N.Y. Public Health Law 4602 – Continuing care retirement community council; powers and duties
§ 4602. Continuing care retirement community council; powers and duties. 1. The continuing care retirement community council is hereby established, to consist of the following, or their designees: the attorney general; the commissioner; the director of the office for the aging; and eight public members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate. Such public members shall be representative of the public, and have a demonstrated expertise or interest in continuing care retirement communities; provided that no more than one such member shall be a sponsor, owner, operator, manager, member of a board of directors, or shareholder of a continuing care retirement community. At least two public members shall be residents of a continuing care retirement community. At least one of the public members shall be a representative of an organization with demonstrated experience in representing the interests of senior citizens. The public members of the council shall have fixed terms of four years. The council shall be chaired by the commissioner or his or her designee.
Terms Used In N.Y. Public Health Law 4602
- Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
- agreements: shall mean continuing care at home or continuing care retirement contracts as defined in this article. See N.Y. Public Health Law 4601
- certificate of authority: shall mean an authorization in writing, approved by the council and issued by the commissioner, for an operator to operate a continuing care retirement community and to enter into continuing care retirement contracts and continuing care at home contracts pertaining to such community. See N.Y. Public Health Law 4601
- Commissioner: shall mean the commissioner of health. See N.Y. Public Health Law 4601
- community: shall mean a facility or facilities established to provide a comprehensive, cohesive living arrangement for the elderly, oriented to the enhancement of the quality of life and which, pursuant to a contract, at a minimum:
a. See N.Y. Public Health Law 4601 - Council: shall mean the continuing care retirement community council, established pursuant to section forty-six hundred two of this article. See N.Y. Public Health Law 4601
- Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
- Facility: shall mean any place in which an operator undertakes to provide a resident with the services of a continuing care retirement community, pursuant to a contract, whether such place is constructed, owned, leased, rented, or otherwise contracted for by the operator. See N.Y. Public Health Law 4601
- Living unit: shall mean an apartment, room, cottage, or other area within a community set aside for the exclusive use of one or more residents, or in the case of a continuing care at home contract, the contract holder's private residence. See N.Y. Public Health Law 4601
- Operator: shall mean a legal entity operating a continuing care retirement community pursuant to a certificate of authority. See N.Y. Public Health Law 4601
- Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
- Social services: shall mean those services which may include, but not be limited to counseling, case management, and information and referral. See N.Y. Public Health Law 4601
Members of such council shall serve without compensation for their services as members of the council, except that each of them may be allowed the necessary and actual expenses which he shall incur in the performance of his duties under this article.
2. The council shall meet as often as may be deemed necessary to fulfill its responsibilities. The council shall have the following powers and duties:
a. to approve or reject applications to obtain a certificate of authority for the establishment and operation of a continuing care retirement community. In reviewing applications, the council shall consider the extent to which the applications reflect various sponsorships, organizational structures, geographic dispersion, and the public benefit. In determining the public benefit of a community requiring construction of a total nursing facility component greater than or equal to ninety beds, the council shall obtain and consider the recommendation of the state hospital review and planning council with regard to the effect of the construction of the community's nursing facility beds upon existing facilities in the same geographic area;
b. to require the reporting of such facts and information as the council may deem necessary to enforce the provisions of this article;
c. to coordinate the oversight of operating communities and to assign review and regulatory responsibility for particular aspects of such communities to the appropriate agencies, consistent with their legal authority, to assure consistent state supervision without duplication of inspection or regulatory review;
d. to make such recommendations to the governor and the legislature as may be necessary to encourage or further regulate the development of continuing care retirement communities;
e. to establish and charge equitable and reasonable annual charges for operators, not to exceed fifty dollars per approved living unit, to subsidize, in part, expenditures incurred in reviewing applications for certificates of authority and in inspecting, regulating, supervising and auditing continuing care retirement communities;
f. to review reports from the participating agencies regarding the operations and financial management of approved communities, including any reports regarding the financial condition of any community that may be in need of close supervision and any reports of deficiencies in the provision of health or social services to residents of any community;
g. to adopt rules and regulations and amendments thereto to effectuate the provisions of this article;
h. to revoke, suspend, limit, or annul a certificate of authority under conditions set forth in section forty-six hundred fifteen of this article, including when such action is taken at the specific request of any participating council agency. When action has been taken by the commissioner pursuant to subdivision seven of section forty-six hundred three of this article, the council shall meet as soon as reasonably possible to approve or disapprove the action of the commissioner and shall take such further action as may be appropriate;
i. to develop guidelines for applications for certificates of authority;
j. to make a final determination regarding an application for authorization to enter into priority reservation agreements where the commissioner has proposed to reject such application;
k. to require the reporting of such facts and information as the council may deem necessary to determine whether characteristics of residential health care demonstration facilities such as comprehensive systems of residential and support services for the elderly may be successfully incorporated into existing or approved continuing care retirement communities;
l. to review and approve or reject applications by continuing care retirement community operators to use entrance fees to assist the operator in financing the construction or purchase of a proposed continuing care retirement community in accordance with paragraph b of subdivision six of section forty-six hundred ten of this article; and
m. to review and approve or reject any proposed financing by industrial development agencies of continuing care retirement communities pursuant to Article 18-A of the general municipal law as authorized by section forty-six hundred four-a of this article.
3. The council shall establish guidelines under which the commissioner is authorized to approve or reject any proposed refinancing, if the council has already approved an application pursuant to paragraph a of subdivision two of this section.