Amended in Assembly May 24, 2013

Amended in Assembly April 18, 2013

Amended in Assembly March 19, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 355

Introduced by Assembly Member Cooley

February 13, 2013

An act relating to emergency medical services begin insert , and making an appropriation therefor end insert .

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 355, as amended, Cooley. Emergency medical services: mobile field hospitals.

Existing law establishes the Emergency Medical Services Authority in the Health and Welfare Agency to administer a statewide system of coordinated emergency medical care, injury prevention, and disaster medical response.

This bill would appropriate begin delete $1,700,000 end delete begin insert $1,000,000 end insert from the General Fund to the Emergency Medical Services Authority to continue the Mobile Field Hospital program. The bill would also make legislative findings and declarations.

Vote: ²⁄₃. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

begin delete (a) end delete begin delete   end delete The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

begin delete

(1)

end delete

begin insert (a) end insert  California has a history of devastating natural disasters,
including, but not limited to, earthquakes and floods.

begin delete

(2)

end delete

begin insert (b) end insert  The Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast model
predicts that California will experience a magnitude 6.7 or larger
earthquake in the next 30 years.

begin delete

(3)

end delete

begin insert (c) end insert  Mobile field hospitals have been deployed around the world
in response to natural disasters and public health emergencies.

begin delete

(4)

end delete

begin insert (d) end insert  California invested in three 200 bed mobile field hospitals
as part of the state’s disaster preparedness plan to protect citizens
and provide critical medical services in a time of need. However,
due to a lack of programmatic funding, the state will be forced to
sell the mobile field hospitals at a fraction of the program’s initial
cost.

SEC. 2.  

The sum of one million begin delete seven hundred thousand end delete dollars
begin delete ($1,700,000) end delete begin insert ($1,000,000) end insert is hereby appropriated from the General
Fund to the Emergency Medical Services Authority for purposes
of continuing the Mobile Field Hospital program.