BILL NUMBER: AB 1272 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Hill
FEBRUARY 27, 2009
An act to amend Sections 1797.222 and 1798.169 of the Health and
Safety Code, and to amend Sections 21661.5 and 21662.1 of the Public
Utilities Code, relating to public health.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1272, as introduced, Hill. Emergency medical services: trauma
center: helicopter landing pad.
Existing law, the Emergency Medical Services System and
Prehospital Emergency Medical Care Personnel Act, establishes the
Emergency Medical Services Authority within the California Health and
Human Services Agency to, among other things, provide statewide
coordination of county emergency medical service programs, including,
but not limited to, designated trauma centers, and to administer the
Trauma Care Fund.
Existing law, the State Aeronautics Act, sets forth provisions
regulating aeronautics in California under the jurisdiction of the
Department of Transportation, including, but not limited to, the
planning, siting, and approval, of airports, including, but not
limited to, helicopter landing pads. The law provides counties with
specified authority over the approval of helicopter landing pads.
This bill would provide that those provisions of law shall not be
construed as authorizing a county to prohibit a trauma center from
installing a helicopter landing pad at or near its facility for the
purpose of receiving emergency trauma care patients, and would make
conforming changes.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1797.222 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:
1797.222. (a) A county, upon the
recommendation of its local EMS agency, may adopt ordinances
governing the transport of a patient who is receiving care in the
field from prehospital emergency medical personnel, when the patient
meets specific criteria for trauma, burn, or pediatric centers
adopted by the local EMS agency.
The
(b) The ordinances shall, to the
extent possible, ensure that individual patients receive appropriate
medical care while protecting the interests of the community at large
by making maximum use of available emergency medical care resources.
These ordinances shall be consistent with Sections 1797.106,
1798.100, and 1798.102, and shall not conflict with any state
regulations or any guidelines adopted by the Emergency Medical
Service Authority.
This
(c) This section shall not be
construed as prohibiting the helicopter program of the Department of
the California Highway Patrol from a role in providing emergency
medical services when the best medically qualified person at the
scene of an accident determines it is in the best interests of any
injured party.
(d) This section shall not be construed as authorizing a county to
prohibit a trauma center from installing a helicopter landing pad at
or near its facility for the purpose of receiving emergency trauma
care patients.
SEC. 2. Section 1798.169 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
1798.169. (a) Nothing in this article shall
be construed as restricting the use of a helicopter of the
Department of the California Highway Patrol from performing missions
which the department determines are in the best interests of the
people of the State of California.
(b) Nothing in this article shall be construed as authorizing a
county to prohibit a trauma center from installing a helicopter
landing pad at or near its facility for the purpose of receiving
emergency trauma care patients.
SEC. 3. Section 21661.5 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
21661.5. (a) No political subdivision, any of its officers or
employees, or any person may submit any application for the
construction of a new airport to any local, regional, state, or
federal agency unless the plan for construction is first approved by
the board of supervisors of the county, or the city council of the
city, in which the airport is to be located and unless the plan is
submitted to the appropriate commission exercising powers pursuant to
Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 21670) of Chapter 4 of Part 1
of Division 9, and acted upon by that commission in accordance with
the provisions of that article.
(b) A county board of supervisors or a city council may, pursuant
to Section 65100 of the Government Code, delegate its responsibility
under this section for the approval of a plan for construction of new
helicopter landing and takeoff areas, to the county or city planning
agency.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing a
county to prohibit a trauma center from installing a helicopter
landing pad at or near its facility for the purpose of receiving
emergency trauma care patients.
SEC. 4. Section 21662.1 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
21662.1. (a) At or as near as practical to the site of a medical
emergency and at a medical facility, an officer authorized by a
public safety agency may designate an area for the landing and taking
off of an emergency service helicopter, in accordance with
regulations established not later than January 1, 1989, pursuant to
Section 21243.
(b) "Public safety agency" means any city, county, state agency,
or special purpose district authorized to arrange for emergency
medical services.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing a
county to prohibit a trauma center from installing a helicopter
landing pad at or near its facility for the purpose of receiving
emergency trauma care patients.