BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
AB 939 (Melendez) - Automatic External Defibrillators
Amended: July 8, 2013 Policy Vote: Education 9-0;
Judiciary 6-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: August 12, 2013
Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-Hernandez
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 939 encourages schools to acquire and maintain
at least one automatic external defibrillator (AED), and
encourages schools to follow specified procedures for placement
and use of that AED.
Fiscal Impact: Substantial cost pressure for each of the
approximately 10,000 public schools in the state of California
to acquire and maintain at least one AED, and provide required
training.
Background: Existing law authorizes a school district or school
to provide a comprehensive program in first aid or
cardiopulmonary resuscitation training, or both, to pupils and
employees, and requires the program to be developed using
specified guidelines. Neither schools nor school districts are
required to provide such a program, nor are they required to
have AEDs onsite. The Education Code is silent relative to the
acquisition, maintenance, or use of AEDs.
Existing law states that any person or entity that acquires a
defibrillator is not liable for any civil damages resulting from
any acts or omissions in the rendering of the emergency care if
that person or entity complies with all regulations governing
the placement of a defibrillator, and ensures all of the
following: a) the defibrillator is maintained and regularly
tested, as specified; b) the defibrillator is checked for
readiness, as specified; c) any person who uses the
defibrillator activates the emergency medical services system
and reports any use of the defibrillator to the licensed
physician and local Emergency Medical Services agency; d) for
every defibrillator acquired up to five units, at least one
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person per defibrillator must complete training, as specified;
and, e) a written plan is in place that describes the procedures
to follow in the event of an emergency.
Under existing law, when a defibrillator is placed in a public
or private K-12 school, a school principal is required to: a)
ensure administrators and staff annually receive a brochure
describing the proper use of the defibrillator, and that similar
information is posted next to every defibrillator, as specified;
b) annually notify school employees as to the location of all
defibrillators on the campus; and, c) designate the trained
employees who shall be available to respond to an emergency that
may involve the use of a defibrillator during the hours of
classroom instruction and during any school-sponsored activity
occurring on school grounds. (Health and Safety Code � 1797.196)
Proposed Law: AB 939 states the intent of the Legislature to
encourage all public schools to acquire and maintain at least
one AED, and would authorize a public school to solicit and
receive nonstate funds to acquire and maintain an AED. This bill
would, if a school decides to acquire and maintain an AED, or
continue to use and maintain an existing AED, encourage the
school to comply with specified requirements. This bill also
provides that the school district and its employees are not
liable for civil damages resulting from certain uses, attempted
uses, or nonuses of an AED, except as provided. This bill would
instead require that a principal designate only school employees
who volunteer to be designated as AED volunteers to respond to
an emergency that may involve the use of an AED during normal
operating hours. The bill further states the intent of the
Legislature that school employees not be required to pay the
cost of any training that may be required on the proper use of
an AED.
Related Legislation: SB 63 (Price) 2011 was substantially
similar to this bill, but applied only to public high schools.
That bill was held under submission in this Committee.
Staff Comments: This bill states the intent of the Legislature,
codified in statute, that all public high schools acquire and
maintain at least one AED. This provision creates cost pressure
for every high school to acquire at least one AED. This bill
authorizes high schools to seek nonstate funds to purchase
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defibrillators, which they can already do without specific
statutory authorization, but does not require that only nonstate
funds be used for purchase and maintenance of AEDs.
This bill specifies that if a public school acquires an AED, or
continues to use and maintain an existing AED, the bill would
require the school to comply with specified requirements
regarding maintenance of the device, and employee training. This
places new requirements, and potentially new costs, on schools
that already have AEDs. These requirements would also add to the
expense of acquiring and maintaining AEDs, should schools
currently without AEDs do so. While these are not direct state
costs, they are costs for schools and school districts, which
are primarily funded by Proposition 98 General Fund.
This bill also states the intent of the Legislature that school
employees (who have volunteered to be trained on use of AEDs)
not be required to pay the cost of any training that may be
required on the proper use of an AED. This provision creates
additional cost pressure for schools to pay to train employees
who have elected to be designated as AED volunteers.