Section 1.Chapter 111 of the Massachusetts General Laws as appearing in the official 2014 edition is hereby amended by inserting the following new sections after Section 71C:

“Section 71D.  Facilities licensed pursuant to section seventy-one of chapter 111 of the general laws which were constructed on or before March 19, 1968 shall be subject to construction and equipment requirements for long-term care facilities specified in 105 CMR 150.017 (B)(1) through 105 CMR 150.017(16)(e), as codified in the Code of Massachusetts Regulations effective January 1, 2017.  [New construction, conversions, alterations, additions or other structural changes in a proposed or existing facility shall conform to the Department’s most current standards of construction.]”

“Section 71E. For facilities licensed pursuant to section seventy-one of chapter 111 of the general laws resident rooms must accommodate no more than four persons, provided that such facilities that receive approval of construction or reconstruction plans by the Commonwealth and local authorities or are newly certified on or after November 29, 2016, resident rooms must accommodate no more than two residents.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Department is prohibited from enacting resident room requirements that are more restrictive than the requirements specified in the federal requirements of participation for states and long term care facilities pursuant to chapter forty two of the code of federal regulations part 483.  The following words shall have the following meanings as used in this paragraph: “Approval of construction and reconstruction plans by the Commonwealth and local authorities” shall mean any approval by the Department of construction plans directly impacting resident rooms.”