Hospitals: seismic safety.

Existing law, the Alfred E. Alquist Hospital Facilities Seismic Safety Act of 1983, establishes, under the jurisdiction of the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, a program of seismic safety building standards for certain hospitals constructed on and after March 7, 1973. Existing law provides that, after January 1, 2008, a general acute care hospital building that is determined to be a potential risk of collapse or to pose significant loss of life in the event of seismic activity be used only for nonacute care hospital purposes, except that the office may grant a 5-year extension under prescribed circumstances. Existing law also allows the office to grant an additional 2-year extension in specified circumstances. This bill would authorize a critical access hospital located in the City of Tehachapi to submit a seismic safety extension application, notwithstanding specified deadlines that are earlier than the effective date of this bill, and would require the application to include a timetable, as specified. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the City of Tehachapi. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.