Section 11853.5.
Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 11853.5.
in effect(a)
Any government entity that contracts with a privately owned recovery residence to provide recovery services, or an alcohol or other drug recovery or treatment facility to provide treatment services for more than six residents, shall require the contractor, at all times, to maintain all of the following insurance coverages, which shall include the government entity as an additional insured:
(1)
Commercial general liability insurance that includes coverage for premises liability, products and completed operations, contractual liability, personal injury and advertising liability, abuse, molestation, sexual actions, and assault and battery, with minimum coverage amounts for
bodily injury or property damage of not less than one million dollars ($1,000,000) per occurrence.
(2)
Commercial or business automobile liability insurance covering all owned vehicles, hired or leased vehicles, nonowned vehicles, and borrowed and permissive uses, with minimum coverage amounts for bodily injury or property damage of not less than one million dollars ($1,000,000) per occurrence.
(3)
Workers’ compensation insurance, as required by law. Notwithstanding subdivision (b) of Section 3700 of the Labor Code, a certificate of self-insurance obtained pursuant to that subdivision does not satisfy this requirement.
(4)
Employer’s liability insurance, with minimum coverage amounts for bodily injury or disease of not
less than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) per occurrence.
(5)
Professional liability and errors and omissions insurance that includes an endorsement for contractual liability, with minimum coverage amounts of one million dollars ($1,000,000) per occurrence and two million dollars ($2,000,000) aggregate. The contract shall include an endorsement for defense and indemnification of the government entity with which the licensee has contracted.
(b)
Any government entity that contracts with an alcohol or other drug recovery or treatment facility to provide treatment services for six or fewer residents, shall require the contractor, at all times, to maintain general liability insurance coverages, which shall include the government entity as an additional insured.
(c)
(1)
A privately owned recovery residence that contracts with a government entity may meet the insurance requirements of this section by procuring coverage from an admitted insurer, or a nonadmitted insurer that is eligible to insure a home state insured under Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 1760) of Part 2 of Division 1 of the Insurance Code.
(2)
Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the workers’ compensation insurance required by this section shall be obtained as required by Section 3700 of the Labor Code.
(d)
This section does not prohibit a government entity from requiring quality and performance standards or levels of insurance coverage that are similar to, or that exceed, the standards and levels described
in this section when contracting for recovery residence services.
(e)
For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1)
“Alcohol or other drug recovery or treatment facility” has the same meaning as in Section 11834.02.
(2)
“Government entity” means the state, a county, or a city.
(3)
“Recovery residence” has the same meaning as in Section 11833.05.
(f)
This section shall apply to contracts entered into, renewed, or amended on or after January 1, 2022.
References
referencesCal. Labor Code - LAB § 3700.
referencesCal. Insurance Code - INS § 1760.
referencesCal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 11834.02.
referencesCal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 11833.05.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026