Kansas 2023 2023-2024 Regular Session

Kansas Senate Bill SB384 Amended / Bill

                    As Amended by Senate Committee
Session of 2024
SENATE BILL No. 384
By Committee on Local Government
1-23
AN ACT concerning health and healthcare; relating to emergency medical 
services; staffing of ambulances; permitting an ambulance to operate 
with one emergency medical service provider in rural cities and 
counties authorizing the emergency medical services board to grant 
certain permanent variances from rules and regulations; amending 
K.S.A. 2023 Supp. 65-6111 and 65-6135 and repealing the existing 
section sections.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. K.S.A. 2023 Supp. 65-6111 is hereby amended to read as 
follows: 65-6111. (a) The emergency medical services board shall:
(1) Adopt any rules and regulations necessary to carry out the 
provisions of this act;
(2) review and approve the allocation and expenditure of moneys 
appropriated for emergency medical services;
(3) conduct hearings for all regulatory matters concerning 
ambulance services, emergency medical service providers, instructor-
coordinators, training officers and sponsoring organizations;
(4) submit a budget to the legislature for the operation of the board;
(5) develop a state plan for the delivery of emergency medical 
services;
(6) enter into contracts as may be necessary to carry out the duties 
and functions of the board under this act;
(7) review and approve all requests for state and federal funding 
involving emergency medical services projects in the state or delegate 
such duties to the executive director;
(8) approve all training programs for emergency medical service 
providers and instructor-coordinators and prescribe certification 
application fees by rules and regulations;
(9) approve methods of examination for certification of emergency 
medical service providers and instructor-coordinators and prescribe 
examination fees by rules and regulations;
(10) appoint a medical advisory council of not less than six 
members, including one board member who shall be a physician and not 
less than five other physicians who are active and knowledgeable in the 
field of emergency medical services who are not members of the board to 
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advise and assist the board in medical standards and practices as 
determined by the board. The medical advisory council shall elect a 
chairperson from among its membership and shall meet upon the call of 
the chairperson; and
(11) approve sponsoring organizations by prescribing standards 
and requirements by rules and regulations and withdraw or modify such 
approval in accordance with the Kansas administrative procedure act 
and the rules and regulations of the board.
(b) (1) Except as otherwise provided, the emergency medical 
services board may grant a temporary variance from an identified rule 
or regulation when a literal application or enforcement of the rule or 
regulation would result in serious hardship and the relief granted would 
not result in any unreasonable risk to the public interest, safety or 
welfare.
(2) Any variance granted pursuant to paragraph (1) may be granted 
as a permanent variance if the variance is from an identified rule or 
regulation adopted to implement, enforce or otherwise regulate the 
provisions of K.S.A. 65-6135, and amendments thereto.
(c) (1) In addition to or in lieu of any other administrative, civil or 
criminal remedy provided by law, the board, in accordance with the 
Kansas administrative procedure act, upon the finding of a violation of a 
provision of this act or the provisions of article 61 of chapter 65 of the 
Kansas Statutes Annotated, and amendments thereto, or rules and 
regulations adopted pursuant to such provisions may impose a fine on:
(A) Any person granted a certificate by the board in an amount not 
to exceed $500 for each violation; or
(B) an ambulance service that holds a permit to operate in this state 
or on a sponsoring organization in an amount not to exceed $2,500 for 
each violation.
(2) All fines assessed and collected under this section shall be 
remitted to the state treasurer in accordance with the provisions of 
K.S.A. 75-4215, and amendments thereto. Upon receipt of each such 
remittance, the state treasurer shall deposit the entire amount in the 
state treasury to the credit of the state general fund.
(d) (1) In connection with any investigation by the board, the board 
or its duly authorized agents or employees shall at all reasonable times 
have access to, for the purpose of examination and the right to copy any 
document, report, record or other physical evidence of any person being 
investigated, or any document, report, record or other evidence 
maintained by and in possession of any clinic, laboratory, pharmacy, 
medical care facility or other public or private agency, if such document, 
report, record or evidence relates to professional competence, 
unprofessional conduct or the mental or physical ability of the person to 
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perform activities the person is authorized to perform.
(2) For the purpose of all investigations and proceedings conducted 
by the board:
(A) The board may issue subpoenas compelling the attendance and 
testimony of witnesses or the production for examination or copying of 
documents or any other physical evidence if such evidence relates to 
professional competence, unprofessional conduct or the mental or 
physical ability of a person being investigated to perform activities the 
person is authorized to perform. Within five days after the service of the 
subpoena on any person requiring the production of any evidence in the 
person's possession or under the person's control, such person may 
petition the board to revoke, limit or modify the subpoena. The board 
shall revoke, limit or modify such subpoena if in its opinion the evidence 
required does not relate to practices that may be grounds for disciplinary 
action, is not relevant to the charge that is the subject matter of the 
proceeding or investigation or does not describe with sufficient 
particularity the physical evidence that is required to be produced. Any 
member of the board, or any agent designated by the board, may 
administer oaths or affirmations, examine witnesses and receive such 
evidence.
(B) Any person appearing before the board shall have the right to 
be represented by counsel.
(C) The district court, upon application by the board or by the 
person subpoenaed, shall have jurisdiction to issue an order:
(i) Requiring such person to appear before the board or the board's 
duly authorized agent to produce evidence relating to the matter under 
investigation; or
(ii) revoking, limiting or modifying the subpoena if in the court's 
opinion the evidence demanded does not relate to practices that may be 
grounds for disciplinary action, is not relevant to the charge that is the 
subject matter of the hearing or investigation or does not describe with 
sufficient particularity the evidence that is required to be produced.
(3) Disclosure or use of any such information received by the board 
or of any record containing such information, for any purpose other 
than that provided by this subsection is a class A misdemeanor and shall 
constitute grounds for removal from office, termination of employment 
or denial, revocation or suspension of any certificate or permit issued 
under article 61 of chapter 65 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, and 
amendments thereto. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to 
make unlawful the disclosure of any such information by the board in a 
hearing held pursuant to this act.
(4) Patient records, including clinical records, medical reports, 
laboratory statements and reports, files, films, other reports or oral 
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statements relating to diagnostic findings or treatment of patients, 
information from which a patient or a patient's family might be 
identified, peer review or risk management records or information 
received and records kept by the board as a result of the investigation 
procedure outlined in this subsection shall be confidential and shall not 
be disclosed.
(5) Nothing in this subsection or any other provision of law making 
communications between a physician and the physician's patient a 
privileged communication shall apply to investigations or proceedings 
conducted pursuant to this subsection. The board and its employees, 
agents and representatives shall keep in confidence the names of any 
patients whose records are reviewed during the course of investigations 
and proceedings pursuant to this subsection.
(e) The emergency medical services board shall prepare an annual 
report on or before January 15 of each year on the number, amount and 
reasons for the fines imposed by the board and the number of and 
reasons for subpoenas issued by the board during the previous calendar 
year. The report shall be provided to the senate committee on federal and 
state affairs and the house committee on federal and state affairs.
Section 1. Sec. 2. K.S.A. 2023 Supp. 65-6135 is hereby amended to 
read as follows: 65-6135. (a) All ambulance services providing emergency 
care as defined by the rules and regulations adopted by the board shall 
offer service 24 hours per day every day of the year.
(b) Whenever an operator is required to have a permit, at least one 
person on each vehicle providing emergency medical service shall be an 
emergency medical service provider certified pursuant to K.S.A. 65-6119, 
65-6120 or 65-6121, and amendments thereto, a physician an individual 
licensed by the state board of healing arts to practice medicine and 
surgery, a physician assistant, an advanced practice registered nurse or a 
professional nurse.
(c) The board shall not require any vehicle providing emergency 
medical service in any city with a population of less than 50,000 or any 
county with a population of less than 50,000, to operate with any 
additional personnel other than the minimum personnel required under 
subsection (b).
Sec. 2. 3. K.S.A. 2023 Supp. 65-6111 and 65-6135 is are hereby 
repealed.
Sec. 3. 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its 
publication in the statute book.
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