AB 2562 California Assembly · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Alcohol or other drug recovery and treatment programs and facilities: suicide prevention.

Summary

Existing law requires the State Department of Health Care Services to license and regulate adult alcohol or other drug recovery or treatment facilities that provide residential nonmedical services, as specified, and further requires the department to certify and regulate alcohol or other drug programs, as specified. Existing law requires a licensed facility to take specified actions, including to develop a plan to address when a resident relapses. Existing law requires a certified program to keep all policies and procedures in an operation manual. This bill would require a licensed facility to develop a suicide prevention plan. The bill would authorize the department to implement the above-described requirement by bulletin or all-county or all-provider letter, after stakeholder input, until regulations are promulgated. The bill would require the department to promulgate regulations to implement the requirement no later than January 1, 2031. The bill would require a certified program to include in its operation manual a suicide prevention plan.

Issues: ✓ Healthcare

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Aug 2026

Assembly Passage

May 2026

Senate Passage

Aug 2026

Governor

Introduced Feb 20, 2026 Last action Aug 30, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

08/06/26 - Amended Senate → AB2562 · 1 edit

MINOR

The substantive legal content of AB 2562 is unchanged between these two versions. The differences are entirely presentational: the bill text has been reformatted from a traditional legislative document layout (with line numbers, page headers/footers, and column formatting) into a web-based display format that includes website navigation elements, search tools, and version history links.

TECHNICAL

The bill text was reformatted from a printed legislative document style (with line numbers like 'line 1', page markers like '97' and dash-page-dash headers) into a web page layout with standard HTML-style navigation, search boxes, and link elements. No legal language was added, removed, or altered.

03/16/26 - Amended Assembly → 08/06/26 - Amended Senate · 7 edits · Aug 6, 2026

MODERATE

The Senate amendment makes a major structural change to how alcohol and drug recovery facilities are licensed, eliminating standalone detoxification services and requiring facilities to provide combined service models (recovery plus treatment, or recovery plus treatment plus withdrawal management). Existing detoxification-only licenses sunset on July 1, 2027. The bill also removes a technical amendment to license reinstatement rules from the Assembly version and adds suicide prevention plan requirements for certified programs.

Scope change

Scope expanded from licensed facilities only to both certified programs and licensed facilities. The range of permissible service models narrowed significantly by eliminating standalone detoxification and requiring combined service delivery.

SCOPE

The service model for licensed facilities changed from allowing any one of three standalone services (recovery, treatment, or detoxification) to requiring combined service models: either recovery and treatment together, or recovery, treatment, and withdrawal management together. Standalone detoxification is no longer a permitted service category.

TIMELINE

A sunset provision was added: existing licenses for detoxification-only services expire on July 1, 2027. The department cannot issue new detoxification-only licenses or extend existing ones on or after that date.

The regulation deadline for implementing the full section was changed from July 1, 2027 (for specific subdivisions) to January 1, 2030 (for the entire section). A separate requirement was added that withdrawal management services must follow department guidance on and after July 1, 2027.

DEFINITION

The term 'detoxification' was replaced with 'withdrawal management' throughout the records and procedures requirements, reflecting a shift in clinical terminology for the service being provided.

TECHNICAL

The Assembly version included a technical, nonsubstantive amendment to Section 11834.38 (license reinstatement procedure). This was removed entirely in the Senate version.

REQUIREMENT

Section 11832.8 (governing certified programs) now requires that the operation manual include a suicide prevention plan, extending suicide prevention requirements to certified programs in addition to licensed facilities.

FISCAL

The fiscal committee vote changed from 'no' to 'yes', indicating the bill now has state fiscal implications, likely due to the sunset of detoxification-only licenses and the transition requirements.

02/20/26 - Introduced → 03/16/26 - Amended Assembly · 10 edits · Mar 16, 2026

MAJOR

AB 2562 was transformed from a minor technical fix (removing a stray letter 'A' from Section 11834.38) into a comprehensive bill adding multiple new requirements for alcohol and drug treatment facilities in California. The amended version now mandates suicide prevention plans, naloxone availability with trained staff, relapse response plans, and anti-discrimination protections for patients using medication-assisted treatment. This represents a major expansion of the bill's scope from a nonsubstantive correction to significant new regulatory obligations for licensed facilities and certified programs.

SCOPE

The bill now amends Sections 11832.8 and 11834.26 in addition to the original Section 11834.38, expanding from a single technical fix to multiple substantive regulatory requirements for addiction treatment facilities and programs.

REQUIREMENT

Licensed facilities must develop a suicide prevention plan (Section 11834.26(g)), with regulations due by January 1, 2031. The department may implement this interim requirement by bulletin or all-county/all-provider letter after stakeholder input.

Certified alcohol or drug programs must include a suicide prevention plan in their operation manual (Section 11832.8(b)(6)).

Licensed facilities must maintain at least two unexpired doses of naloxone (or other FDA-approved opioid antagonist) on premises at all times, and must have at least one staff member trained in administration with documentation in their personnel file (Section 11834.26(f)).

Licensed facilities must develop a relapse plan detailing how treatment will be adjusted, how residents will be supervised while under the influence, and discharge/continuing care planning. The plan must prioritize maintaining the resident's connection to treatment and does not require discharge for relapse (Section 11834.26(d)).

ENFORCEMENT

Trained staff members are protected from civil liability and criminal prosecution for good faith administration of naloxone to a person appearing to experience an overdose, except in cases of gross negligence or willful and wanton misconduct.

ELIGIBILITY

Licensed facilities may not deny admission solely because an individual has a valid prescription for FDA-approved medication-assisted treatment (MAT) or is under the influence of alcohol or drugs, as these are treated as symptoms of substance use disorders (Section 11834.26(c)).

TIMELINE

The department must promulgate regulations implementing the relapse plan and naloxone requirements by July 1, 2027, and suicide prevention plan regulations by January 1, 2031.

FISCAL

The fiscal committee designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the amendment introduced identifiable state fiscal impact.

TECHNICAL

Written record requirements in implementing regulations must be modified or adapted for social model programs (Section 11834.26(h)).

Floor votes · Senate Aug 27, 2026 · Assembly May 28, 2026

How they voted

40–0

Passed

Total votes 40

Aug 27, 2026

D Democratic30

30 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican10

10 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Aug 30, 2026

Lower · Passed

Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling.

lower

Aug 28, 2026

Introduced

In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.

lower

Aug 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 40. Noes 0.).

upper

Aug 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

upper

Aug 3, 2026

Upper · Passed

From committee: Be ordered to second reading file pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8 and ordered to Consent Calendar.

upper

Jun 25, 2026

Upper · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (June 24). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

upper

Jun 10, 2026

Committee

Referred to Com. on HEALTH.

upper

May 28, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 74. Noes 0. Page 2562.)

lower

May 14, 2026

Lower · Passed

From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (May 14).

lower

May 13, 2026

Committee

In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.

lower

Apr 15, 2026

Lower · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 16. Noes 0.) (April 14). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

lower

Mar 17, 2026

Committee

Re-referred to Com. on HEALTH.

lower

Mar 16, 2026

Introduced

From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on HEALTH. Read second time and amended.

lower

Mar 16, 2026

Committee

Referred to Com. on HEALTH.

lower

Feb 21, 2026

Lower · Passed

From printer. May be heard in committee March 23.

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors