BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: SB 573
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: lieu
VERSION: 1/6/14
Analysis by: Carrie Cornwell FISCAL: yes
Hearing date: January 14, 2014
SUBJECT:
Emergency vehicles
DESCRIPTION:
This bill makes vehicles owned and operated by specified
hospitals and used exclusively for specified emergency response
activities eligible for authorized emergency vehicle permits.
ANALYSIS:
An authorized emergency vehicle permit allows a vehicle's owner
to equip it with and use red lights, flashing headlights, a
siren, and other equipment. In addition, state law exempts an
authorized emergency vehicle from most rules of the road when
its flashing lights are on and it is using its siren as
necessary.
Existing law allows the Commissioner of the California Highway
Patrol to issue an authorized emergency vehicle permit for a
specified vehicle if the commissioner makes a finding that the
vehicle is used in responding to emergency calls for fire or law
enforcement, for the immediate preservation of life or property,
or for the apprehension of law violators.
Eligible vehicles include publicly or privately owned vehicles
operated by a marshal, deputy marshal, police personnel, or
sheriff's department personnel; firefighting equipment;
hazardous materials response vehicles; privately-owned
ambulances; and vehicles owned by private ambulance operators to
transport medical supplies, lifesaving equipment, or personnel
to the scene of an emergency when requested by a person or
public agency responsible for providing emergency medical
transportation.
This bill adds to the list of vehicles eligible for an
authorized emergency vehicle permit any vehicle owned and
SB 573 (LIEU) Page 2
operated by a hospital that the Los Angeles County Department of
Health has designated as a disaster resource center hospital,
provided that the vehicle is used exclusively to transport
mass-casualty decontamination apparatus medical supplies,
lifesaving equipment, or personnel to the scene of an emergency
at the request of a public agency responsible for providing
local emergency services. The hospital shall provide emergency
vehicle training to those that operate vehicles so permitted.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose . The author introduced this bill at the request of
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles so that it could
operate emergency response equipment with flashing lights
outside of the Vehicle Code's rules of the road.
The author reports that 13 disaster resource center hospitals
within Los Angeles County, including Cedars-Sinai, have
purchased emergency response equipment, trailers, and vehicles
with federal government grant funds in order to improve the
capabilities of the healthcare system to respond to an
emergency. The Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services
Agency coordinates these centers and would request that they
deploy their resources during a declared emergency. Two of
the 13 hospitals (UCLA and LA County/USC) are public entities
that also have police forces and so are eligible to receive
emergency vehicle permits from the CHP, but Cedars-Sinai and
the other private hospitals are not, primarily because they do
not operate their own ambulance services.
While CHP may issue a private ambulance a permit to operate an
emergency support vehicle to move these types of disaster
response equipment, supplies, and personnel, Cedars-Sinai
Medical Center does not operate, nor does it intend to
operate, an ambulance service. This bill would provide CHP
with the authority to issue Cedars-Sinai and other private
hospitals a permit even though they do not operate ambulances.
2.Existing practice . Currently, the LA County Emergency Medical
Services Agency provides magnets and stickers to the disaster
resource center vehicles and trailers to place on the sides of
vehicles in times of emergency deployment, as well as a letter
indicating that the vehicles and trailers are carrying
emergency equipment that is destined for the impacted
emergency/disaster location or healthcare facility.
Cedars-Sinai notes that these decals and letter are helpful,
but believes that when a disaster occurs these types of
SB 573 (LIEU) Page 3
identification would be inadequate to move the emergency
vehicles through emergency access control lines and navigate
through traffic congestion.
Discussions have occurred between Cedars-Sinai and local law
enforcement to establish memorandums of understanding for
police escorts, but Cedars fears that law enforcement may be
unavailable to provide escorts because they are responding to
higher priority events, such as the disaster itself.
Therefore the deployment of this equipment could be
significantly delayed. This bill would obviate the need for a
police escort.
3.Objections of law enforcement . Law enforcement personnel have
expressed concern that an increasing number of private
vehicles could qualify for emergency vehicle permits under
this bill. In particular, other hospitals within Los Angeles
County could be designated as disaster resource centers, and
this bill could also provide a precedent for other counties to
amend state law to fit their needs thus expanding those
vehicles that could engage emergency lights and exempt
themselves from the rules of the road to the detriment of
traffic safety. To address this concern, the author will
offer an amendment in committee to narrow the bill to
authorize permits only for those vehicles responding to
emergencies at the request of the Los Angeles County Office of
Emergency Services or the California Emergency Management
Agency.
4.All about the training of the driver . This list of vehicles
to which the CHP Commissioner may issue emergency vehicle
permits includes primarily vehicles owned by agencies that
employ peace officers, fire fighters, and ambulance drivers.
Each of these professions is subject to special training and
drivers licensing provisions to ensure that those operating
emergency vehicles are trained to do so. The author recently
amended this bill to require a hospital to have to train
drivers of the vehicles that this bill permits to receive
emergency vehicle permits. The bill does not, however,
require evidence of that training or a corresponding class of
driver's license. To address these shortcomings, the author
will offer an amendment in committee to require that the
hospital maintain a record of the emergency vehicle operations
training of the driver in the vehicle and that the driver
maintains an appropriate class of license.
SB 573 (LIEU) Page 4
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday, January
8, 2014.)
SUPPORT: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (sponsor)
Alta Hollywood Hospitals, Inc.
City of Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills Fire Department
Beverly Hills Police Department
California Hospital Association
California Hospital Medical Center
Centinela Hospital Medical Center
Culver City Fire Department
Emergency Management Department of the City of
Los Angeles
Hon. John Duran, Councilmember, City of West
Hollywood
Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital
LAC+USC Medical Center
Marina Del Rey Hospital
Olympia Medical Center
PIH Health Hospital
Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center
Hon. Jeffrey Prang, Mayor of West Hollywood
Saint John's Health Center
UCLA Medical Center
OPPOSED: None received.