BILL NUMBER: AB 704	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Blumenfield

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2013

   An act to amend Sections 1797.170, 1797.171, and 1797.172 of the
Health and Safety Code, relating to emergency medical services.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 704, as introduced, Blumenfield. Emergency medical services:
military experience.
   Under the Emergency Medical Services System and the Prehospital
Emergency Medical Care Personnel Act, the Emergency Medical Services
Authority is responsible for establishing minimum standards and
promulgating regulations for the training and scope of practice for
an emergency medical technician (EMT-I), an advanced emergency
medical technician (EMT-II), and an emergency medical
technician-paramedic (EMT-P) certified or licensed, as applicable,
under the act.
   This bill would require the authority to develop and adopt
regulations to, upon presentation of satisfactory evidence, accept
the education, training, and practical experience completed by an
applicant with military experience toward the qualifications and
requirements for EMT-I certification, EMT-II certification, or EMT-P
licensure, as specified.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 1797.170 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:
   1797.170.  (a) The authority shall develop and, after approval by
the commission pursuant to Section 1799.50, adopt regulations for the
training and scope of practice for EMT-I certification. 
   (b) No later than January 1, 2015, the authority shall develop
and, after approval by the commission pursuant to Section 1799.50,
adopt regulations to, upon presentation of satisfactory evidence by
an applicant for certification, accept the education, training, and
practical experience completed by an applicant as a member of the
United States Armed Forces, the United States Military Reserve, the
National Guard of any state, or the Naval Militia of any state toward
the qualifications and requirements for EMT-I certification. 

   (b) 
    (   c)  Any individual certified as an EMT-I
pursuant to this division shall be recognized as an EMT-I on a
statewide basis, and recertification shall be based on statewide
standards. Effective July 1, 1990, any individual certified as an
EMT-I pursuant to this act shall complete a course of training on the
nature of sudden infant death syndrome which is developed by the
California SIDS program in the State Department of Public Health in
consultation with experts in the field of sudden infant death
syndrome.
  SEC. 2.  Section 1797.171 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
   1797.171.  (a)  The authority shall develop, and after approval of
the commission pursuant to Section 1799.50, shall adopt, minimum
standards for the training and scope of practice for EMT-II. 
   (b) No later than January 1, 2015, the authority shall develop
and, after approval by the commission pursuant to Section 1799.50,
adopt regulations to, upon presentation of satisfactory evidence by
an applicant for certification, accept the education, training, and
practical experience completed by an applicant as a member of the
United States Armed Forces, the United States Military Reserve, the
National Guard of any state, or the Naval Militia of any state toward
the qualifications and requirements for EMT-II certification. In
developing the regulations pursuant to this subdivision, the
authority shall deem an applicant for EMT-II certification with
military experience equivalent to EMT-I certification requirements as
certified as an EMT-I unless the authority determines that the
education, training, or practical experience is not sufficiently
comparable to existing standards.  
   (b) 
    (   c)  An EMT-II shall complete a course of
training on the nature of sudden infant death syndrome in accordance
with subdivision (b) of Section 1797.170. 
   (c) 
    (d)     (1)  In rural or remote areas
of the state where patient transport times are particularly long and
where local resources are inadequate to support an EMT-P program for
EMS responses, the director may approve additions to the scope of
practice of EMT-IIs serving the local system, if requested by the
medical director of the local EMS agency, and if the EMT-II has
received training equivalent to that of an EMT-P. The approval of the
director, in consultation with a committee of local EMS medical
directors named by the Emergency Medical Directors Association of
California, is required prior to implementation of any addition to a
local optional scope of practice for EMT-IIs proposed by the medical
director of a local EMS agency. No drug or procedure that is not part
of the basic EMT-P scope of practice, including, but not limited to,
any approved local options, shall be added to any EMT-II scope of
practice pursuant to this subdivision.
   Approval
    (2)     Approval  of additions to the
scope of practices pursuant to this subdivision may be given only for
EMT-II programs in effect on January 1, 1994.
  SEC. 3.  Section 1797.172 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
   1797.172.  (a) The authority shall develop and, after approval by
the commission pursuant to Section 1799.50, adopt minimum standards
for the training and scope of practice for EMT-P. 
   (b) No later than January 1, 2015, the authority shall develop
and, after approval by the commission pursuant to Section 1799.50,
adopt regulations to, upon presentation of satisfactory evidence by
an applicant for EMT-P licensure, accept the education, training, and
practical experience completed by an applicant as a member of the
United States Armed Forces, the United States Military Reserve, the
National Guard of any state, or the Naval Militia of any state toward
the qualifications and requirements for EMT-P licensure. In
developing the regulations pursuant to this subdivision, the
authority shall not require an applicant for EMT-P licensure with
military experience equivalent to relevant course work to complete
duplicative requirements unless the authority determines that the
education, training, or practical experience is not sufficiently
comparable to existing standards.  
   (b) 
    (   c)  The approval of the director, in
consultation with a committee of local EMS medical directors named by
the EMS Medical Directors Association of California, is required
prior to implementation of any addition to a local optional scope of
practice for EMT-Ps proposed by the medical director of a local EMS
agency. 
   (c) 
    (   d)  Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, the authority shall be the agency solely responsible for
licensure and licensure renewal of EMT-Ps who meet the standards and
are not precluded from licensure because of any of the reasons listed
in subdivision (d) of Section 1798.200. Each application for
licensure or licensure renewal shall require the applicant's social
security number in order to establish the identity of the applicant.
The information obtained as a result of a state and federal level
criminal offender record information search shall be used in
accordance with Section 11105 of the Penal Code, and to determine
whether the applicant is subject to denial of licensure or licensure
renewal pursuant to this division. Submission of fingerprint images
to the Department of Justice may not be required for licensure
renewal upon determination by the authority that fingerprint images
have previously been submitted to the Department of Justice during
initial licensure, or a previous licensure renewal, provided that the
license has not lapsed and the applicant has resided continuously in
the state since the initial licensure. 
   (d) 
    (e)  The authority shall charge fees for the licensure
and licensure renewal of EMT-Ps in an amount sufficient to support
the authority's licensure program at a level that ensures the
qualifications of the individuals licensed to provide quality care.
The basic fee for licensure or licensure renewal of an EMT-P shall
not exceed one hundred twenty-five dollars ($125) until the adoption
of regulations that specify a different amount that does not exceed
the authority's EMT-P licensure, license renewal, and enforcement
programs. The authority shall annually evaluate fees to determine if
the fee is sufficient to fund the actual costs of the authority's
licensure, licensure renewal, and enforcement programs. If the
evaluation shows that the fees are excessive or are insufficient to
fund the actual costs of the authority's EMT-P licensure, licensure
renewal, and enforcement programs, then the fees shall be adjusted
accordingly through the rulemaking process described in the
Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).
Separate additional fees may be charged, at the option of the
authority, for services that are not shared by all applicants for
licensure and licensure renewal, including, but not limited to, any
of the following services:
   (1) Initial application for licensure as an EMT-P.
   (2) Competency testing, the fee for which shall not exceed thirty
dollars ($30), except that an additional fee may be charged for the
cost of any services that provide enhanced availability of the exam
for the convenience of the EMT-P, such as on-demand electronic
testing.
   (3) Fingerprint and criminal record check. The applicant shall, if
applicable according to subdivision (c), submit fingerprint images
and related information for criminal offender record information
searches with the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation.
   (4) Out-of-state training equivalency determination.
   (5) Verification of continuing education for a lapse in licensure.

   (6) Replacement of a lost licensure card. The fees charged for
individual services shall be set so that the total fees charged to
EMT-Ps shall not exceed the authority's actual total cost for the
EMT-P licensure program. 
   (e) 
    (f)  The authority may provide nonconfidential,
nonpersonal information relating to EMS programs to interested
persons upon request, and may establish and assess fees for the
provision of this information. These fees shall not exceed the costs
of providing the information. 
   (f) 
    (g)  At the option of the authority, fees may be
collected for the authority by an entity that contracts with the
authority to provide any of the services associated with the EMT-P
program. All fees collected for the authority in a calendar month by
any entity designated by the authority pursuant to this section to
collect fees for the authority shall be transmitted to the authority
for deposit into the Emergency Medical Services Personnel Fund within
30 calendar days following the last day of the calendar month in
which the fees were received by the designated entity, unless the
contract between the entity and the authority specifies a different
timeframe.