Senate BillPassed first houseProbate
SB 1189: Advance health care directive of a skilled nursing facility patient.
What SB 1189 does, verified September 2, 2026
This bill aims to amend the probate code to make advance health care directives more effective for patients in skilled nursing facilities. Currently, these directives are not valid unless a patient advocate or ombudsperson signs and declares their role as a witness. This bill would change the law to require an ombudsperson to witness these directives, rather than a patient advocate. The change would allow ombudspersons to rely on the representations of facility staff or family members as evidence of the patient's identity.
Bill journey
✓IntroducedComplete
✓In CommitteeComplete
✓First Chamber FloorComplete
4Second ChamberCurrent
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: Ordered to inactive file on request of Assembly Member Aguiar-Curry. (2026-08-31)Alert me
Author and sponsors
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| Aug. 31, 2026 | Ordered to inactive file on request of Assembly Member Aguiar-Curry. |
| Jul. 02, 2026 | Action rescinded whereby bill was read third time, passed, and ordered to the Senate. |
| Jul. 02, 2026 | Ordered to third reading. |
| Jul. 02, 2026 | Action rescinded whereby bill was read third time, passed, and ordered to the Senate. |
| Jun. 23, 2026 | In Assembly. Held at Desk. |
Latest bill textAmended version, June 4, 2026 · 439 words
| Amended IN Assembly June 04, 2026 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Senate Bill
No. 1189
| Introduced by Senator Valladares (Coauthor: Senator Ochoa Bogh) |
February 19, 2026 |
An act to amend Section 4675 of the Probate Code, relating to advance health care directives.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1189, as amended, Valladares. Advance health care directive of a skilled nursing facility patient.
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 ombudsperson 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 ombudsperson 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 ombudsperson ombudsman witness the advance health care directive of a patient in a skilled nursing facility.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 4675 of the Probate Code is amended to read:4675.
(a) If an individual is a patient in a skilled nursing facility when a written advance health care directive is executed, the advance directive is not effective unless an(b) A witness who is an ombudsperson ombudsman may 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 if the ombudsperson ombudsman believes that the representations provide a reasonable basis for determining the identity of the patient.
Text of SB 1189 as amended, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions