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California bills · 2025-2026 Regular Session

California SB 1189

Advance health care directive of a skilled nursing facility patient.

  1. Introduced
  2. In committee
  3. Passed Senate
  4. Passed House
  5. To Governor
  6. Became law

Sponsors

Cosponsors (1)

Summary

Official abstract published by the California legislature· summary

Existing law, the Health Care Decisions Law, provides for the creation, form, and revocation of advance health care directives, and authorizes an adult having capacity to give an individual health care instruction. Under existing law, the advance health care directive of a patient in a skilled nursing facility is not effective unless a patient advocate or ombudsman signs the advance directive as a witness and declares that they are serving as a witness pursuant to this requirement. Existing law authorizes a witness who is a patient advocate or ombudsman to rely on the representations of the administrators or staff of the skilled nursing facility, or of family members, as convincing evidence of the identity of the patient, as specified. This bill would delete a patient advocate from the above-described witness duties, thus requiring that an ombudsman witness the advance health care directive of a patient in a skilled nursing facility.

Text versions

Roll-call votes

State vote data last updated Oct 14, 2026, 12:15 PM.

DateVoteResultYour legislators
Jun 16, 2026
House		SB 1189 Valladares Consent Calendar Second DaypassSet your home in California to see
Jun 9, 2026
House		Do pass. To Consent Calendar.passSet your home in California to see
Apr 16, 2026
Senate		Consent Calendar 2nd SB1189 Valladares et al.passSet your home in California to see
Mar 24, 2026
Senate		Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with the recommendation: To Consent CalendarpassSet your home in California to see

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