AB 40 — Emergency medical services.

Summary

Existing law, the Emergency Medical Services System and the Prehospital Emergency Medical Care Personnel Act, creates the Emergency Medical Services Authority, which is responsible for the coordination of various state activities concerning emergency medical services. Among other duties, existing law requires the authority to develop planning and implementation guidelines for EMS systems, provide technical assistance to existing agencies, counties, and cities for the purpose of developing the components of EMS systems, and receive plans for the implementation of EMS and trauma care systems from local EMS agencies. Existing law makes a violation of the act or regulations adopted pursuant to the act punishable as a misdemeanor. This bill, on or before December 31, 2024, would require the authority to develop and implement an electronic signature for use between the emergency department medical personnel at a receiving hospital and the transporting emergency medical personnel that captures the points in time when the ambulance arrives at the hospital emergency department bay and when transfer of care is executed for documentation of ambulance patient offload time, as defined. The bill would require every local EMS agency, by July 1, 2024, to develop a standard not to exceed 30 minutes, 90% of the time, for ambulance patient offload time and report the standardized time to the authority. The bill would authorize local EMS agencies to engage stakeholders in developing this standard, as specified. The bill would also require the authority to develop and implement by December 31, 2024, an audit tool to improve data accuracy regarding transfer of care, as specified, and to provide technical assistance and funding as needed, subject to an appropriation, for small rural hospitals and volunteer EMS providers to implement these provisions. The bill would require the authority to adopt emergency regulations to implement these provisions on or before December 31, 2024. The bill would require a general acute care hospital with an emergency department to develop, in consultation with its emergency department staff, and its exclusive employee representatives, if any, an ambulance patient offload time reduction protocol by September 1, 2024, that addresses specified factors, including, among other things, mechanisms to improve hospital operations to reduce ambulance patient offload time. The bill would require the hospital to file its protocol with the authority and to report annually any revisions to its protocol. The bill would require the authority, on or before December 31, 2024, to monitor monthly ambulance patient offload time data for each hospital. The bill would require the authority to, among other things, report ambulance patient offload time exceedance to the relevant local EMS agency and the Commission on Emergency Medical Services if, on or after December 31, 2024, the general acute care hospital with an emergency department has an ambulance patient offload time that exceeds the local EMS agency standard, as specified, for the preceding month. Because the bill would create new requirements within the act, thereby expanding the scope of an existing crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Bill Text

• Chaptered 10/13/23 - Chaptered Current pdf October 13, 2023
• Enrolled 09/12/23 - Enrolled pdf September 12, 2023
• Amended 09/01/23 - Amended Senate pdf September 01, 2023
• Amended 07/05/23 - Amended Senate pdf July 05, 2023
• Amended 05/18/23 - Amended Assembly pdf May 18, 2023
• Amended 04/20/23 - Amended Assembly pdf April 20, 2023
• Amended 03/15/23 - Amended Assembly pdf March 15, 2023
• Introduced 12/05/22 - Introduced pdf December 05, 2022
• AB40 View text html

Action History

1. October 13, 2023

   Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 793, Statutes of 2023.

2. October 13, 2023

   Approved by the Governor.

3. September 15, 2023

   Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m.

4. September 11, 2023

   Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 74. Noes 0. Page 3185.).

5. September 07, 2023

   In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. May be considered on or after September 9 pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.

6. September 07, 2023

   Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 31. Noes 4. Page 2461.).

7. September 05, 2023

   Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

8. September 01, 2023

   Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading.

9. September 01, 2023

   From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 6. Noes 1.) (September 1).

10. August 14, 2023

    In committee: Referred to APPR suspense file.

11. July 13, 2023

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 10. Noes 0.) (July 12). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

12. July 05, 2023

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

13. July 03, 2023

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

14. June 07, 2023

    Referred to Com. on HEALTH.

15. May 26, 2023

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

16. May 25, 2023

    Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 73. Noes 0. Page 1789.)

17. May 22, 2023

    Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

18. May 18, 2023

    Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading.

19. May 18, 2023

    From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 12. Noes 0.) (May 18).

20. May 10, 2023

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

21. April 24, 2023

    Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

22. April 20, 2023

    Read second time and amended.

23. April 19, 2023

    From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (April 18).

24. March 28, 2023

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on HEALTH. (Ayes 5. Noes 0.) (March 27). Re-referred to Com. on HEALTH.

25. March 16, 2023

    Re-referred to Com. on E.M.

26. March 15, 2023

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

27. January 26, 2023

    Referred to Coms. on E.M. and HEALTH.

28. December 06, 2022

    From printer. May be heard in committee January 5.

29. December 05, 2022

    Read first time. To print.

Sponsors

• Rodriguez · Primary
• Sabrina Cervantes · Cosponsor

Votes

Subjects