State Department of Health Care Services: substance abuse treatment: disclosures.

Senator Umberg's legislation expands public access to regulatory information about substance abuse treatment facilities by requiring the State Department of Health Care Services to maintain detailed violation records on its website. The bill modifies existing disclosure requirements for licensed alcoholism and drug abuse recovery facilities while establishing new standards for how violation information must be presented to the public.

Under the proposed changes, the department must clearly indicate on its website that violations issued to recovery residences are excluded from its main program status list. The department would also create a new, prominently placed section on its website listing all violations issued to treatment facilities and programs. Each violation entry must include the entity's name, relevant legal citations, a summary of the department's decision, the violation date, and any additional context needed for public understanding.

The legislation maintains existing requirements for treatment facilities to disclose their regulatory status on websites and intake forms while adding privacy safeguards for sensitive information. The department must implement these changes without posting information that would violate state or federal privacy protections, with violations of the disclosure requirements subject to existing statutory penalties.