2005 California Health and Safety Code Sections 1797.100-1797.116 Article 1. The Emergency Medical Services Authority ...

1797.100.  There is in the state government in the Health and
Welfare Agency, the  Emergency Medical Services Authority.
1797.101.  The Emergency Medical Services Authority shall be headed
by the Director of the Emergency Medical Services Authority who shall
be appointed by the Governor upon nomination by the Secretary of the
Health and Welfare Agency.  The director shall be a physician and
surgeon licensed in California pursuant to the provisions of Chapter
5 (commencing with Section 2000) of Division 2 of the Business and
Professions Code, and who has substantial experience in the practice
of emergency medicine.
1797.102.  The authority, utilizing regional and local information,
shall assess each EMS area or the system's service area for the
purpose of determining the need for additional emergency medical
services, coordination of emergency medical services, and the
effectiveness of emergency medical services.
1797.103.  The authority shall develop planning and implementation
guidelines for emergency medical services systems which address the
following components:
   (a) Manpower and training.
   (b) Communications.
   (c) Transportation.
   (d) Assessment of hospitals and critical care centers.
   (e) System organization and management.
   (f) Data collection and evaluation.
   (g) Public information and education.
   (h) Disaster response.
1797.104.  The authority shall provide technical assistance to
existing agencies, counties, and cities for the purpose of developing
the components of emergency medical services systems.
1797.105.  (a) The authority shall receive plans for the
implementation of emergency medical services and trauma care systems
from local EMS agencies.
   (b) After the applicable guidelines or regulations are established
by the authority, a local EMS agency may implement a local plan
developed pursuant to Section 1797.250, 1797.254, 1797.257, or
1797.258 unless the authority determines that the plan does not
effectively meet the needs of the persons served and is not
consistent with coordinating activities in the geographical area
served, or that the plan is not concordant and consistent with
applicable guidelines or regulations, or both the guidelines and
regulations, established by the authority.
   (c) A local EMS agency may appeal a determination of the authority
pursuant to subdivision (b) to the commission.
   (d) In an appeal pursuant to subdivision (c), the commission may
sustain the determination of the authority or overrule and permit
local implementation of a plan, and the decision of the commission is
final.
1797.106.  (a) Regulations, standards, and guidelines adopted by the
authority and by local EMS agencies pursuant to the provisions of
this division shall not prohibit hospitals which contract with group
practice prepayment health care service plans from providing
necessary medical services for the members of those plans.
   (b) Regulations, standards, and guidelines adopted by the
authority and by local EMS agencies pursuant to the provisions of
this division shall provide for the transport and transfer of a
member of a group practice prepayment health care service plan to a
hospital that contracts with  the plan when the base hospital
determines that the condition of the member permits the transport or
when the condition of the member permits the transfer, except that
when the dispatching agency determines that the transport by a
transport unit would unreasonably remove the transport unit from the
area, the member may be transported to the nearest hospital capable
of treating the member.
1797.107.  The authority shall adopt, amend, or repeal, after
approval by the  commission and in accordance with the provisions of
Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3
of Title 2 of the Government Code, such  rules and regulations as may
be reasonable and proper to carry out the purposes and intent of
this division and to enable the authority to exercise the powers and
perform the duties conferred upon it by this division not
inconsistent with any of the provisions of any statute of this state.
1797.108.  Subject to the availability of funds appropriated
therefor, the authority may contract with local EMS agencies to
provide funding assistance to those agencies for planning,
organizing, implementing, and maintaining regional emergency medical
services systems.
   In addition, the authority may provide special funding to
multicounty EMS agencies which serve rural areas with extensive
tourism, as determined by the authority, to reduce the burden on the
rural EMS agency of providing the increased emergency medical
services required due to that tourism.
   Each local or multicounty EMS agency receiving funding pursuant to
this section shall make a quarterly report to the authority on the
functioning of the local EMS system.  The authority may continue to
transfer appropriated funds to the local EMS agency upon satisfactory
operation.
1797.109.  (a) The director may develop, or prescribe standards for
and approve, an emergency medical technician training and testing
program for the Department of the California Highway Patrol,
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, California Fire Fighter
Joint Apprenticeship Committee, and other public safety agency
personnel, upon the request of, and as deemed appropriate by, the
director for the particular agency.
   (b) The director may, with the concurrence of the Department of
the California Highway Patrol, designate the California Highway
Patrol Academy as a site where the training and testing may be
offered.
   (c) The director may prescribe that each person, upon successful
completion of the training course and upon passing a written and a
practical examination, be certified as an emergency medical
technician of an appropriate classification.  A suitable
identification card may be issued to each certified person to
designate that person's emergency medical skill level.
   (d) The director may prescribe standards for refresher training to
be given to persons trained and certified under this section.
   (e) The Department of the California Highway Patrol shall, subject
to the availability of federal funds, provide for the initial
training of its uniformed personnel in the rendering of emergency
medical technician services to the public in specified areas of the
state as designated by the Commissioner of the California Highway
Patrol.
1797.110.  The Legislature finds that programs funded through the
authority are hindered by the length of time required for the state
process to execute approved contracts and payment of vendor claims.
These programs include, but are not limited to, general fund
assistance to rural multicounty EMS agencies and dispersal of federal
grant moneys for EMS systems development to local EMS agencies.
This hardship is particularly felt by new or rural community based
EMS agencies with modest reserves and cash flow problems.  It is the
intent of the Legislature that advance payment authority be
established for the authority in order to alleviate such problems for
those types of contractors to the extent possible.
   Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the authority may, to
the extent funds are available, provide for advanced payments under
any financial assistance contract which the authority determines has
been entered into with any small, rural, or new EMS agency with
modest reserves and potential cash flow problems, as determined by
the authority.  Such programs include, but are not limited to, local
county or multicounty EMS agencies.
   No advance payment or aggregate of advance payments made pursuant
to this section shall exceed 25 percent of the total annual contract
amount.  No advance payment should be made pursuant to this section
if the applicable federal law prohibits advance payment.
1797.111.  With the approval of the Department of Finance, and for
use in the furtherance of the work of the authority, the director may
accept all of the following:
   (a) Grants of interest in real property.
   (b) Gifts of money from public agencies or from organizations or
associations  organized for scientific, educational, or charitable
purpose.
1797.112.  (a) The Emergency Medical Services Personnel Fund is
hereby created in the State Treasury, the funds in which are to be
held in trust for the benefit of the authority's testing and
personnel licensure program and for the purpose of making
reimbursements to entities for the performance of functions for which
fees are collected pursuant to Section 1797.172, for expenditure
upon appropriation by the Legislature.
   (b) The authority may transfer unused portions of the Emergency
Medical Services Personnel Fund to the Surplus Money Investment Fund.
  Funds transferred to the Surplus Money Investment Fund shall be
placed in a separate trust account, and shall be available for
transfer to the Emergency Medical Services Personnel Fund, together
with interest earned, when requested by the authority.
   (c) The authority shall maintain a reserve balance in the
Emergency Medical Services Personnel Fund of five percent.  Any
increase in the fees deposited in the Emergency Medical Services
Personnel Fund shall be effective upon a determination by the
authority that additional moneys are required to fund expenditures of
the personnel licensure program, including, but not limited to,
reimbursements to entities set forth in subdivision (a).
1797.113.  The Emergency Medical Services Training Program Approval
Fund is hereby established in the State Treasury and, notwithstanding
Section 13340 of the Government Code, is continuously appropriated
to the authority for the authority's training program review and
approval activities.  The fees charged by the authority under Section
1797.191 shall be deposited in this fund.  The authority may
transfer unexpended and unencumbered moneys contained in the
Emergency Medical Services Training Program Approval Fund to the
Surplus Money Investment Fund for investment pursuant to Article 4
(commencing with Section 16470) of Chapter 3 of Part 2 of Division 4
of Title 2 of the Government Code.  All interest, dividends, and
pecuniary gains from these investments or deposits shall accrue to
the Emergency Medical Services Training Program Approval Fund.
1797.114.  The rules and regulations of the authority established
pursuant to Section 1797.107 shall include a requirement that a local
EMS agency local plan developed pursuant to this division shall
require that in providing emergency medical transportation services
to any patient, the patient shall be transported to the closest
appropriate medical facility, if the emergency health care needs of
the patient dictate this course of action.  Emergency health care
need shall be determined by the prehospital emergency medical care
personnel under the direction of a base hospital physician and
surgeon or in conformance with the regulations of the authority
adopted pursuant to Section 1797.107.
1797.115.  (a) To the extent permitted by federal law and upon
appropriation in the annual Budget Act or another statute, the
Director of Finance may transfer any moneys in the Federal Trust Fund
established pursuant to Section 16360 of the Government Code to the
Emergency Medical Services Authority if the money is made available
by the United States for expenditure by the state for purposes
consistent with the implementation of this section.
   (b) Moneys appropriated pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be
allocated by the authority to the California Fire Fighter Joint
Apprenticeship Program to do all of the following:
   (1) Offset the cost of paramedic training course development.
   (2) Enter into reimbursement contracts with eligible state and
local agencies that in turn may contract with educational
institutions for the delivery of paramedic training conducted in
compliance with the requirements of subdivision (a) of Section
1797.172.
   (3) Allocate funds, in the form of grants, to eligible state and
local agencies to defray the cost of providing paramedic training for
fire services personnel, including, but not limited to,
instructional supplies and trainee compensation expenses.
   (c) To the extent permitted by federal law, the authority shall
recover its costs for administration of this section from the funds
transferred pursuant to subdivision (a).
   (d) In order to be eligible for a grant under paragraph (3) of
subdivision (b), a state or local agency shall demonstrate a need for
additional paramedics.
   (e) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
   (1) "Fire service personnel" includes, but is not limited to, a
firefighter or prehospital emergency medical worker employed by a
state or local agency.
   (2) "Local agency" means any city, county, city and county, fire
district, special district, joint powers agency, or any other
political subdivision of the state that provides fire protection
services.
   (3) "State agency" means any state agency that provides
residential or institutional fire protection, including, but not
limited to, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
1797.116.  (a) The authority shall establish additional training
standards that include the criteria for the curriculum content
recommended by the Emergency Response Training Advisory Committee
established pursuant to Section 8588.10 of the Government Code,
involving the responsibilities of first responders to terrorism
incidents and to address the training needs of those identified as
first responders.
   (b) Every EMT I, EMT II, and EMT-P, as defined in Sections
1797.80, 1797.82, and 1797.84, may receive the appropriate training
described in this section.  Pertinent training previously completed
by any jurisdiction's EMT I, EMT II, or EMT-P personnel and meeting
the training requirements of this section may be submitted to the
training program approving authority to assess its content and
determine whether it meets the training standards prescribed by the
authority.