BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 939
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 17, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
AB 939 (Melendez) - As Introduced: February 22, 2013
[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
an automatic external defibrillator (AED) and provides immunity
from civil damages to the employee of the school district and to
the school district resulting from civil damages resulting from
the use of an AED. Specifically, this bill :
1)Identifies the intent of the Legislature that all public
schools acquire and maintain an AED.
2)Permits a school to solicit and receive non-state funds to
acquire and maintain an AED and use these funds to provide
training to school employees on the use of an AED.
3)Requires that if a school has an AED, it does all of the
following:
a) Place the AED in a centralized location;
b) Make the AED available for use at a school-sponsored
athletic event;
i) Defines school-sponsored athletic event as a
school-sponsored athletic activity, which includes
practice for and competition in interscholastic athletic
sporting event held at any location;
c) Maintains records of AED maintenance and readiness;
d) Prepare a written medical emergency preparedness plan
that describes the procedures to be followed in the event
of a medical emergency that may involve the use of an AED;
and
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e) Ensure that all employees expected to administer an AED
in an emergency to complete a training course in
cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and AED.
4)Provides immunity from civil liability to school districts and
their employees for damages resulting from the use, attempted
use, or nonuse of an AED. Such immunity does not, however,
extend to instances 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.
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
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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 the
guidelines set forth by the manufacturer, the American
Heart Association, the American Red Cross, and any other
applicable rules and regulations set forth by the federal
Food and Drug Administration.
c) Notifies the emergency medical services (EMS) system as
soon as possible and reports the used of the AED to the
licensed physician and the local EMS agency.
d) Maintains a ratio of trained employee to AEDs.
e) Maintains a written plant that describes the procedures
to be followed in the event of an emergency involving the
use of an AED.
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 annual receive a brochure,
approved as to content and style by the American Heart
Association.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill is keyed as non-fiscal by the
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.
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
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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.
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 for our state's children. Further, this
bill permits a school to 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 : 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) (2011) required all public high schools to acquire
and maintain at least one AED. This bill died in the Senate
Appropriations Committee.
Staff recommends amendments to clarify that the intent of the
Legislature is to encourage schools to acquire and maintain AEDs
and that this is not a new requirement on schools or districts.
Staff recommends additional edits be made to encourage schools
to make available an AED at all schools-sponsored athletic
events, remove redundant and unnecessary language, and should a
school choose to acquire an AED, the requirements for its use
and maintenance be placed in Education Code rather than Health
and Safety code for clarity of purpose and ease of access for
school principals.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Medical Association
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California State Parent Teachers Association
Emergency Nurses Association
Opposition
California School Employees Association
Analysis Prepared by : Jill Rice / ED. / (916) 319-2087