BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2217
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 9, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
AB 2217 (Melendez) - As Introduced: February 20, 2014
[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
at least one automatic external defibrillator (AED) and provides
immunity from civil damages to the employee of the school
district and to the school district resulting from the use of an
AED. Specifically, this bill :
1)Identifies the intent of the Legislature to encourage all
public schools to acquire and maintain an AED.
2)Permits a school to solicit and receive non-state funds to
acquire and maintain an AED and specifies that these funds
shall only be used to acquire and maintain the AED and to
provide training to school employees regarding use of an AED.
3)Provides immunity from civil liability to school districts and
their employees for damages resulting from any act or omission
in rendering the emergency care or treatment involving the AED
so long as the employee of the school district is in
compliance with Section 1714.21 of the Civil Code which speaks
to the immunity from liability for use of an AED if the
requirements set forth in Health and Safety Code section
1797.196 are met.
4)Specifies that immunity does not apply to those injuries or
deaths that occur as a result 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.
5)Specifies that this section does not alter the requirements of
Health and Safety Code section 1797.196, which speaks to the
immunity from liability if certain conditions pertaining to
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the operation and maintenance of the AEDs are met.
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
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
specified guidelines;
c) Notifies the emergency medical services system as soon
as possible and reports the used of the AED as specified;
d) Maintains a specified ratio of trained employee to AEDs;
e) Maintains a written plan that describes the procedures
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to be followed in the event of an emergency involving the
use of an AED; and
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 annually receive a brochure,
approved as to content and style by the American Heart
Association.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill has been keyed non-fiscal by
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. Additionally, according to the
author, during the school year, twenty percent of America's
population spends at least part of their day on a school
property. 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 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. With this in mind, this
bill encourages all public schools to acquire and maintain at
least one AED.
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. Further, this bill permits a school to
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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 : AB 939 (Melendez) of 2013 encourages all
public schools to acquire and maintain an AED and provides
immunity from civil damages to the employee of the school
district and to the school district resulting from the use of an
AED.
This measure passed out of the Assembly Education Committee by a
vote of 5 - 0, but died in Senate Appropriations.
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) of 2011 required all public high schools to
acquire and maintain at least one AED. This bill died in the
Senate Appropriations Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Association of California School Administrators
Brain Injury Association of California
Civil Justice Association of California
Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Jill Rice / ED. / (916) 319-2087