| 1 | 1 | | By: Uresti S.B. No. 2081 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (In the Senate - Filed March 13, 2009; March 31, 2009, read |
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| 3 | 3 | | first time and referred to Committee on Intergovernmental |
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| 4 | 4 | | Relations; April 21, 2009, reported adversely, with favorable |
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| 5 | 5 | | Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0; |
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| 6 | 6 | | April 21, 2009, sent to printer.) |
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| 7 | 7 | | COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 2081 By: Gallegos |
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| 8 | 8 | | |
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| 9 | 9 | | |
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| 10 | 10 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 11 | 11 | | AN ACT |
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| 12 | 12 | | relating to reports regarding the provision of emergency ground |
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| 13 | 13 | | ambulance services in counties. |
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| 14 | 14 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 15 | 15 | | SECTION 1. Chapter 774, Health and Safety Code, is amended |
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| 16 | 16 | | by adding Section 774.005 to read as follows: |
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| 17 | 17 | | Sec. 774.005. COUNTY SELF-ASSESSMENT OF PROVISION OF |
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| 18 | 18 | | EMERGENCY GROUND AMBULANCE SERVICES. (a) Each county shall |
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| 19 | 19 | | assess the emergency ground ambulance services provided in that |
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| 20 | 20 | | county from all sources that respond to 9-1-1 or other emergency |
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| 21 | 21 | | calls and provide primary emergency response. |
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| 22 | 22 | | (b) The executive commissioner of the Health and Human |
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| 23 | 23 | | Services Commission, in consultation with the commissioner of state |
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| 24 | 24 | | health services, shall adopt rules governing the self-assessment |
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| 25 | 25 | | required by this section. At minimum, the rules must require each |
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| 26 | 26 | | county, in the county's self-assessment, to address: |
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| 27 | 27 | | (1) the minimum training, licensing, or certification |
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| 28 | 28 | | of ambulance personnel; |
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| 29 | 29 | | (2) the staffing of ambulances in the county; |
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| 30 | 30 | | (3) the types of vehicles used as ambulances in the |
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| 31 | 31 | | county; |
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| 32 | 32 | | (4) the type of advanced life support or basic life |
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| 33 | 33 | | support, as defined by Section 773.003, that ambulance personnel |
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| 34 | 34 | | provide; |
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| 35 | 35 | | (5) the local deployment plan for ground ambulance |
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| 36 | 36 | | services; and |
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| 37 | 37 | | (6) other information determined by the executive |
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| 38 | 38 | | commissioner as necessary for inclusion in the county's |
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| 39 | 39 | | self-assessment of emergency ground ambulance services. |
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| 40 | 40 | | (c) A county or municipality may establish reporting |
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| 41 | 41 | | standards for emergency ground ambulance services that are stricter |
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| 42 | 42 | | than those adopted under this section. |
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| 43 | 43 | | (d) A county may adopt an order requiring all ambulance |
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| 44 | 44 | | providers that respond to 9-1-1 or other emergency calls in the |
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| 45 | 45 | | county and provide primary emergency response to submit to the |
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| 46 | 46 | | county information to enable the county to comply with this |
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| 47 | 47 | | section. |
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| 48 | 48 | | (e) A county, emergency services district, or other entity |
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| 49 | 49 | | may operate an emergency ground ambulance service that is operated |
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| 50 | 50 | | in accordance with federal laws, the laws of this state, and other |
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| 51 | 51 | | state and local rules. |
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| 52 | 52 | | (f) Not later than March 1 of each year, each county shall |
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| 53 | 53 | | publish a report on the availability of emergency ground ambulance |
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| 54 | 54 | | services within the county during the previous calendar year based |
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| 55 | 55 | | on the county's self-assessment using factors adopted by the |
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| 56 | 56 | | executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission |
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| 57 | 57 | | under Subsection (b) or by the county under Subsection (c). The |
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| 58 | 58 | | county shall provide the report to the Department of State Health |
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| 59 | 59 | | Services, make the report available on the county's Internet |
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| 60 | 60 | | website, and annually publish a summary of the report, together |
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| 61 | 61 | | with the address of the website containing the report, in a |
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| 62 | 62 | | newspaper of general circulation in the county. If the county does |
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| 63 | 63 | | not operate a website, the county shall publish the report annually |
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| 64 | 64 | | in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. |
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| 65 | 65 | | SECTION 2. (a) The executive commissioner of the Health |
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| 66 | 66 | | and Human Services Commission, in consultation with the |
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| 67 | 67 | | commissioner of state health services, shall adopt rules as |
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| 68 | 68 | | required by Section 774.005, Health and Safety Code, as added by |
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| 69 | 69 | | this Act, not later than January 1, 2010. |
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| 70 | 70 | | (b) Notwithstanding Subsection (f), Section 774.005, Health |
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| 71 | 71 | | and Safety Code, as added by this Act, a county is not required to |
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| 72 | 72 | | publish a report as required by that subsection before March 1, |
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| 73 | 73 | | 2011. |
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| 74 | 74 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 75 | 75 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 76 | 76 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 77 | 77 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 78 | 78 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
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| 79 | 79 | | * * * * * |
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