Emergency medical services: regulation.

Existing law, the Emergency Medical Services System and the Prehospital Emergency Medical Care Personnel Act, authorizes each county to designate an emergency medical services (EMS) agency, for the establishment and administration of an emergency medical services program in the county. Existing law also establishes the Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) , which, among other things, adopts guidelines and regulations governing the provision of emergency medical services. Violation of these provisions is a crime. This bill would specify that the regulations of the authority shall include policies and procedures applicable to the functions, certification, and licensure of all emergency medical technician personnel, as defined, and would require the local EMS agencies to adhere to these standards. The bill would authorize the authority to develop and adopt a related fee schedule and fee increases to support the authority's actual costs to promulgate the additional regulations. The bill would provide that any policies and procedures implemented by a local EMS agency that are not in accordance with the standards required under the bill are subject to review by the Director of the EMSA, as specified, and that a local EMS agency that is notified of a policy or procedure that is not in compliance is required to stop implementation of the policy and procedure or submit a revised policy or procedure that complies with the regulations developed by the authority to the director within 90 days of notification. The bill would allow the authority to assess penalties on a local EMS agency that fails to respond to a notification of noncompliance. By requiring that the local entities comply with these requirements, and by changing the definition of an existing crime, this 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.