Certified or licensed substance use disorder facilities and programs: maximum penalty.

Existing law requires the State Department of Health Care Services to license and regulate facilities that provide residential nonmedical services to adults who are recovering from problems related to alcohol, drug, or alcohol and drug misuse or abuse, and who need alcohol, drug, or alcohol and drug recovery treatment or detoxification services. Existing law also requires the department to implement a voluntary certification program for alcohol and other drug treatment recovery services. Existing law prohibits specified persons, programs, or entities from giving or receiving remuneration or anything of value for the referral of a person who is seeking alcoholism or drug abuse recovery and treatment services. Existing law authorizes the department to investigate allegations of violations of that prohibition and to impose sanctions for a violation, including assessing a penalty or suspending or revoking the license of a facility or the certification of a program. This bill would require the department, upon finding that a person, program, or entity willfully violated the prohibition on giving or receiving remuneration described above, to impose a fine of not more than $10,000 for the first violation and not more than $50,000 for each subsequent violation.