of 60 or larger capacity) and, in the distinct part of facilities and freestanding facilities providing care for persons with developmental disabilities or mental health disorders by licensed psychiatric technicians who perform direct nursing services for patients in skilled nursing and intermediate care facilities, except when the skilled nursing and intermediate care facility is licensed as a part of a state-owned hospital or developmental center, and except that nursing hours for skilled nursing facilities means the actual hours of work, without doubling the hours performed per patient day by registered nurses and licensed vocational nurses.

(2) Concurrent with implementation of the first year of rates established under the Medi-Cal Long Term Care Reimbursement Act of 1990 (Article 3.8 (commencing with Section 14126) of Chapter 7 of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code), for the purposes of this section, “nursing hours” means the number of hours of work performed per patient day by aides, nursing assistants, registered nurses, and licensed vocational nurses (except directors of nursing in facilities of 60 or larger capacity) and, in the distinct part of facilities and freestanding facilities providing care for persons with developmental disabilities or mental health disorders, by licensed psychiatric technicians who performed direct nursing services for patients in skilled nursing and intermediate care facilities, except when the skilled nursing and intermediate care facility is licensed as a part of a state-owned hospital or developmental center.

(c) Notwithstanding Section 1276, the department shall require the utilization of a registered nurse at all times if the department determines that the services of a skilled nursing and intermediate care facility require the utilization of a registered nurse.

(d) (1) Except as otherwise provided by law, the administrator of an intermediate care facility/developmentally disabled, intermediate care facility/developmentally disabled habilitative, or an intermediate care facility/developmentally disabled—nursing shall be either a licensed nursing home administrator or a qualified intellectual disability professional as defined in Section 483.430 of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(2) To qualify as an administrator for an intermediate care facility for the developmentally disabled, a qualified intellectual disability professional shall complete at least six months of administrative training or demonstrate six months of experience in an administrative capacity in a licensed health facility, as defined in Section 1250, excluding those facilities specified in subdivisions (e), (h), and (i).

(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 52, Sec. 2. (SB 97) Effective July 10, 2017.)