AB 2131
Hospitals: seismic standards.
Vote required
Majority
Fiscal committee
No
Appropriation
No
Current location
Health
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Sign in to take action- Introduced
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
- To Governor
- Became Law
Bill overview
This bill modifies California’s seismic safety standards for hospitals. It proposes an exemption for certain general acute care hospitals that operate as long-term care facilities. Specifically, the exemption applies to freestanding hospitals dedicated to providing extended hospital care for patients with complex medical needs, provided they met existing seismic requirements before January 1, 2021. This aims to streamline regulations for specialized hospital settings.
Key provisions
- Exempts general acute care hospitals meeting specific criteria.
- The exemption applies to freestanding hospitals.
- Hospitals must provide extended hospital care for patients with complex needs.
- The hospital must have met prior seismic requirements (before January 1, 2021).
- The exemption is tied to meeting federal Social Security Act long-term care classification criteria.
- The exemption applies to hospital buildings only, not to other healthcare facilities.
Who is affected
- General acute care hospitals
- Long-term care hospitals
- Patients receiving extended hospital care
Notable changes
- Creates an exemption for a specific type of hospital.
- Relaxes seismic requirements for certain hospitals.
- Establishes a date (January 1, 2021) for determining prior seismic compliance.
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AB2131:v99#DOCUMENT
Bill Start
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 2131
| Introduced by Assembly Member Blanca Rubio |
| February 18, 2026 |
An act to add Section 129881 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to hospitals.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2131, as introduced, Blanca Rubio. Hospitals: seismic standards.
Existing law, the Alfred E. Alquist Hospital Facilities Seismic Safety Act of 1983, establishes, under the jurisdiction of the Department of Health Care Access and Information, a program of seismic safety building standards for certain hospital buildings. Under existing law, a hospital building includes any building that is used, or designed to be used, for a health facility of a type required to be licensed, as specified. Under existing law, a hospital building does not include, among others, a freestanding building used, or designed to be used, as a congregate living health facility or a hospice facility.
This bill would exempt a general acute care hospital from the requirements of the act if, among other things, the hospital building is a freestanding building used, or designed to be used, exclusively to provide extended hospital care to patients with complex medical and rehabilitative needs and the hospital building has met all the seismic requirements that a hospital was required to meet prior to January 1, 2021.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO
Bill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 129881 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:
129881.
A general acute care hospital, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1250, shall be exempt from the requirements of this chapter if all of the following have been met:
(a) The general acute care hospital meets the classification criteria of a long-term care hospital set forth in the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1395x(ccc)).
(b) The hospital building is a freestanding building used, or designed to be used, exclusively to provide extended hospital care to patients with complex medical and rehabilitative needs.
(c) The hospital building has met all the seismic requirements that a hospital was required to meet prior to January 1, 2021.