BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 1312|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 1312
          Author:   Swanson (D)
          Amended:  8/17/09 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE  :  4-0, 7/14/09
          AYES:  Corbett, Harman, Florez, Leno
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Walters
           
          ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  77-0, 5/18/09 (Consent) - See last page  
            for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Defibrillators

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill makes the current requirements for  
          health studios to purchase, maintain, and train staff in  
          the use of automatic external defibrillators applicable to  
          amusement parks and golf courses.  This bill revises the  
          sunset date on this requirement from July 1, 2012 to July  
          1, 2014.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law requires health studios,  
          beginning July 1, 2007, to acquire an automatic external  
          defibrillator (AED) and to maintain and train personnel in  
          the use of that AED.  These requirements sunset on July 1,  
          2012.  (Sections 104113(a)(1) and (2) of the Health and  
          Safety Code)

                                                           CONTINUED





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          Existing law provides that on or after July 1, 2012, a  
          health studio that elects to continue the installation of  
          an AED shall maintain and train personnel in the use of an  
          AED and shall not be liable for civil damages resulting  
          from the use, attempted use, or nonuse of an AED.  (Section  
          104113(a)(3) of the Health and Safety Code)

          Existing law requires a health studio to do all of the  
             following:

          1. Comply with all regulations governing the placement of  
             an AED.

          2. Ensure that the AED is maintained and regularly tested,  
             as specified.

          3. Ensure that the AED is checked for readiness after each  
             use and at least once every 30 days if the AED has not  
             been used in the preceding 30 days.  Records of these  
             checks must be maintained.

          4. Ensure that any person who renders emergency care or  
             treatment on a person in cardiac arrest by using an AED  
             activates the emergency services system as soon as  
             possible and reports any use of the AED to the licensed  
             physician and local EMS agency.

          5. For every AED acquired, up to five units, no less than  
             one employee per AED shall complete a training course in  
             AED use.  After the first five AEDs are acquired, for  
             each additional five AEDs acquired a minimum of one  
             employee shall be trained. 

          6. Acquirers of AEDs shall have trained employees who  
             should be available to respond to an emergency that may  
             involve the use of an AED during normal operating hours.  
              Acquirers of AEDs may need to train additional  
             employees to assure that a trained employee is available  
             at all times.  

          7. Have a written plan that describes the procedures to be  
             followed in the event of an emergency that may involve  
             the use of an AED. (Section 104113(e) of the Health and  
             Safety Code)







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          Existing law provides for immunity from liability as  
             follows:

          1. An employee of a health studio who renders emergency  
             care or treatment is not liable for civil damages  
             resulting from the use, attempted use, or nonuse of an  
             AED.

          2. When an employee uses, does not use, or attempts to use  
             an AED to render emergency care or treatment, the  
             members of the board of directors of a facility are not  
             liable for civil damages resulting from any act or  
             omission in rendering the care or treatment, including  
             the use or nonuse of the AED.

          3. When an employee of a health studio renders emergency  
             care or treatment using an AED, the owners, managers,  
             employees, or otherwise responsible authorities of the  
             facility are not liable for civil damages resulting from  
             any act or omission in the course of rendering that care  
             or treatment, provided the facility has fully complied  
             with existing law requiring testing and staffing, as  
             described above. 

          4. These provisions of immunity from liability do not apply  
             in the case of personal injury or wrongful death that  
             results from 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. (Sections 104113(b), (c),  
             (d), and (f) of the Health and Safety Code)

          This bill, commencing July 1, 2010, adds amusement parks  
          and golf courses to the above statute, making those two  
          entities subject to all of the above-described provisions. 

          This bill imposes a requirement for health studios,  
          amusement parks, and golf courses to install AEDs until  
          January 1, 2014, and, as of that date, repeals the  
          requirement for installation of AEDs and the associated  
          immunity for their use or non-use.

          This bill requires that records be maintained for two years  







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          after the AED is checked for readiness.

          This bill extends the sunset date on the above statute to  
             July 1, 2014. 

          This bill defines "amusement parks" to mean any area where  
          amusement park rides are inspected pursuant to the Labor  
          Code, as specified. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  No    
          Local:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  8/17/09)

          American Red Cross
          California Professional Firefighters
          City of Sacramento
          Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association


           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    The author writes that this bill  
          addresses the following two deficiencies in current law:   
          "Provisions governing AEDs at health clubs are set to  
          expire.  2) Provisions regarding placement of AEDs ought to  
          be broadened to include other high-incidence locations of  
          heart attacks."

          In the case of sudden cardiac arrest, every second counts.   
          There is a 10 percent reduction in survival for every  
          minute delay in response.  It has been said "few life  
          threatening emergencies are as time sensitive as SCA  
          [sudden cardiac arrest]," and the American Heart  
          Association recommends that the optimal response time from  
          collapse of the victim to on-scene arrival of the AED with  
          a trained rescuer is three minutes. 

          According to the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association, "[i]t  
          is essential that defibrillation be administered  
          immediately following the cardiac arrest.  If the heart  
          does not return to a regular rhythm within 5-7 minutes,  
          this fibrillation could be fatal.  If defibrillated within  
          the first minute of collapse, the victim's chances for  
          survival are close to 90 percent. ?  If [defibrillation] is  
          delayed by more than 10 minutes, the chance of survival in  







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          adults is less than 5 percent."     


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 
          AYES:  Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill  
            Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,  
            Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,  
            Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,  
            DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,  
            Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,  
            Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,  
            Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu,  
            Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning,  
            Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel  
            Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Silva, Skinner, Smyth,  
            Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres,  
            Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, Bass
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Eng, Price, Saldana


          RJG:mw  7/29/09   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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