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AB 2135CALIFORNIASession 20252026
High Impact

California AB 2135 increases penalties for improper nursing home discharges and mandates 30-day transfer notices

Original title: Long-term health care facilities.

August 13, 2026

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The Frame

What this does

This bill strengthens protections for nursing home residents by ensuring they have more time to plan for moves and better access to information, while increasing financial consequences for facilities that fail to follow legal discharge procedures.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Long-term health care facility residents

Residents receive new rights regarding notice periods and accessible communication for transfers and discharges.

Long-term health care facilities

Facilities face stricter notice requirements, increased financial penalties for non-compliance, and potential admission bans.

Local long-term care ombudsmen

Ombudsmen receive mandatory electronic notifications of all facility-initiated transfers and discharges.

What changed

Last recorded activity August 13, 2026.

What's next

Introduced.

Summary

AB 2135 requires long-term care facilities to provide residents with 30 days' written notice before an involuntary transfer or discharge and mandates that these notices be provided in accessible formats or translated for non-English speakers. The bill also increases daily non-compliance penalties for facilities from $750 to $1,000 and raises the maximum aggregate penalty from $75,000 to $100,000.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much notice must a nursing home give before moving me?
Under AB 2135, facilities must provide at least 30 days' written notice before a or discharge, unless a specific exception applies.
What happens if a facility ignores a hearing decision about an improper discharge?
The facility faces a daily penalty of $1,000 (up to $100,000 total) and the State Department of Public Health may prohibit them from admitting new residents until they comply.
Do I have a right to receive notices in my primary language?
Yes, if your primary language is not English or if you are vision impaired, the facility must provide the notice in a translated or accessible format at the same time as the English notice.

Why It Matters

This bill strengthens protections for nursing home residents by ensuring they have more time to plan for moves and better access to information, while increasing financial consequences for facilities that fail to follow legal discharge procedures.

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Lobbying Activity

AARP

$4,110,000

2026

HEALTH ISSUESMEDICARE/MEDICAIDLAW ENFORCEMENT/CRIME/CRIMINAL JUSTICEPHARMACY

P.L. 119-21, One Big Beautiful Bill Act H.R. 8867, Planning for Long-term Aging Needs (PLAN) Act H.R. 5861, Legacy Act of 2025 H.R. 9393, the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act. H.R. 9396, the Prior Authorization Accountability Act. S. 4916, the Aging with Artificial Intelligence Act. H.R. 8100, Safe Staffing Saves Lives Act. S. 3886, Nurses Belong in Nursing Homes Act. H.R. 6766/S. 3492, the Essential Caregivers Act of 2025. H.R. 7966/S. 4118, Hospice Care Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement (Hospice CARE) Act. S. 2120, the Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2025 H.R. 5575, the Firefighters Assisting Seniors to Emergency Response (FASTER) Act of 2025. H.R. 3954/S. 4641, Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act. H.R.5554/S.2831, Stand Strong for Medicare Act. S. 3439/H.R. 6735, Connecting Caregivers to Medicare Act and efforts related to the bill S. 1227/H.R. 2491, Alleviating Barriers for Caregivers Act S. 668/H.R. 3183, Supporting Access to Falls Education and Prevention and Strengthening Training Efforts and Promoting Safety Initiatives (SAFE STEPS) for Veterans Act of 2025 CMS-1851-P, Hospice Proposed rule. CMS-1843-P, Skilled Nursing Facility Proposed rule. CMS-1844-P, Home Health Proposed rule. No bill number. Health care transparency. No bill number. Discussed use of artificial intelligence and health data technology. No bill number. Discussed health-related policies and activities around the fall respiratory virus season. No bill number. Discussed health insurance affordability proposals. No bill number. Discussed Nursing Home staffing standards, safety, and quality. No bill number. Discussed Nursing home transparency and ownership requirements. No bill number. Discussed home health, hospice, and long-term care. No bill number. Discussed falls prevention. No bill number. Discussed social isolation. No bill number. Discussed HUD Assisted Living Requirements No bill number. Discussed family caregiving. No bill number. Discussed AARP paper on Medicare Caregiver Training Services. No bill number. Discussed Medicaid community engagement interim final rule, including the family caregiver exemption. No bill number. Discussed the paid direct care workforce in long-term care. No bill number. Discussed the unaffordability of long-term care. No bill number. Discussed Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration Program and Medicaid HCBS spousal impoverishment protections. No bill number. Discussed Medicaid fraud and family caregivers, Medicaid self-direction programs. No bill number. Discussed sandwich generation family caregiver hearing and submitted a statement for the record discussing family caregivers and sandwich generation caregivers, programs that support them, AARP caregiving resources, and federal policies to support sandwich generation caregivers and caregivers more broadly. No bill number. Discussed long-term care. No bill number. CMS-2453-NC; Medicaid Program; 2028 Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services Quality Measure Set Submitted comments No bill number. Discussed expanding access to home care. No bill number. Discussed the increasing cost of home care No bill number. Discussed HSA use for telehealth chronic care management services/subscriptions. No bill number. Discussed artificial intelligence and technology

Connected Entities

organizationLocal long-term care ombudsmanReceives mandatory notifications regarding resident transfers.Map →
organizationOffice of Administrative Hearings and AppealsIssues decisions regarding improper transfers or discharges.Map →
organizationState Department of Health Care ServicesResponsible for licensing and regulating health facilities.Map →
organizationState Department of Public HealthResponsible for inspection, reporting, and penalty enforcement.Map →

Sources

Open source document

openstates.org

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance85
    How much this matters to a regular citizen
  • Controversy40
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment10
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz25
    Current news / social attention level

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