BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE HEALTH
COMMITTEE ANALYSIS
Senator Ed Hernandez, O.D., Chair
BILL NO: SB 63
S
AUTHOR: Price
B
AMENDED: April 25, 2011
HEARING DATE: April 27, 2011
6
CONSULTANT:
3
Trueworthy
SUBJECT
Pupil and personnel health: automatic external
defibrillators
SUMMARY
Encourages public high schools to acquire and maintain an
automatic external defibrillator (AED) and makes certain
requirements for those schools that choose to acquire and
maintain an AED.
CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW
Existing law:
Authorizes a school district or school to provide a
comprehensive program in first aid or cardiopulmonary
resuscitation training.
Requires every health studio to acquire and maintain an
AED.
Requires every health studio to require employees to
complete a training course in the use of an AED within 30
days of employment.
Provides immunity from civil liability to any person who
completes a designated cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
Continued---
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course and renders emergency CPR at the scene of an
emergency.
This bill:
Makes various legislative findings and declarations
regarding cardiac arrests and how automatic external
defibrillators (AEDs) can save lives.
States legislative intent that all public high schools
acquire and maintain one AED.
Allows a school to solicit and receive nonstate funds to
acquire and maintain an AED and also to use those funds to
train a school employee in the use of an AED.
Requires a school who chooses to acquire and maintain an
AED to do all of the following:
o Place an AED in a centralized location;
o Ensure that an AED is available for use at a
school-sponsored event;
o Ensure and maintain records that the AED is
regularly tested according to the operation and
maintenance guidelines and that the AED is checked
for readiness after each use and at least once every
30 days if the AED has not been used during the
preceding 30 days;
o Prepare a written emergency preparedness plan
that describes the procedures to be followed in the
event of an emergency that may involve the use of an
AED; and
o Require school employees expected to administer
an AED in an emergency to complete a training course
in CPR and in the use of an AED that complies with
Emergency Medical Services Authority regulations and
the standards set forth by the American Heart
Association or the American Red Cross.
Provides that an employee of a school district who renders
emergency care or treatment is not liable for civil damages
resulting from the use, attempted use, or nonuse of an AED,
except in the case of personal injury or wrongful death
that results from gross negligence or willful or wanton
misconduct on the part of the person who uses, attempts to
use, or maliciously fails to use an AED to render emergency
care or treatment.
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FISCAL IMPACT
This bill has not been analyzed by a fiscal committee.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
The author states that AEDs have become an integral part of
saving lives in the United States today and are the only
piece of equipment outside of a medical setting that can be
used to save the life of a sudden cardiac arrest victim.
SB 63 is intended to protect California public high school
students from a catastrophic event resulting from sudden
cardiac arrest while on a school campus or participating in
an athletic event.
According to the author, sudden cardiac arrest is not the
same as a heart attack and cannot be treated in the same
way. Heart attacks are generally caused by blockage in the
arteries and are accompanied by warning signs that can
occur sometimes days and even weeks in advance. Sudden
cardiac arrest usually happens without warning and without
regard to age or social or economic status. Children,
teenagers, adults and the elderly can all be victims of
sudden cardiac arrest. According to the author, sudden
cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death among
exercising young athletes. It is estimated that 1 in
200,000 athletes develop "abrupt-onset ventricular
tachycardia rapid heartbeat" or fibrillation (a chaotically
abnormal heart rhythm) and die suddenly during exercise, an
organized practice, or an athletic competition.
According to the American Heart Association, more than
250,000 people in the United States die each year from
sudden cardiac arrest. Studies by the American Heart
Association show that the single greatest determinant of
survival after sudden cardiac arrest is the time from
collapse to defibrillation; with survival rates declining 7
percent to 10 percent per minute with every minute that
defibrillation is delayed. Studies also show that if early
defibrillation is provided within the first minute, the
odds are 90 percent that the victim's life can be saved.
The author states that today, many of the state's school
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districts already have an AED program, including some of
the largest such as Los Angeles, San Diego and Fresno
Unified School Districts. Several states have also passed
laws mandating high schools to acquire AEDs, including
Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland,
Michigan, Nevada, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, Virginia,
and Wisconsin.
Prior legislation
SB 127 (Calderon), Chapter 500, Statutes of 2010, removed
the July 1, 2012 sunset date for existing requirements that
every health studio acquires and maintains an AED and
trains personnel in its use thereby extending these
requirements indefinitely.
AB 1312 (Swanson) of 2009 would have made the current
requirements for health studios to purchase, maintain, and
train staff in the use of AEDs applicable to amusement
parks and golf courses. This bill also proposed to extend
the sunset date on this requirement from July 1, 2012 to
July 1, 2014. AB 1312 was vetoed by the Governor.
AB 1507 (Pavley), Chapter 431, Statutes of 2005, required
all health studios in the state to have automatic external
defibrillators (AEDs) available with properly trained
personnel until July 1, 2012.
Arguments in support
The California chapter of the American Red Cross writes in
support of SB 63 stating AEDs can be extremely effective in
reviving a person found to be in cardiac arrest.
Supporters contend that having an AED in an easily
accessible location can allow on-site individuals to
deliver life-saving defibrillation therapy quickly and
effectively.
Arguments in opposition
The California Association of Joint Powers Authorities
(CAJPA) is opposed to the March 16, 2011 version of SB 63.
CAJPA writes they are concerned that the immunity
provisions for individuals and school districts do not
apply in the case of gross negligence and argues there
should be complete immunity for schools that have at least
one AED. CAJPA is also concerned that the testing
standards required by SB 63 are impracticable and could
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lead to liability issues.
COMMENTS
1. The previous version of the bill (March 16, 2011)
required public schools, maintaining grades 9 to 12, to
acquire and maintain at least one AED in a centralized
location and specified other requirements related to AEDs.
POSITIONS
Support: American Red Cross, California Chapter
California Medical Association
California Professional Firefighters
Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association
Oppose:California Association of Joint Powers Authorities
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