2023 California Code › Health and Safety Code - HSC › DIVISION 107 - HEALTH CARE ACCESS AND INFORMATION › PART 7 - FACILITIES DESIGN REVIEW AND CONSTRUCTION › CHAPTER 1 - Health Facilities › ARTICLE 9 - Hospital Owner Responsibilities › Section 130068.

130068. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, including, but not limited to, Sections 130060 and 130061, the department may waive the requirements of this chapter, in whole or in part, for O’Connor Hospital and Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in the City of San Jose if both of the following occur:
(1) (A) The hospital or medical center submits to the department, within 30 days following the effective date of this statute, a plan for compliance with the applicable seismic safety standards of this chapter, and the regulations promulgated pursuant to this chapter.
(B) For the O’Connor Hospital seismic update, the plan shall provide for compliance on or before July 1, 2023.
(C) For the Santa Clara Valley Medical Building F (Services Building) Seismic Upgrade, the plan shall provide for compliance on or before July 1, 2025.
(D) For the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center Building N (RSC) Tier 2 Upgrades, the plan shall provide for compliance on or before December 31, 2025.
(E) For the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center Old Main Demolition and Rebuild project, the plan shall provide for compliance on or before July 1, 2026.
(2) The department accepts the plan submitted by the hospital or medical center based on it being feasible to complete and promoting public safety. The department shall not unreasonably reject the plan, unreasonably impose conditions on the acceptance of the plan, or unreasonably withhold or delay acceptance or rejection of the plan.
(b) If the department accepts the hospital’s or medical center’s plan pursuant to subdivision (a), the hospital or medical center shall report to the department, in the manner required by the department, on its progress to timely complete its plan, on or before all of the following dates:
(1) April 1, 2023.
(2) July 1, 2023.
(3) October 1, 2023.
(4) January 1, 2024.
(5) April 1, 2024.
(6) July 1, 2024.
(7) October 1, 2024.
(8) January 1, 2025.
(9) April 1, 2025.
(10) July 1, 2025.
(11) October 1, 2025.
(12) January 1, 2026.
(13) April 1, 2026.
(14) July 1, 2026.
(c) The department may revoke its waiver of the requirements of this chapter, in whole or in part, if O’Connor Hospital or Santa Clara Valley Medical Center fails to timely report progress that the department reasonably deems is sufficient to complete their respective plans if both of the following are true:
(1) The lack of timely reporting, lack of reasonable progress, or both, is not due to unforeseen circumstances outside the control of the County of Santa Clara.
(2) If the office intends to revoke the waiver, or any part of the waiver, the department provides at least 90 days’ written notice to the County of Santa Clara prior to the effective date of the revocation and, during the notice period, the department provides the County of Santa Clara a reasonable opportunity to cure the noncompliance that forms the basis of the intended revocation.
(d) (1) (A) A hospital with a waiver approved under this section shall be subject to penalties for failure to meet milestones expressed in its compliance plan or any requirement of this section.
(B) The county shall bear the responsibility of paying any penalties.
(2) If the county fails to pay the assessed penalty amount within 30 days of the initial notice of penalties from the department, the department shall collect legal interest of 10 percent and the costs associated with recovery of any arrears.
(3) Upon a failure by the county to make a payment to the department within 60 days of notice of penalties, the department shall apply Section 1.4.5.1.2.1 of the California Administrative Code and withhold any building permits except maintenance and emergency repairs.
(4) Upon a failure by the county to make a payment 90 days after the notice of penalties, the department shall collect the full amount due, including costs and interest, either under the authority of Chapter 4.3 (commencing with Section 16580) of Part 2 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code or by withholding the amount from any general fund appropriations.
(e) The provisions of this section shall be retroactively applied so that there is no period of noncompliance if the passage of the act that added this section overlaps with the reporting requirements set forth elsewhere in this article.
(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 304, Sec. 1. (AB 1471) Effective October 4, 2023.)