VETO MESSAGE ON HB 1591-S

May 17, 2005

To the Honorable Speaker and Members,

The House of Representatives of the State of Washington

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I am returning, without my approval as to Sections 3, 4, and 5, Substitute House Bill No. 1591 entitled:

"AN ACT Relating to care facilities."

Sections 3, 4, and 5 of this bill authorize licensure of a new category of larger adult family homes, known as special capacity adult family homes, which may serve seven or eight residents instead of up to only six residents. Adult family homes are an important component of our state's long-term care continuum and are favored by many families seeking a home-like, but safe living environment for an elderly or disabled family member. The intent behind this proposal is to make operating one of these facilities more economically viable. Expanding the size of these facilities, however, may make them less safe, less homelike, and more intrusive in neighborhood settings. Larger facilities would also likely incur higher staff and service costs. It is not clear that expanding their size would make them more economically viable. The idea of authorizing the expansion of adult family homes should be considered by the Long Term Care Task Force. The task force was created under Substitute House Bill No. 1220 this year, and will be considering both financial and capacity issues in our long-term care system over this next year.

For these reasons, I have vetoed Sections 3, 4, and 5 of Substitute House Bill No. 1591.

With the exception of Sections 3, 4, and 5, Substitute House Bill No. 1591 is approved.

Respectfully submitted,

Christine O. Gregoire

Governor