(a)  Notwithstanding any rules or regulations governing other health facilities, the regulations adopted by the state department for chemical dependency recovery hospitals shall prevail. The regulations applying to chemical dependency recovery hospitals shall prescribe standards of adequacy, safety, and sanitation of the physical plant, of staffing with duly qualified personnel, and of services based on the needs of the persons served thereby.

(b)  The regulations shall include provisions for an “open planning” architectural concept.

(c)  Notwithstanding the provisions of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 15000) of Division 12.5, the regulations shall exempt from seismic requirements all freestanding structures of a chemical dependency recovery hospital. Chemical dependency recovery services provided as a supplemental service in general acute care beds or general acute psychiatric beds shall not be exempt from seismic requirements.

(d)  Regulations shall be developed pursuant to this section and presented for adoption at a public hearing within 180 days of the effective date of this section.

(e)  In order to assist in the rapid development of regulations for chemical dependency recovery hospitals, the director of the state department, not later than 30 days after the effective date of this section, shall convene an advisory committee composed of two representatives of the State Department of Health Care Services, one representative of the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, two persons with experience operating facilities with alcohol or medicinal drug dependency programs, and any other persons having a professional or personal nonfinancial interest in development of such regulations. The members of such advisory committee who are not state officers or employees shall pay their own expenses related to participation on the committee. The committee shall meet at the call of the director until such time as the proposed regulations are presented for adoption at public hearing.

(Amended by Stats. 2013, Ch. 22, Sec. 14. (AB 75) Effective June 27, 2013. Operative July 1, 2013, by Sec. 110 of Ch. 22.)