State Department of Public Health: regulations and program flexibility.

The Administrative Procedure Act governs the procedure for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations by state agencies and for the review of those regulatory actions by the Office of Administrative Law. Existing law establishes within state government the State Department of Public Health for purposes of administering certain duties and powers related to public health, as specified. Existing law authorizes the department to adopt and enforce regulations for the execution of its duties, as specified. This bill would require the State Department of Public Health to report to the Legislature by January 1, 2020, on its efforts to update or modernize its regulations, as specified, including with regard to its use of program flex waivers. The bill would also require the department to focus on adopting amendments to regulations related to cardiovascular surgery and cardiac catheterization laboratory services. The bill would require a health facility that received program flexibility from the department to post a notice stating that it has been approved for program flexibility and where documents are available for inspection, as specified. The bill would prohibit a health facility from being required to post the documents requesting or granting program flexibility.