BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1598 (Rodriguez)
As Amended August 12, 2014
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |79-0 |(May 28, 2014) |SENATE: |35-0 |(August 18, |
| | | | | |2014) |
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Original Committee Reference: G.O.
SUMMARY : Requires emergency medical services agencies to
jointly establish standard operating procedures and coordinated
training programs for active shooter incidents.
The Senate amendments authorize the training standards and
course of instruction to, if appropriate, include coordination
with emergency medical services providers that respond to an
incident, tactical casualty care, and other standards of
emergency care as established by the Emergency Medical Services
Authority (EMSA).
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Required fire, law enforcement and emergency medical services
agencies to jointly establish standard operating procedures
and coordinated training programs for active shooter
incidents.
2)Requires the Curriculum Development Advisory Committee (CDAC)
to consult with the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and
Training (CPOST).
3)Requires that EMSA training standards include criteria for
coordinating between different responding entities.
4)Requires the Interdepartmental Committee on Emergency Medical
Services (ICEMS) to consult with CPOST regarding emergency
medical services integration and coordination with peace
officer training.
5)Requires the CPOST's guidelines and training standards to
address tactical casualty care and coordination with emergency
medical services providers.
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6)Defines, for purposes of this bill, a "terrorism incident" to
include, but not limited to, an active shooter incident. An
"active shooter incident" is an incident where an individual
is actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in
a confined area.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS :
Purpose of the bill: According to the author, although active
shooter incidents are not frequent events, they do occur. As an
example, in November 2013, a gunman entered Terminal 3 at Los
Angeles Airport (LAX) and opened fire. In the hours after the
shooting, many travelers said they were not told what was
happening. Many waited for hours on airport roadways, not
knowing when they would be let back into terminals. Though law
enforcement officials were quick to respond to the incident, the
shooting at LAX raised scrutiny as to how the fleeing crowds
were managed throughout the attack and its aftermath.
The author further states that since the Columbine High School
attack in 1999, active shooter events have captured a
substantial amount of public and police attention. Emergency
medical services entry to an attack site is often delayed
because the police must conduct a thorough search of the scene
in order to declare it secure. California responders need to
work together to minimize response times and to work together as
a coordinated unit so that casualties are reduced and minimized.
This bill encourages local fire, law enforcement, and emergency
medical services agencies to jointly establish standard
operating procedures and coordinated training programs for
active shooter incidents.
By requiring cooperative training and planning, law enforcement
and emergency responders can more quickly secure a scene and
permit lifesaving medical care to be provided to the injured.
Active Shooter: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
defines an active shooter as "an individual actively engaged in
killing or attempting to kill people in a conned and populated
area." While most active shooter events involve the use of
firearms, there have been various cases that have also involved
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the use of homemade explosive devices. Individuals who carry
out these types of attacks have, in most cases, not had a
criminal background history or shown any signs of a violent
past. According to DHS, in many cases, there is no pattern or
method to the selection of victims by an active shooter, and
these situations are by their very nature unpredictable and
evolve quickly.
As a response to the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, the Advance
Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) conducted a
study titled, U.S. Active Shooter Events from 2000-2012. The
study found that between 2000 and 2010 there had been 84 active
shooter events in the United States that resulted in 250 deaths
and countless other injured. In addition, the study also found
that in 56% of the attacks that were still ongoing when the
police arrived, the police had to use force to stop the killing,
attackers carried multiple weapons in 41% of the attacks, and
business locations were the most frequently attacked (37%),
followed by schools (34%) and public outdoor venues (17%).
DHS has approached education and training for active shooter
situations by creating an online training module for non-law
enforcement personnel and by developing a training program for
law enforcement and security personnel.
As active shooter incidents increase across the United States,
organizations such as schools, government agencies, and private
sector businesses are opting to have security experts provide
threat and risk assessment services as well as some type of
active shooter response training for their staff. While the
emergency response community continues to work on the best way
to prepare and put a quick end to these types of attacks, it
seems clear that the best way to deal with active shooter
attacks is by preparing and coordinating between the various
local fire, law enforcement, and emergency medical services.
Analysis Prepared by : Felipe Lopez / G.O. / (916) 319-2531
FN: 0004440
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