4314. (Amended by Stats. 2020, Ch. 12, Sec. 46.)

(a) The Director of State Hospitals may set aside and designate any space on the grounds of any of the institutions under the jurisdiction of the department that is not needed for other authorized purposes, to enable the institution to establish and maintain therein a store or canteen for the sale to or for the benefit of patients of the institution of candies, sundries, and other articles. The stores shall be conducted subject to the rules and regulations of the department and the rental, utility, and service charges shall be fixed as will reimburse the institutions for the cost thereof. The stores when conducted under the direction of a hospital administrator shall be operated on a nonprofit basis but any profits derived shall be deposited in the benefit fund of each institution as set forth in Section 4125.

(b) Before any store is authorized or established, the Director of State Hospitals shall first determine that the facilities are not being furnished adequately by private enterprise in the community where it is proposed to locate the store, and may hold public hearings or cause surveys to be made, to determine the same.