BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
2456 (Torrico)
Hearing Date: 8/12/2010 Amended: 8/4/2010
Consultant: Katie Johnson Policy Vote: Health 5-3
_________________________________________________________________
____
BILL SUMMARY: AB 2456 would require the Emergency Medical
Services Authority (EMSA) to develop and enforce regulations
establishing standards for policies and procedures applicable to
the functions of emergency medical technicians.
_________________________________________________________________
____
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund
EMSA EMT regulations $128 $255 $153 Special*
and ongoing review
*Emergency Medical Services Personnel Fund. EMSA may charge a
fee for the promulgation of regulations to cover costs.
_________________________________________________________________
____
STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE.
This bill would require the Emergency Medical Services Authority
(EMSA), no later than July 1, 2012, to develop regulations
establishing standards for policies and procedures applicable to
the functions of emergency medical technicians (EMTs). It is
unlikely that EMSA would be able to meet with stakeholders and
to promulgate regulations within this timeline. These
regulations and guidelines would establish standards for
policies and procedures applicable to the functions,
certification, and licensure of EMT personnel that provide
objective criteria for local adaptation. They would address
local accreditation, competency skills, medical control for the
use of optional skills, approval of providers utilizing optional
skills, additional training and maintenance of optional skills,
field internships, preceptor evaluation criteria for trainees,
and approval and evaluation of advanced EMT service providers.
It would cost approximately $128,000 in FY 2010-2011 and
$255,000 FY 2011-2012 and $153,000 in FY 2012-2013 and ongoing
for EMSA to promulgate the EMT regulations and to implement this
bill from EMSA's Emergency Medical Services Personnel Fund. In
order to pay for the promulgation of regulations, this bill
would permit EMSA to develop and, after approval by the EMSA
Commission, adopt a schedule of fees to be collected from each
EMT certifying entity in amounts sufficient to support EMSA's
actual additional costs. Fees would be imposed proportionally
among certifying entities through EMT-P licensure fees based on
the number of EMT-Is and Advanced EMT certified by a certifying
entity and the number of EMT-Ps licensed by the authority.
This bill would also permit EMSA, at the discretion of the
director, to review and approve or disapprove local EMT
standards and polices annually. An emergency medical
Page 2
AB 2456 (Torrico)
services (EMS) provider or a local EMS agency would be notified
that a policy or procedure is not in compliance with the
regulations and would be required to stop using that policy or
procedure or to submit a revision within 90 days. EMSA would
have the authority to assess penalties on a local EMS agency
that fails to respond to a notification.