BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1272
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 1272
AUTHOR: Hill
AMENDED: June 23, 2009
FISCAL: No HEARING DATE: July 6, 2009
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Randy Pestor
SUBJECT : HELICOPTER LANDING PADS
SUMMARY :
Existing law :
1) Under the Emergency Medical Services System and Prehospital
Emergency Medical Care Personnel Act (Health and Safety
Code 1797 et seq.):
a) Creates the Emergency Medical Services Authority
(EMSA) in the California Health and Human Services
Agency. The EMSA must submit draft regulations by July
1, 1984, to the Commission on Emergency Medical Services
(CEMS) specifying minimum standards for implementing
trauma care systems. The regulations must be adopted by
July 1, 1985, and address certain matters (e.g.,
prehospital care management guidelines for triage and
transportation of trauma cases, flow patterns of trauma
cases, resources and equipment needed by trauma
facilities).
b) Authorizes each county to develop an emergency
medical services program, and each county developing
such a program must designate a local EMS agency. A
local EMS agency may implement a trauma care system only
if the system meets the minimum standards set forth in
EMSA regulations. A local EMS agency must also develop
and submit a trauma care system plan to the EMSA in
accordance with the above regulations prior to
implementing a system.
2) Under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA),
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requires lead agencies with the principal responsibility
for carrying out or approving a proposed project to prepare
a negative declaration, mitigated declaration, or
environmental impact report (EIR) for this action, unless
the project is exempt from CEQA (CEQA includes various
statutory exemptions, as well as categorical exemptions in
the CEQA guidelines). (Public Resources Code 21080 et
seq.).
This bill :
1) Under the Emergency Medical Services System and Prehospital
Emergency Medical Care Personnel Act:
a) Requires the EMSA regulations to also address
transportation of trauma patients to, and between,
trauma centers by ground and air ambulance.
b) Requires a local EMS agency that implements a trauma
system to include provisions in its trauma system plan
for air transport of trauma patients to, and between,
trauma centers.
2) Under CEQA, provides that a lead agency is not required to
consider noise impacts caused by use of a proposed
helicopter landing pad in its environmental review of a
project related to the construction of a trauma center
helicopter landing pad.
COMMENTS :
1) Purpose of Bill . According to the author, "The goal of AB
1272 is to save lives by ensuring that California residents
have access to helicopter landing pads on trauma centers;
[i]mprove emergency medical air transport planning by
requiring a local emergency medical service to include
within its trauma system plan the provision of air
transport of trauma patients to, and between, trauma
centers, if the local emergency medical service agency
elects to implement a trauma system; and [e]nsure that
proposals to construct heli-pads on trauma centers are not
denied for reasons other than [health] and safety."
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2) What is the problem ? AB 1272 prohibited local governments
from denying installation of a helicopter landing pad at or
near a trauma facility when the bill was before the Senate
Local Government Committee. When these provisions were
stricken from the bill and replaced with EMS and CEQA
amendments, this bill was referred to the Environmental
Quality Committee.
Information provided to the Committee indicated that certain
hospitals were unable to obtain permits for a helipad.
However, there is no documentation that local government
officials have denied installation of helipads. And even
if there are such cases, there may be potential impacts
justifying denial. In any event, should denial of an
application for a particular type of project be a basis for
changing state law to restrict all local governments in
acting on that type of project? If local governments'
ability to address environmental and land use issues is
restricted in this manner, does that decrease the public's
confidence of their elected official's ability to address
these issues? If a lead agency does not address helicopter
landing pad noise issues, will the public merely object to
an entire trauma center project?
3) Brief background on CEQA . CEQA provides a process for
evaluating the environmental effects of a project, and
includes statutory exemptions, as well as categorical
exemptions in the CEQA guidelines. If a project is not
exempt from CEQA, an initial study is prepared to determine
whether a project may have a significant effect on the
environment. If the initial study shows that there would
not be a significant effect on the environment, the lead
agency must prepare a negative declaration. If the initial
study shows that the project may have a significant effect
on the environment, the lead agency must prepare an EIR.
Generally, an EIR must accurately describe the proposed
project, identify and analyze each significant
environmental impact expected to result from the proposed
project, identify mitigation measures to reduce those
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impacts to the extent feasible, and evaluate a range of
reasonable alternatives to the proposed project. Prior to
approving any project that has received environmental
review, an agency must make certain findings. If
mitigation measures are required or incorporated into a
project, the agency must adopt a reporting or monitoring
program to ensure compliance with those measures.
If a mitigation measure would cause one or more significant
effects in addition to those that would be caused by the
proposed project, the effects of the mitigation measure
must be discussed but in less detail than the significant
effects of the proposed project.
4) Limiting CEQA review . Under CEQA, a public agency would
consider impacts such as noise at various parts of the
environmental review process, including when a public
agency: a) makes a determination of whether the project
requires preparation of a negative declaration or EIR; b)
identifies project impacts; c) determines mitigation
measures and alternatives; d) adopts a mitigation
monitoring program; and e) makes required findings.
Under AB 1272, a public agency could not consider noise
impacts at any of these steps.
With respect to findings under CEQA, a public agency cannot
approve or carry out a project when an EIR has been
certified that identifies one or more significant
environmental effects unless the public agency makes one or
more of the following findings with respect to each
significant effect: a) changes or alternations have been
required in the project to mitigate or avoid the
significant effects; b) those changes or alterations are
within the responsibility and jurisdiction of another
public agency and have been or can be adopted by the other
agency; or c) specified considerations make the mitigation
measures or alternatives infeasible.
If noise impacts cannot be considered, as provided under AB
1272, a public agency would be unable to make the above
findings - and would also be unable to deny the project -
due to noise impacts if mitigation measures or alternatives
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cannot address the noise impacts.
5) Pushing EMS air transport . Current law requires an EMSA to
submit draft regulations on certain matters, including
prehospital care management guidelines for triage and
trauma transportation, and flow patterns of trauma
patients. Although transportation must currently be
addressed in this manner, AB 1272 goes a step further by
requiring the regulations to specifically focus on air
transport - while also requiring a local EMS agency to
include air transport of trauma patients to and between
trauma centers in a local EMS agency trauma system plan.
Under AB 1272, this amendment therefore seeks to ensure that a
trauma center will include air transport - while other
provisions of this bill prevent consideration of noise
impacts during the CEQA process for a helicopter landing
pad at the trauma center.
6) Author seeking amendments . The author's office provided
proposed amendments to the committee July 1, 2009, (which
is past the committee deadline for author's amendments)
specifying that the lead agency is not required to consider
the "no project" alternative in addressing the noise impact
caused by use of the proposed helicopter pad in its EIR for
the project.
7) Referral to Senate Rules Committee . If this measure is
approved by this committee, the do pass motion must include
the action to re-refer the bill to the Senate Rules
Committee.
SOURCE : Assemblymember Hill
SUPPORT : American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO;
California Ambulance Association; California
Association of Air Medical Services; California
Emergency Nurses Association; California
Hospital Association; California Medical
Association; California Shock Trauma Air
Rescue; Emergency Medical Services
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Administrators' Association of California;
OPPOSITION : California League of Conservation Voters,
Coalition for San Francisco Neighborhoods,
League of California Cities, Natural Resources
Defense Council, Sierra Club California