SACRAMENTO (May 1, 2025) – Assemblymember Diane Dixon (R-Newport Beach) presented Assembly Bill 1356 in the Assembly Health Committee on April 22, 2025. The bill passed through the Committee with unanimous support and is continuing through the legislative process.
Under existing law, when there is a death of a resident within a drug and alcohol recovery program at a licensed facility, the California Department of Health Care Services is required to investigate and write a report on the incident. Despite the requirement for such facilities to provide the Department with information in the immediate aftermath of the death of a resident within the facility, there is no statutory requirement for these facilities to provide any subsequent reports as a follow-up to the incident.
AB 1356 will require a facility that offers a drug and alcohol program to do two things. First, the facility must submit within 60 days of the initial incident any relevant information that was not known at the time of the incident or that was known but was not provided to the department in the initial report. Second, if any deficiencies are identified in a facility’s response to the death of a resident, the facility will be required to submit a report detailing any follow-up actions that were implemented in response to DHCS communications.
“Many facilities are not providing full details on their report of incidents,” said Assemblymember Dixon. “This common-sense solution to strengthen DHCS’s death investigation is necessary to improve the safety of those residents within the facilities who are receiving treatment. AB 1356 will require a thoughtful review of the incident and its timeline, while also determining the subsequent actions required to prevent such a tragedy.”
For Breana Zweben, who joined the Assemblymember and testified at the hearing, this legislation carries profound personal significance. On April 3, 2021, she lost her boyfriend, John Mclister, at Asana Recovery – a death that expert testimony from Dr. Mario San Bartolome confirmed was entirely preventable.
“John walked into Asana Recovery with one simple goal – to get through withdrawals safely,” Breana Zweben said. “The system failed him, and AB 1356 would help prevent such failures from claiming more lives.”
This bill will next be heard in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.###
