AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 17, 2026

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 8, 2026

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 1, 2026

AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 27, 2026

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

95

Introduced by Committee on Health (Senators Weber Pierson (Chair), Caballero, Durazo, Gonzalez, Grove, Menjivar, Padilla, Pérez, Rubio, Smallwood-Cuevas, and Valladares)

March 26, 2026

An act to amend Sections 1279.6, 1337.6, 113739.1, 113769, 114020, 114079, 114367.1, 114368.8, 114380, 131365, and 131370 of, and to add Sections 113769.1, 113814.1, and 113823.1 to, the Health and Safety Code, and to add Section 9103.5 to the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to health.

Vote: majority   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: yes   Local program: yes

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

(1) Existing law, the California Retail Food Code, establishes uniform health and sanitation standards for retail food facilities, and defines multiple terms used in those provisions, including egg, food additive, beverage, and catering operation. Existing law requires that frozen potentially hazardous food be thawed in specified ways. A person who violates any provision of the California Retail Food Code is generally guilty of a misdemeanor.

This bill would update the definition of catering operation to mean a permanent food facility approved for food preparation where food is served at a location other than its permitted location in specified circumstances. The bill would also add definitions for the terms egg product, intact meat, and mechanically tenderized.

The bill would also require that reduced oxygen packaged fish bearing a label indicating it is to be kept frozen until time of use be completely removed from the packaging prior to thawing. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The bill would make additional technical changes to these provisions.

Existing law requires a person proposing to build or remodel a food facility to submit complete, easily readable plans drawn to scale, and specifications to the enforcement agency for review, and to receive plan approval before starting any new construction or remodeling of a facility for use as a retail food facility, including school food facilities. Existing law requires existing public and private school cafeterias, limited service charitable feeding operation facilities, and licensed health care facilities to be deemed in compliance with the California Retail Food Code pending replacement or renovation, except when the enforcement agency determines that the nonconforming structural conditions pose a public health hazard.

This bill would, for purposes of the above-described provision, switch limited service charitable feeding operation facilities to existing nonprofit charitable feeding organization facilities whose food service is solely for providing charity.

(2) Existing law authorizes the State Department of Public Health to develop and administer a syndromic surveillance program and, subject to an appropriation, to designate an existing system or to create a new system. Existing law requires the system, at a minimum, to provide local health departments with access to an electronic health system to rapidly collect, evaluate, share, and store syndromic surveillance data, as specified. Existing law authorizes the department to modify the list of data elements, standards, schedules, and instructions at any time, and requires the department to collaborate with local health departments to determine those modifications.

This bill would also authorize the department to implement the above-described items at any time and would require the department to collaborate with local health departments to determine those implementations.

Existing law requires certain entities to submit the required data electronically to the syndromic surveillance system designated by the department in accordance with the schedule, standards, and requirements established by the department. Existing law provides that the data elements, standards, schedule, and instructions for data collection include any element or requirement adopted for use by the Public Health Information Network Messaging Guide for Syndromic Surveillance released in April 2015, or any subsequent versions, under the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Existing law authorizes an entity to decline to report data if the local health department participates in a syndromic surveillance system or maintains its own system that has, or by no later than July 1, 2027, will have, the capacity to transmit data to the department in a specified manner.

This bill would instead require that the data elements, standards, schedule, and instructions for data collection include any department-approved element or requirement. The bill would require reporting to the syndromic surveillance system no later than December 31, 2028, or within one year of official notification by the department, and would authorize declining to report if the local health department’s own system will have the capacity to transmit data to the department in a specified manner by no later than December 31, 2028, or within one year of official notification by the department.

(3) Existing law, the Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act, establishes the California Department of Aging in the California Health and Human Services Agency and sets forth its mission to provide leadership to the area agencies on aging in developing systems of home- and community-based services that maintain individuals in their own homes or least restrictive homelike environments. Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health Office of AIDS, which is responsible for coordinating state programs, services, and activities relating to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and AIDS-related conditions (ARC).

This bill would require the California Department of Aging and State Department of Public Health Office of AIDS to meet annually to collaborate on issues of mutual interest, including supporting seniors with chronic care conditions and comorbidities and the impacts of HIV, AIDS, and sexually transmitted infections on the aging population in California.

(4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 1279.6 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:

1279.6.

(a) A health facility, as defined in subdivision (a), (b), (c), or (f) of Section 1250, shall develop, implement, and comply with a patient safety plan for the purpose of improving the health and safety of patients and reducing preventable patient safety events. The patient safety plan shall be developed by the facility in consultation with the facility’s various health care professionals.

(b) The patient safety plan required pursuant to subdivision (a) shall, at a minimum, provide for the establishment of all of the following:

(1) A patient safety committee or equivalent committee in composition and function. The committee shall be composed of the facility’s various health care professionals, including, but not limited to, physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and administrators. The committee shall do all of the following:

(A) Review and approve the patient safety plan.

(B) Receive and review reports of patient safety events as defined in subdivision (e).

(C) Monitor implementation of corrective actions for patient safety events.

(D) Make recommendations to eliminate future patient safety events.

(E) Review and revise the patient safety plan, at least once a year, but more often if necessary, to evaluate and update the plan and to incorporate advancements in patient safety practices.

(2) A reporting system for patient safety events that allows anyone involved, including, but not limited to, health care practitioners, facility employees, patients, and visitors, to make a report of a patient safety event to the health facility, including anonymous reporting options.

(3) A process for a team of facility staff to conduct analyses, including, but not limited to, root cause analyses of patient safety events. The team shall be composed of the facility’s various categories of health care professionals with the appropriate competencies to conduct the required analyses. The process shall also include analyses of patient safety events, including the following sociodemographic factors, to identify disparities in these events:

(A) Age.

(B) Race.

(C) Ethnicity.

(D) Gender identity.

(E) Sexual orientation.

(F) Preferred language spoken.

(G) Disability status.

(H) Payor.

(I) Sex.

(4) For the purposes of paragraph (3), it is the intent of the Legislature that a health facility use the same stratification categories as developed and defined by the Department of Health Care Access and Information for purposes of Section 127372, which is part of the Medical Equity Disclosure Act (Article 3 (commencing with Section 127370) of Chapter 2 of Part 2 of Division 107). With respect to the information set forth in subparagraphs (D) and (E) of paragraph (3), a health facility shall only be required to disclose information that is voluntarily provided by the patient or client.

(5) A reporting process that supports and encourages a culture of safety and reporting patient safety events.

(6) A process for providing ongoing patient safety training for facility personnel and health care practitioners.

(7) A process for addressing racism and discrimination, and their impact on patient health and safety, that includes, but is not limited to:

(A) Monitoring sociodemographic disparities in patient safety events and developing interventions to remedy known disparities.

(B) Encouraging facility staff to report suspected instances of racism and discrimination.

(c) Commencing January 1, 2026, and biennially thereafter, a health facility shall submit a patient safety plan to the department’s licensing and certification division.

(1) The department may impose a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) on a health facility for failure to adopt, update, or submit a patient safety plan.

(2) The department may grant a health facility an automatic 60-day extension for submitting a biennial patient safety plan.

(d) The department shall make all patient safety plans submitted by health facilities available to the public on its internet website.

(e) For the purposes of this section, patient safety events shall be defined by the patient safety plan and shall include, but not be limited to, all adverse events or potential adverse events as described in Section 1279.1 that are determined to be preventable, and health-care-associated infections (HAI), as defined in the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Healthcare Safety Network, or its successor, unless the department accepts the recommendation of the Healthcare Associated Infection Advisory Committee, or its successor, that are determined to be preventable.

SEC. 3.SEC. 2.

Section 113739.1 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:

113739.1.

(a) “Catering operation” means a permanent food facility approved for food preparation where food is served, or limited food preparation is conducted, at a location other than its permitted location, in either of the following circumstances:

(1) As part of a contracted offsite food service event.

(2) When operating in conjunction with a host facility with direct food sales.

(b) “Catering operation” shall not include either of the following:

(1) Food ordered as takeout or delivery from a food facility, where the food is provided to the consumer for self-service.

(2) A food facility that is participating as part of a community event.

SEC. 4.SEC. 3.

Section 113769 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:

113769.

(a) “Egg” means the shell egg of an avian species that includes chicken, duck, goose, guinea, quail, ratite, or turkey.

(b) “Egg” does not include any of the following:

(1) Balut.

(2) An egg product.

(3) The egg of a reptile species, such as an alligator.

SEC. 5.SEC. 4.

Section 113769.1 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

113769.1.

(a) “Egg product” means all, or a portion of, the contents found inside eggs separated from the shell and pasteurized in a food facility, with or without added ingredients, intended for human consumption, such as dried, frozen, or liquid eggs.

(b) “Egg product” does not include food that contains eggs only in a relatively small proportion such as cake mixes.

SEC. 6.SEC. 5.

Section 113814.1 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

113814.1.

“Intact meat” means a cut of whole muscle meat that has not undergone comminution, mechanical tenderization, vacuum tumbling with solutions, reconstruction, cubing, or pounding.

SEC. 7.SEC. 6.

Section 113823.1 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

113823.1.

“Mechanically tenderized” means manipulating meat by piercing with a set of needles, pins, blades, or any mechanical device, which breaks up muscle fiber and tough connective tissue to increase tenderness. This includes injection, scoring, and processes that may be referred to as blade tenderizing, jaccarding, pinning, or needling.

SEC. 8.SEC. 7.

Section 114020 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:

114020.

(a) Frozen potentially hazardous food shall only be thawed in one of the following ways:

(1) Under refrigeration that maintains the food temperature at 41 degrees or below.

(2) Completely submerged under potable running water for a period not to exceed two hours at a water temperature of 70 degrees or below, and with sufficient water velocity to agitate and flush off loose particles into the sink drain.

(3) In a microwave oven if immediately followed by immediate preparation.

(4) As part of a cooking process.

(b) Reduced oxygen packaged fish that bears a label indicating that it is to be kept frozen until time of use shall be completely removed from the reduced oxygen environment and packaging prior to thawing.

SEC. 9.SEC. 8.

Section 114079 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:

114079.

(a) Except as specified in subdivisions (b) and (c), after being served or sold and in the possession of a consumer, food that is unused or returned by the consumer shall not be offered as food for human consumption.

(b) A container of food that is not potentially hazardous may be transferred from one consumer to another if the food is dispensed so that it is protected from contamination and the container is closed between uses, such as a narrow-neck bottle containing ketchup, steak sauce, or wine, or if the food, such as crackers, salt, or pepper, is in an unopened original package and is maintained in sound condition, and if the food is checked periodically on a regular basis.

(c) (1) A local educational agency may do both of the following to minimize waste and to reduce food insecurity:

(A) Provide sharing tables where food service staff, pupils, and faculty may return appropriate food items consistent with subparagraph (B) and make those food items available to pupils during the course of a regular school meal time.

(B) Allow the food placed on the sharing tables that is not taken by a pupil during the course of a regular school meal time in accordance with subparagraph (A) to be donated to a food bank or any other nonprofit charitable organization.

(2) Donations of food or food made available to pupils during the course of a regular school meal time pursuant to paragraph (1) may include prepackaged, nonpotentially hazardous food with the packaging still intact and in good condition, whole uncut produce that complies with Section 113992 before donation, unopened bags of sliced fruit, unopened containers of milk that are immediately stored in a cooling bin maintained at 41 degrees Fahrenheit or below, and perishable prepackaged food if it is placed in a proper temperature-controlled environment.

(3) When a local educational agency, pursuant to paragraph (1), makes food available to pupils during the course of a regular school meal time or donates food to a food bank or any other nonprofit charitable organization for distribution, the preparation, safety, and donation of food shall be consistent with Section 113980.

(4) For purposes of this subdivision, “local educational agency” means a county office of education, school district, or charter school.

SEC. 10.SEC. 9.

Section 114367.1 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:

114367.1.

(a) A microenterprise home kitchen operation, as defined in Section 113825, shall be considered a restricted food service facility for purposes of, and subject to all applicable requirements of, Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 113700) to Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 114265), inclusive, and Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 114380), except as otherwise provided in this chapter.

(b) A microenterprise home kitchen operation shall be exempt from all of the following provisions:

(1) Handwashing facilities requirements, as required in Section 113953, provided that a handwashing sink is supplied with warm water and located in the toilet room and supplied, as specified in Section 113953.2.

(2) Any provision in this part relating to sinks, warewashing machines, and manual or machine sanitation, including, but not limited to, Sections 114099, 114099.2, 114099.4, 114101.1, 114101.2, 114103, 114107, 114123, 114125, 114163, and 114279, provided that all of the following conditions are met:

(A) Utensils and equipment are able to be properly cleaned and sanitized.

(B) The sink in a microenterprise home kitchen operation has hot and cold water and is fully operable.

(C) If a dishwasher is used, it shall be operated in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications.

(3) Prohibition on the presence of persons unnecessary to the food facility operation in the food preparation, food storage, or warewashing areas, as specified in Section 113945.1, provided that the permitholder takes steps to avoid any potential contamination to food, clean equipment, utensils, and unwrapped single-service and single-use articles and prevents a person suffering from symptoms associated with acute gastrointestinal illness or person known to be infected with a communicable disease that is transmissible through food to enter the food preparation area while food is being prepared as part of a microenterprise home kitchen operation.

(4) No smoking sign posting requirements, as specified in Section 113978.

(5) Limitations on employee consumption of food, drink, or tobacco outside of designated areas, as specified in Sections 113977 and 114256, provided that the permitholder takes steps to avoid any potential contamination to food, clean equipment, utensils, and unwrapped single-service and single-use articles and prevents a person suffering from symptoms associated with acute gastrointestinal illness or person known to be infected with a communicable disease that is transmissible through food to enter the food preparation area while food is being prepared as part of a microenterprise home kitchen operation.

(6) Limitations on consumer access to the food facility through food preparation areas, as specified in Section 113984.1, provided that the permitholder takes steps to avoid any potential contamination to food, clean equipment, utensils, and unwrapped single-service and single-use articles and prevents a person suffering from symptoms associated with acute gastrointestinal illness or person known to be infected with a communicable disease that is transmissible through food to enter the food preparation area while food is being prepared as part of a microenterprise home kitchen operation.

(7) Display guard, cover, and container requirements, as specified in Section 114060, provided that any food on display that is not protected from the direct line of a consumer’s mouth by an effective means is not served or sold to any subsequent consumer.

(8) Requirements to provide clean drinking cups and tableware for second portions and beverage refills, as specified in Section 114075.

(9) Requirements pertaining to the characteristics and certification of utensils and equipment, as specified in Sections 114130 and 114139, provided that utensils and equipment are designed to retain their characteristic qualities under normal use conditions.

(10) Requirements pertaining to the characteristics, construction, and multiuse of food-contact and nonfood-contact surfaces, as specified in Sections 114130.3 and 114130.4, provided that food contact surfaces are smooth, easily cleanable, and in good repair.

(11) Requirements pertaining to the characteristics, construction, and disassembly of clean in place (CIP) equipment, as specified in Section 114130.5.

(12) Limitations on the use of wood as a food contact surface and in connection with other equipment, as specified in Section 114132, provided that hard maple or equivalent wood is approved for use in direct contact with food during preparation.

(13) Any provision in this part relating to ventilation, including, but not limited to, Article 2 (commencing with Section 114149) of Chapter 6, provided that gases, odors, steam, heat, grease, vapors, and smoke are able to escape from the kitchen.

(14) Requirements that cold or hot holding equipment used for potentially hazardous food be equipped with integral or permanently affixed temperature measuring device or product mimicking sensors, as specified in subdivision (c) of Section 114157.

(15) Requirements pertaining to the installation of fixed, floor-mounted, and table-mounted equipment, as specified in Section 114169.

(16) Dedicated laundry facility requirements, as specified in Section 114185.5, provided that linens used in connection with the microenterprise home kitchen operation shall be laundered separately from the household and other laundry.

(17) Requirements pertaining to water, plumbing, drainage, and waste, as specified in Sections 114193, 114193.1, and 114245.7.

(18) Any requirement that a microenterprise home kitchen operation have more than one toilet facility or that access to the toilet facility not require passage through the food preparation, food storage, or utensil washing areas, including, but not limited to, the requirements specified in Sections 114250 and 114276.

(19) Light intensity, light source, and lightbulb requirements, as specified in Sections 114252 and 114252.1, provided that food preparation areas are well lighted by natural or artificial light whenever food is being prepared.

(20) Requirements to provide and use lockers, storage facilities, and designated dressing areas, and that food facility premises be free of litter and items that are unnecessary to the operation, as specified in Sections 114256.1 and 114257.1, provided that personal effects and clothing not ordinarily found in a home kitchen are placed or stored away from food preparation areas and dressing takes place outside of the kitchen.

(21) Limitations on the presence and handling of animals, such as domestic, service, or patrol animals, as specified in Sections 114259.4 and 114259.5, provided that all animals are kept outside of the kitchen during food service and preparation.

(22) Requirements pertaining to floor, wall, and ceiling surfaces, as specified in Sections 114268, 114269, and 114271, provided that the floor, wall, and ceiling surfaces of the kitchen, storage, and toilet areas are smooth, of durable construction, and easily cleanable with no limitations on the use of wood, tile, and other nonfiber floor surfaces ordinarily used in residential settings.

(23) Any local evaluation or grading system for food facilities, as authorized by Section 113709.

(24) All prohibitions and limitations on the use of a kitchen in a private home as a food facility, including, but not limited to, prohibitions and limitations specified in Section 114285, provided that food is not prepared in designated sleeping quarters. Open kitchens adjacent to living and sleeping areas, kitchens in efficiency, studio, and loft-style residences, and kitchens without doors at all points of ingress and egress may be used in microenterprise home kitchen operations.

(25) Planning and permitting provisions of Sections 114380 and subdivision (b) of Section 114381.

(c) A microenterprise home kitchen operation may operate an open-air barbecue or outdoor wood-burning oven, pursuant to the requirements of Section 114143.

(d) The operator of a microenterprise home kitchen operation shall successfully pass an approved and accredited food safety certification examination, as specified in Section 113947.1.

(e) Any individual, other than the operator, who is involved in the preparation, storage, or service of food in a microenterprise home kitchen operation shall be subject to the food handler card requirements specified in Section 113948.

(f) A microenterprise home kitchen operation shall only offer for sale or sell food that was prepared during a food demonstration or preparation event to a consumer who was present at that food demonstration or preparation event.

SEC. 11.SEC. 10.

Section 114368.8 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:

114368.8.

(a) Notwithstanding Section 114395, a violation of this part by an operator or employee of a compact mobile food operation is punishable only by an administrative fine.

(b) A violation of any provision of this part or regulation adopted pursuant to this part by an operator or employee of a compact mobile food operation or a sidewalk vendor shall not be punishable as an infraction or misdemeanor, and an operator or employee of a compact mobile food operation or a sidewalk vendor alleged to have violated any of those provisions is not subject to arrest except when independent grounds for that arrest exist under law.

(c) Except as provided in subdivision (d), each offense by an operator or employee of a compact mobile food operation or a sidewalk vendor may only be punished by a fine consistent with the following:

(1) A notice of violation detailing the violation, including the applicable provision of this part or regulation adopted pursuant to this part.

(2) An administrative fine not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100) for a second violation within one year of the first violation.

(3) An administrative fine not exceeding two hundred dollars ($200) for a third violation within one year of the first violation.

(4) An administrative fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500) for each additional violation within one year of the first violation.

(d) If a compact mobile food operation is required to obtain a permit from the enforcement agency, operating without a permit may be punishable by a fine not to exceed three times the cost of the permit in lieu of the administrative fines referenced in subdivision (c). An enforcement agency shall not issue any fines in excess of the amounts allowable pursuant to subdivision (c) prior to January 1, 2024.

(e) (1) When assessing an administrative fine for a first-time offense, pursuant to this section, the hearing officer shall take into consideration the person’s ability to pay the fine. The enforcement agency shall provide the person with notice of their right to request an ability-to-pay determination and shall make available instructions or other materials for requesting an ability-to-pay determination. The person may request an ability-to-pay determination at adjudication or while the judgment remains unpaid, including when a case is delinquent or has been referred to a comprehensive collection program.

(2) If the person meets the criteria described in subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 68632 of the Government Code, the enforcement agency shall accept, in full satisfaction, 20 percent of the administrative fine imposed pursuant to this section.

(3) The enforcement agency may waive the administrative fine or may offer an alternative disposition.

(f) (1) When enforcing any provision of, or regulation adopted pursuant to, this part regulating an operator or employee of a compact mobile food operation, an enforcement agency and its personnel shall not do any of the following:

(A) Use enforcement agency moneys or personnel to investigate, interrogate, detain, detect, or arrest persons for purposes other than those identified in this part.

(B) Inquire into an individual’s immigration status.

(C) Place enforcement agency personnel under the supervision of an agency conducting immigration enforcement or employ enforcement agency personnel deputized under the authority of an agency conducting immigration enforcement.

(D) Use an officer or employee of an agency conducting immigration enforcement as an interpreter for enforcement agency matters, or use enforcement agency personnel as interpreters for officers or employees of an agency conducting immigration enforcement.

(2) For purposes of this subdivision, “enforcement agency” includes any nonpublic entity that an enforcement agency has delegated or assigned authority to, or has entered into a contract with, for the purpose of enforcing any provisions of, or regulation adopted pursuant to, this part.

(3) A contract between a nonpublic entity and an enforcement agency for the purpose of enforcing any provisions of, or regulation adopted pursuant to, this chapter entered into or modified on or after January 1, 2026, shall require the nonpublic entity to explicitly agree to adhere to the requirements of this subdivision, and shall be immediately terminated if it is found that the nonpublic entity has violated this subdivision.

(g) When enforcing any provision of, or regulation adopted pursuant to, this part regulating an operator or employee of a compact mobile food operation, an enforcement agency that has been authorized to make arrests pursuant to Section 836.5 of the Penal Code shall not use enforcement agency moneys or personnel to investigate, interrogate, detain, detect, or arrest persons for purposes other than those identified in this part.

(h) This section does not prohibit or restrict any enforcement agency or governmental entity or official from sending to, or receiving from, federal immigration authorities information regarding the citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of an individual, or from requesting from federal immigration authorities immigration status information, lawful or unlawful, of any individual, or maintaining or exchanging that information with any other federal, state, or local governmental entity, pursuant to Sections 1373 and 1644 of Title 8 of the United States Code.

(i) For purposes of this section, “immigration enforcement” means any and all efforts to investigate, enforce, or assist in the investigation or enforcement of any state or federal civil immigration law, and also includes any and all efforts to investigate, enforce, or assist in the investigation or enforcement of any state or federal criminal immigration law that penalizes a person’s presence in, entry or reentry to, or employment in, the United States.

SEC. 12.SEC. 11.

Section 114380 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:

114380.

(a) A person proposing to build or remodel a food facility shall submit complete, easily readable plans drawn to scale, and specifications to the enforcement agency for review, and shall receive plan approval before starting any new construction or remodeling of a facility for use as a retail food facility.

(b) Plans and specifications may also be required by the enforcement agency if the agency determines that they are necessary to ensure compliance with the requirements of this part, including, but not limited to, a menu change or change in the facility’s method of operation.

(c) (1) All new school food facilities or school food facilities that undergo modernization or remodeling shall comply with all structural requirements of this part. Upon submission of plans by a public school authority, the Division of the State Architect and the local enforcement agency shall review and approve all new and remodeled school facilities for compliance with all applicable requirements.

(2) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) shall maintain its primary jurisdiction over licensed skilled nursing facilities, and when new construction, modernization, or remodeling must be undertaken to repair existing systems or to keep up the course of normal or routine maintenance, the facility shall complete a building application and plan check process as required by OSHPD. Approval of the plans by OSHPD shall be deemed compliance with the plan approval process required by the local county enforcement agency described in this section.

(3) Except when a determination is made by the enforcement agency that the nonconforming structural conditions pose a public health hazard, existing public and private school cafeterias, existing nonprofit charitable feeding organization facilities whose food service is solely for providing charity, and licensed health care facilities shall be deemed to be in compliance with this part pending replacement or renovation.

(d) Except when a determination is made by the enforcement agency that the nonconforming structural conditions pose a public health hazard, existing food facilities that were in compliance with the law in effect on June 30, 2007, shall be deemed to be in compliance with the law pending replacement or renovation. If a determination is made by the enforcement agency that a structural condition poses a public health hazard, the food facility shall remedy the deficiency to the satisfaction of the enforcement agency.

(e) The plans shall be approved or rejected within 20 working days after receipt by the enforcement agency and the applicant shall be notified of the decision. Unless the plans are approved or rejected within 20 working days, they shall be deemed approved. The building department shall not issue a building permit for a food facility until after it has received plan approval by the enforcement agency. This section does not require that plans or specifications be prepared by someone other than the applicant.

(f) Notwithstanding subdivision (e), a tenant improvement plan for a restaurant, as those terms are defined in Section 66345.1 of the Government Code, shall be subject to the following procedure:

(1) If the enforcement agency does not approve or deny the plan within 20 business days of receiving a complete plan, the plan shall be deemed approved for permitting purposes, provided that all fees and required documents have been submitted.

(2) If a complete plan is denied within the 20-business-day period described in paragraph (1), the applicant may resubmit a corrected plan addressing the deficiencies identified in the initial denial. The enforcement agency’s review of each subsequent resubmission shall be limited to correcting the deficiencies identified in the initial denial. The enforcement agency shall approve or deny each subsequent resubmission within 10 business days of receipt.

SEC. 13.SEC. 12.

Section 131365 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:

131365.

(a) (1) The department may develop and administer a syndromic surveillance program.

(2) The purpose of this chapter is to authorize the department to collect public health and medical data in near real time to detect and investigate changes in the occurrence of disease in the population, especially as a result of a disease outbreak or other public health emergency, disaster, or special event and to support responses to emerging public health threats and conditions impacting the health of California residents.

(3) Upon implementation of this chapter, the department shall assign a name to the program.

(b) Subject to an appropriation for this purpose, the department may designate an existing syndromic surveillance system or create a new syndromic surveillance system in order to facilitate the reporting of electronic health data by specified entities pursuant to Section 131370.

(c) The syndromic surveillance system created or designated by the department pursuant to subdivision (b) shall, at a minimum, provide local health departments access to and use of a secure, integrated electronic health system with standardized analytic tools and processes to rapidly collect, evaluate, share, and store syndromic surveillance data.

(d) (1) The list of data elements, electronic transmission standards, data transmission schedule, and instructions pertaining to the program may be implemented and modified at any time by the department.

(2) The department shall collaborate with local health departments to determine implementations and modifications to be made pursuant to this subdivision.

(3) Implementations and modifications made pursuant to this subdivision shall be exempt from the administrative regulation and rulemaking requirements of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code and shall be implemented without being adopted as a regulation, except that the revisions shall be filed with the Secretary of State and printed and published in Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations.

SEC. 14.SEC. 13.

Section 131370 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:

131370.

(a) (1) (A) A specified entity shall submit the required data electronically to the syndromic surveillance system designated by the department in accordance with the schedule, standards, and requirements established by the department.

(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), a specified entity shall submit the required data electronically to a local health department that participates in a syndromic surveillance system or maintains its own system pursuant to subdivision (b).

(C) The department may adopt regulations, in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), to specify any other entity that is required to provide data pursuant to this section.

(2) A specified entity shall collect and report data to the department or local syndromic surveillance system, if applicable, as near as possible to real time, by no later than December 31, 2028, or within one year of official notification by the department, whichever is sooner.

(b) (1) (A) A specified entity may decline to report electronic health data to the department if the local health department in which the specified entity is located participates in a syndromic surveillance system or maintains its own system that has, or by no later than December 31, 2028, or within one year of official notification by the department, whichever is sooner, will have, the capacity to transmit the specified entity’s required electronic health and medical data to the department’s designated syndromic surveillance system in near real time and the specified entity reports electronic health and medical data to the local health department’s syndromic surveillance system.

(B) The department shall provide guidance and technical assistance to local health departments that participate in a syndromic surveillance system or maintains its own system to develop automated transmission of data from local syndromic surveillance systems into the state system by December 31, 2028, or within one year of official notification by the department, whichever is sooner.

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a specified entity is not required to report data to the department only if the local health department reports the entity’s required data to the department’s designated syndromic surveillance system pursuant to this section by December 31, 2028, or within one year of official notification by the department, whichever is sooner.

(3) This subdivision does not limit the ability of a local health department to require a specified entity to submit additional data to the local health department in addition to the data required to be submitted to the department.

(c) The data elements, electronic transmission standards, data transmission schedule, and instructions for the data collection required pursuant to this section include, but are not limited to, any department-approved element or requirement.

(d) No civil or criminal penalty, fine, sanction, or finding, or denial, suspension, or revocation of licensure for any person or facility may be imposed based upon a failure to provide the data elements required pursuant to this chapter, unless the data elements, electronic transmission standards, and data transmission schedule submissions required to be provided by the specified entity was printed in the California Code of Regulations and the department notified the person or facility of the data reporting requirement at least six months prior to the date of the claimed failure to report or submit the data.

SEC. 15.SEC. 14.

Section 9103.5 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

9103.5.

The California Department of Aging and the State Department of Public Health Office of AIDS shall meet annually to collaborate on issues of mutual interest, including supporting seniors with chronic care conditions and comorbidities and the impacts of HIV, AIDS, and sexually transmitted infections on the aging population in California.

SEC. 16.SEC. 15.

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution for certain costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district because, in that regard, this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.

However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.