California 2017-2018 Regular Session Status: Passed Assembly 1 D cosponsors

AB 263 — Emergency medical services workers: rights and working conditions.

Last action — From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on RLS. (Ayes 9. Noes 1.) (September 1). Re-referred to Com. on RLS.

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Assembly
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill died with 2017-2018 Regular Session. It reached “Passed Assembly” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Summary

Existing law, the Emergency Medical Services System and the Prehospital Emergency Medical Care Personnel Act, governs local emergency medical service systems and plans and establishes the Emergency Medical Services Authority, which is responsible for the coordination and integration of all state activities concerning emergency medical services. Existing law provides that emergency medical personnel have specified due process rights when they are subject to suspension or termination for disciplinary cause or reason, as defined. Existing law prohibits an employer from requiring an employee to work during a meal or rest or recovery period mandated by an applicable statute, or an applicable regulation, standard, or order of the Industrial Welfare Commission, the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, or the Division of Occupational Safety and Health. Existing orders of the commission applicable to ambulance drivers and attendants and to medical technicians require that unless the employee is relieved of all duty during a 30 -minute meal period, the meal period shall be considered an on-duty meal period and counted as time worked. Those orders authorize an on-duty meal period only when the nature of the work prevents an employee from being relieved of all duty and when the parties, by written agreement, agree to an on-the-job paid meal period. This bill would require an employer that provides emergency medical services as part of an emergency medical services system or plan to authorize and permit its employees engaged in prehospital emergency services to take prescribed rest periods, including specifying grounds for interruption of a rest period and compensation for an interrupted rest period. The bill also would require the employer to provide these employees with prescribed meal periods, including specifying grounds for interruption of a meal period and compensation for an interrupted meal period. The bill would authorize an employer to require during rest and meal periods that employees monitor pagers, radios, station alert boxes, intercoms, cellular telephones, or other communication methods to provide for the public health and welfare. Existing federal law, the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, preempts a state from enacting or enforcing any law, regulation, or other provision that relates to an air carrier's price, route, or service. The bill would specify that an employer who is an air carrier under federal law and who conducts business as an air ambulance service, without penalty, may avoid disruption of services by requiring an employee to remain on call during meal and rest periods, or as otherwise dictated by federal law. The bill would require such an employer to provide another meal period or authorize and permit another rest period, or both a meal and rest period, as applicable, when an employee is affirmatively required to interrupt his or her meal or rest period to respond to the needs of patients. The bill would also specify that such an employer may avoid disruption of services by requiring an employee to continue to provide emergency care during a patient transport during meal and rest periods, or as otherwise dictated by federal law. The bill would require such an employer, if it cannot provide a meal or rest period to an employee with direct responsibility for emergency air ambulance services within the timeframes established under applicable law, due to patient needs or the necessity to provide service, to provide a meal or rest period as soon as reasonably possible. Existing law establishes the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board within the Department of Industrial Relations, and authorizes the board to adopt, amend, or repeal occupational safety and health standards and orders. Existing law, the California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973, requires the standards board to adopt standards developed by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health that require specified licensed hospitals to adopt a workplace violence prevention plan to protect health care workers and other facility personnel from aggressive and violent behavior, but prohibits this provision from being interpreted to preclude the standards board from adopting standards that require other employers to adopt plans to protect employees from workplace violence, including workplace violence prevention plans that include elements or requirements additional to, or broader in scope than, those described in the provision. This bill would require an EMS provider, as defined, to send the information contained in the violent incident log it is required to maintain under a specified regulation to the Emergency Medical Services Authority. The bill would require the authority, on or before January 1, 2019, and annually thereafter, to post a report on its Internet Web site containing this information. The bill would prohibit these provisions from altering or amending the existing reporting and recordkeeping requirements of EMS providers imposed by the specified regulation. The bill would exempt certain public employers from these provisions.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on RLS. (Ayes 9. Noes 1.) (September 1). Re-referred to Com. on RLS.

  2. In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file.

  3. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 3. Noes 1.) (June 28). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  4. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on L. & I.R.

  5. Referred to Com. on L. & I.R.

  6. In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

  7. Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 56. Noes 17. Page 1979.)

  8. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  9. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 11. Noes 5.) (May 26).

  10. In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.

  11. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  12. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on APPR. Read second time and amended.

  13. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  14. Read second time and amended.

  15. From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 6. Noes 1.) (April 19).

  16. In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.

  17. Re-referred to Com. on L. & E.

  18. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on L. & E. Read second time and amended.

  19. Coauthors revised.

  20. In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.

  21. Re-referred to Com. on L. & E.

  22. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on L. & E. Read second time and amended.

  23. Re-referred to Com. on L. & E.

  24. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on L. & E. Read second time and amended.

  25. Referred to Com. on L. & E.

  26. From printer. May be heard in committee March 3.

  27. Read first time. To print.

Sponsors

  • Bocanegra · Cosponsor
  • Ash Kalra · Cosponsor
  • Rodriguez · Primary
  • Thurmond · Cosponsor

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 3 co-sponsors · 118 not signed on · 7 voted No

Sponsors (1)

  • Rodriguez

Co-sponsors (3)

Not signed on (118)

118 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 118 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

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Votes

Placed on suspense file

Passed 7 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 6000
Democratic 1000
Total 7000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (7)
Member Party Vote
Bates — Yea
Lara — Yea
Nielsen — Yea
Hill — Yea
Beall — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Wiener, Scott D. Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

AB 263 RODRIGUEZ Assembly Third Reading

Passed 56 Yea · 17 Nay · 7 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 411204
Democratic 14101
Republican 1402
Total 561707
% of votes cast 70%21%0%9%
How each member voted (80)
Member Party Vote
Acosta — Yea
Bigelow — Not Voting
Bloom — Yea
Brough — Nay
Holden — Yea
Low — Yea
Maienschein — Yea
Mathis — Nay
Santiago — Yea
Steinorth — Yea
Voepel — Nay
Wood — Yea
Eggman — Not Voting
Dababneh — Yea
Frazier — Yea
Friedman — Yea
Gloria — Yea
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Medina — Yea
Mullin — Yea
O'Donnell — Yea
Rubio — Yea
Salas — Yea
Bocanegra — Yea
Burke — Yea
Chiu — Yea
Chu — Yea
Cooper — Yea
Daly — Yea
Ridley-Thomas — Yea
Thurmond — Yea
Weber — Yea
Chau — Yea
Gonzalez Fletcher — Yea
Gomez — Yea
Harper — Nay
Gray — Not Voting
Kiley — Nay
Levine — Yea
Baker — Nay
Chávez — Nay
Cooley — Yea
Cunningham — Nay
Mayes — Nay
McCarty — Yea
Melendez — Not Voting
Nazarian — Yea
Obernolte — Nay
Quirk — Yea
Rendon — Yea
Rodriguez — Yea
Ting — Yea
Waldron — Nay
Cristina Garcia — Yea
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Mark Stone — Yea
Travis Allen — Nay
Aguiar-Curry, Cecilia M. Democratic Yea
Arambula, Joaquin Democratic Yea
Berman, Marc Democratic Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Caballero, Anna M. Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Cervantes, Sabrina Democratic Yea
Fong, Mike Democratic Nay
Gipson, Mike A. Democratic Yea
Grayson, Timothy S. Democratic Not Voting
Irwin, Jacqui Democratic Yea
Kalra, Ash Democratic Yea
Limón, Monique Democratic Yea
Muratsuchi, Al Democratic Yea
Quirk-Silva, Sharon Democratic Yea
Reyes, Eloise Gómez Democratic Yea
Chen, Phillip Republican Not Voting
Choi, Steven S. Republican Not Voting
Dahle, Megan Republican Nay
Flora, Heath Republican Yea
Gallagher, James Republican Nay
Lackey, Tom Republican Nay
Patterson, Joe Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Subjects

public-safety labor
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Frequently asked questions

What does AB 263 do?
Existing law, the Emergency Medical Services System and the Prehospital Emergency Medical Care Personnel Act, governs local emergency medical service systems and plans and establishes the Emergency Medical Services Authority, which is responsible for the coordination and integration of all state activities concerning emergency medical services. Existing law provides that emergency medical personnel have specified due process rights when they are subject to suspension or termination for disciplinary cause or reason, as defined. Existing law prohibits an employer from requiring an employee to work during a meal or rest or recovery period mandated by an applicable statute, or an applicable regulation, standard, or order of the Industrial Welfare Commission, the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, or the Division of Occupational Safety and Health. Existing orders of the commission applicable to ambulance drivers and attendants and to medical technicians require that unless the employee is relieved of all duty during a 30 -minute meal period, the meal period shall be considered an on-duty meal period and counted as time worked. Those orders authorize an on-duty meal period only when the nature of the work prevents an employee from being relieved of all duty and when the parties, by written agreement, agree to an on-the-job paid meal period. This bill would require an employer that provides emergency medical services as part of an emergency medical services system or plan to authorize and permit its employees engaged in prehospital emergency services to take prescribed rest periods, including specifying grounds for interruption of a rest period and compensation for an interrupted rest period. The bill also would require the employer to provide these employees with prescribed meal periods, including specifying grounds for interruption of a meal period and compensation for an interrupted meal period. The bill would authorize an employer to require during rest and meal periods that employees monitor pagers, radios, station alert boxes, intercoms, cellular telephones, or other communication methods to provide for the public health and welfare. Existing federal law, the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, preempts a state from enacting or enforcing any law, regulation, or other provision that relates to an air carrier's price, route, or service. The bill would specify that an employer who is an air carrier under federal law and who conducts business as an air ambulance service, without penalty, may avoid disruption of services by requiring an employee to remain on call during meal and rest periods, or as otherwise dictated by federal law. The bill would require such an employer to provide another meal period or authorize and permit another rest period, or both a meal and rest period, as applicable, when an employee is affirmatively required to interrupt his or her meal or rest period to respond to the needs of patients. The bill would also specify that such an employer may avoid disruption of services by requiring an employee to continue to provide emergency care during a patient transport during meal and rest periods, or as otherwise dictated by federal law. The bill would require such an employer, if it cannot provide a meal or rest period to an employee with direct responsibility for emergency air ambulance services within the timeframes established under applicable law, due to patient needs or the necessity to provide service, to provide a meal or rest period as soon as reasonably possible. Existing law establishes the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board within the Department of Industrial Relations, and authorizes the board to adopt, amend, or repeal occupational safety and health standards and orders. Existing law, the California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973, requires the standards board to adopt standards developed by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health that require specified licensed hospitals to adopt a workplace violence prevention plan to protect health care workers and other facility personnel from aggressive and violent behavior, but prohibits this provision from being interpreted to preclude the standards board from adopting standards that require other employers to adopt plans to protect employees from workplace violence, including workplace violence prevention plans that include elements or requirements additional to, or broader in scope than, those described in the provision. This bill would require an EMS provider, as defined, to send the information contained in the violent incident log it is required to maintain under a specified regulation to the Emergency Medical Services Authority. The bill would require the authority, on or before January 1, 2019, and annually thereafter, to post a report on its Internet Web site containing this information. The bill would prohibit these provisions from altering or amending the existing reporting and recordkeeping requirements of EMS providers imposed by the specified regulation. The bill would exempt certain public employers from these provisions.
Who sponsors AB 263?
AB 263 is sponsored by Bocanegra, Kalra, Ash (Democratic), Rodriguez, and Thurmond.
What is the current status of AB 263?
This bill died with 2017-2018 Regular Session. It reached “Passed Assembly” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track AB 263?
Track AB 263 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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