BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 2217
                                                                  Page 1

          Date of Hearing:   April 9, 2014

                           ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
                                Joan Buchanan, Chair
                AB 2217 (Melendez) - As Introduced:  February 20, 2014

           [Note: This bill is doubled referred to the Assembly Judiciary  
            Committee and will be heard as it relates to issues under its  
                                   jurisdiction.]
           
          SUBJECT  :   Pupil and personnel health: automatic external  
          defibrillators

           SUMMARY  :  Encourages all public schools to acquire and maintain  
          at least one automatic external defibrillator (AED) and provides  
          immunity from civil damages to the employee of the school  
          district and to the school district resulting from the use of an  
          AED.  Specifically,  this bill  :  

          1)Identifies the intent of the Legislature to encourage all  
            public schools to acquire and maintain an AED.

          2)Permits a school to solicit and receive non-state funds to  
            acquire and maintain an AED and specifies that these funds  
            shall only be used to acquire and maintain the AED and to  
            provide training to school employees regarding use of an AED.

          3)Provides immunity from civil liability to school districts and  
            their employees for damages resulting from any act or omission  
            in rendering the emergency care or treatment involving the AED  
            so long as the employee of the school district is in  
            compliance with Section 1714.21 of the Civil Code which speaks  
            to the immunity from liability for use of an AED if the  
            requirements set forth in Health and Safety Code section  
            1797.196 are met.

          4)Specifies that immunity does not apply to those injuries or  
            deaths that occur as a result of 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. 

          5)Specifies that this section does not alter the requirements of  
            Health and Safety Code section 1797.196, which speaks to the  
            immunity from liability if certain conditions pertaining to  








                                                                  AB 2217
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            the operation and maintenance of the AEDs are met.

           EXISTING LAW  There are currently no requirements in Education  
          Code relating to the acquisition, maintenance, or use of AEDs.
           
          California Civil Code  :
          1)Specifies that any person who, in good faith and not for  
            compensation, renders emergency care or treatment by the use  
            of AED at the scene of an emergency is not liable for any  
            civil damages resulting from any acts or omissions of the  
            person rendering care. 

          2)Extends immunity from liability to those entities that train  
            persons in CPR and AED use, the person or entity that acquires  
            an AED for emergency use, so long as that person or entity has  
            complied with the applicable provisions of Health and Safety  
            Code, and to a physician who is involved in the placement of  
            the AED, if that physician has complied with the applicable  
            provisions of Health and Safety Code.

          3)Clarifies that immunity does not extend to cases of gross  
            negligence or willful or wanton misconduct of the person who  
            renders emergency care or treatment by the use of an AED.

          4)Clarifies that this section does not exempt the manufacturer,  
            designer, developer, distributer, installer, or supplier of an  
            AED of any liability under existing laws.

           California Health and Safety Code:  
          1)Specifies that immunity from civil liability resulting from  
            the acts or omissions in the rendering of emergency care may  
            be extended so long as the person or entity that has acquired  
            an AED does all of the following:
             a)   Complies with all regulations governing the placement of  
               the AED;

             b)   Maintains and regularly tests the AED according to  
               specified guidelines;

             c)   Notifies the emergency medical services system as soon  
               as possible and reports the used of the AED as specified;

             d)   Maintains a specified ratio of trained employee to AEDs;

             e)   Maintains a written plan that describes the procedures  








                                                                  AB 2217
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               to be followed in the event of an emergency involving the  
               use of an AED; and

             f)   Specifies that when an AED is placed in a public or  
               private K - 12 school, the principal shall ensure that the  
               school administrator and staff annually receive a brochure,  
               approved as to content and style by the American Heart  
               Association.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   This bill has been keyed non-fiscal by  
          Legislative Counsel.

           COMMENTS  :    According to the author, the majority of  
          California's children spend around 14,000 hours away from their  
          parents and under the supervision of the state while they  
          receive an education at California's K - 12 public schools.  
          While under this supervision, parents should be confident that  
          their children are protected. Additionally, according to the  
          author, during the school year, twenty percent of America's  
          population spends at least part of their day on a school  
          property. According to the American Heart Association, sudden  
          cardiac arrest kills over 300,000 people a year and is the  
          leading cause of death in the United States.  

          Medical experts opine that the key to survival is timely  
          initiation of a "chain of survival", including CPR and the use  
          of an AED.  Trained non-medical personnel can use these  
          simplified electronic machines to treat a person in cardiac  
          arrest. The AED device guides the user through the process by  
          audible or visual prompts without requiring any discretion or  
          judgment. The American Heart Association notes that at least  
          20,000 lives could be saved annually by prompt use of AEDs.  
          Ultimately, with broad deployment of AEDs among trained  
          responders, as many as 50,000 deaths due to sudden cardiac  
          arrest could be prevented each year. With this in mind,  this  
          bill  encourages all public schools to acquire and maintain at  
          least one AED.

          In extending immunity from civil damages to a school district  
          and its employees when using an AED, the author intends to  
          encourage schools to acquire these life-saving devices.  This  
          bill is intended to provide certainty to school districts and  
          their employees if an AED is used on campus they are immune from  
          civil liability and thereby encourage the acquisition of AEDs to  
          promote public safety. Further, this bill permits a school to  








                                                                  AB 2217
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          receive non-state funds to remove any financial barriers the  
          school may face in acquiring and maintaining an AED and training  
          their employees in the use of an AED.

           Previous Legislation  : AB 939 (Melendez) of 2013 encourages all  
          public schools to acquire and maintain an AED and provides  
          immunity from civil damages to the employee of the school  
          district and to the school district resulting from the use of an  
          AED.
          This measure passed out of the Assembly Education Committee by a  
          vote of 5 - 0, but died in Senate Appropriations.

          SB 1346 (Lowenthal), Chapter 71, Statutes of 2012, extended  
          indefinitely, the minimum training standards and immunity from  
          civil damages in connection with the use of AEDs. This measure  
          was not heard by the Assembly Education Committee.

          SB 63 (Price) of 2011 required all public high schools to  
          acquire and maintain at least one AED.  This bill died in the  
          Senate Appropriations Committee.


           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          Association of California School Administrators
          Brain Injury Association of California
          Civil Justice Association of California 
          Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors
          
           Opposition 
           
          None on file
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Jill Rice / ED. / (916) 319-2087