AB-2598 Health care facilities: notification of next of kin
Sep 6, 2026 edition · GC-2026-0082 · Published 2026-09-06 · Version 2 · Proposed
AB 2598 proposed documented death-notification attempts and conditional public-administrator notice with separate penalty clocks.
What happened
The September 3 enrolled AB 2598 would require a general acute care hospital or skilled nursing facility to make documented, good-faith attempts to contact known next of kin within 72 hours of death using available contact information. The provision also covers a body transferred to a hospital after death. Notification of a designated resident representative or the person’s prior written instruction against next-of-kin notification can satisfy the specified alternative; transferring the body alone is not that alternative. The requirements remained proposed as of September 5.
When the stated unsuccessful-search or alternative-notice conditions apply, notice to the county public administrator would be due within two business days, accompanied by available identifying information. The proposed $200-per-day, $50,000-capped civil penalties have distinct clocks: next-of-kin notice uses the reasonable-attempt-to-actual-knowledge period, while administrator notice runs from the fifth business day after death. A disputed penalty has a ten-working-day hearing-request period. CDCR-custody deaths are excluded, and other facilities retain the separate immediate-notice rule for deaths without known kin.
Scope and timing
- Authority status
- Proposed
- Applicability
- Potentially applicable
- Audience
- Health systems, Provider networks
- Jurisdiction
- California
Why it matters
Death-notification workflows need separate documented attempts, alternatives, administrator triggers and penalty calculations.
Recommended action
Monitor disposition and review documented contact attempts, resident-representative/prior-preference handling and administrator escalation. Confirm final authority before implementing new statutory clocks.
Sources
- AB-2598 Health care facilities: notification of next of kin, bill historyOfficial · California Legislature · 2026-08-30 · Source review 2026-09-10
- AB-2598 Health care facilities: notification of next of kin, current bill text (09/03/26 - Enrolled)Official · California Legislature · 2026-09-03 · Source review 2026-09-10
Complete edition and supplemental material
This finding in the complete approved report →Regulatory horizons, CIA trends and implementation trackers remain in the full report.
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