HB 391: Emergency Medical Services Revisions - Utah

Substitute #3 → Enrolled · 5 edits · Mar 26, 2025

MODERATE

This bill amends Utah's Emergency Medical Services Act to clarify the roles of the Trauma System and Emergency Medical Services Committee, establish a new 'Emergency Medical Services Critical Needs Account' for funding, and adjust financial allocations within the grant program. The changes also update the effective date of the legislation and include a technical correction to a state administrative rule chapter regarding its scope.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include a new restricted account for emergency medical services and to clarify the committee's advisory duties, while a separate section modified the applicability of the Utah Administrative Procedures Act to specific emergency medical services violations.

FISCAL

Created a new 'Emergency Medical Services Critical Needs Account' funded by interest, legislative appropriations, and unallocated grant funds to support critical needs grants.

Reallocated grant funding percentages, directing 21% of funds to per capita block grants for nonprofit providers and reserving the remainder for competitive grants in specific county classes.

REQUIREMENT

Updated the Trauma System and Emergency Medical Services Committee's duties to include specific advisory roles on licensure, insurance, and grant criteria.

TIMELINE

Changed the effective date of the bill from February 26, 2025, to March 13, 2025.

TECHNICAL

Added a provision to Section 63G-4-102 clarifying that the Utah Administrative Procedures Act does not govern certain emergency medical services violations.

Introduced → Substitute #1 · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill was amended to renumber several sections and add new provisions regarding the Emergency Medical Services Grant Program. The changes clarify how grant funds are distributed between administrative costs and direct grants to providers, adjust the percentage of funds available for per capita block grants, and update the effective date of the legislation.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include detailed rules for the Emergency Medical Services Grant Program, specifically defining how funds are split between administrative support and provider grants, and specifying eligibility for competitive grants in counties of the third through sixth class.

TECHNICAL

Section numbers were renumbered throughout the bill (e.g., Section 3 became Section 3, Section 4 became Section 4, etc.) to align with the new structure, and a timestamp was added at the end.

FISCAL

A new Section 4 establishes the Emergency Medical Services Grant Program, mandating that 50% of appropriated funds cover administrative costs and 50% cover grants to providers.

The allocation of grant funds was changed to distribute 21% of the grant portion as per capita block grants to nonprofit prehospital providers, with the remaining funds used for competitive grants in specific county classes.

REQUIREMENT

The funding source for the Emergency Medical Services Critical Needs Account was updated to reference contributions deposited in accordance with the new Section 53-2d-207(3)(g) instead of the previous subsection.

TIMELINE

The effective date of the bill was updated from May 7, 2025, to May 7, 2025, with a new timestamp indicating a later amendment time.

Substitute #2 → Substitute #3 · 6 edits

MODERATE

This bill revises Utah's emergency medical services (EMS) laws to strengthen enforcement, create a dedicated funding account for critical needs, and clarify how the state committee and bureau interact. The changes establish a formal process for the committee to recommend fine schedules that the bureau must consider, create a new nonlapsing account for EMS critical needs funded by fines and interest, and update administrative rules governing agency actions to ensure consistency with state procedures.

Scope change

The bill expands the bureau's authority to enforce rules and imposes specific requirements on the committee regarding fine recommendations and grant distribution.

ENFORCEMENT

The bureau now has explicit authority to adopt and enforce a schedule of potential fines for EMS provider violations, based on annual recommendations from the committee.

FISCAL

A new Emergency Medical Services Critical Needs Account was created to hold fines, interest earnings, and legislative appropriations for critical needs grants.

Grant distribution rules were updated to allocate 21% of funds as per capita block grants to nonprofit providers, with remaining funds going to competitive grants for counties in classes three through six.

REQUIREMENT

The committee must deliver a recommended fine schedule to the bureau by June 1 each year, and the bureau must consider these recommendations when setting fines.

TIMELINE

The bureau must publish its fine schedule by August 31 each year for the upcoming fiscal period.

TECHNICAL

Several sections were renumbered and minor text corrections were made to align with recent legislative changes.

Substitute #1 → Substitute #2 · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill revision updates emergency medical services regulations by clarifying fine schedules, creating a dedicated funding account for critical needs, and adjusting grant distribution rules. The changes strengthen enforcement mechanisms while ensuring funds are properly allocated to support emergency medical service providers.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on emergency medical services but adds new funding mechanisms and clarifies committee responsibilities regarding fine schedules.

FISCAL

Created the Emergency Medical Services Critical Needs Account to collect and distribute fines and interest for critical needs grants.

Changed grant distribution rules to allocate 50% of funds for administrative costs and 50% for grants, with specific per capita block grants for nonprofit providers.

ENFORCEMENT

Added requirement for the committee to annually recommend fine schedules to the bureau, which must then adopt and publish these schedules by August 31.

REQUIREMENT

Added requirement for the bureau to deposit all collected fines into the new Critical Needs Account.

TECHNICAL

Made technical corrections to section numbering and formatting throughout the bill text.

Emergency Medical Services Revisions

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