Bill > S368

Introduced Session

This bill requires that the temperature within emergency shelters, rooming and boarding houses, nursing homes, and residential health care facilities be maintained within a range of 65 through 81 degrees Fahrenheit. This standard would not apply to nursing facilities, or to residential health care facilities that are owned by a licensed health care facility and licensed by the Department of Health, that are in compliance with the federal regulatory standard for nursing homes participating in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, which requires facilities to maintain a temperature range of 71 to 81 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature requirements under this bill would be restricted to areas of the facilities that are used by the residents or patients. The temperature requirements would not apply to rooms designated for activities requiring physical exertion, or rooms where residents can individually control the temperature in their own living units, independent from other areas. In the case of nursing homes and residential health care facilities, current law permits the Commissioner of Health to waive certain air conditioning requirements if compliance with the requirements would cause serious financial hardship, or if the nursing home or residential health care facility has not been constructed or expanded since August 17, 1989. This bill does not remove these existing exceptions to temperature control requirements. The bill would permit the commissioner to additionally grant a waiver to nursing homes or residential health care facilities in the case of an unusual event resulting from causes outside the control of the facility, including a government-declared state of emergency or disaster, which results in the facility being unable to maintain the temperature requirements of the bill.

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Richard Codey (D)*,  Robert Gordon (D),  Nellie Pou (D), 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee (on 01/12/2016)