Conference committee hears legal, local-control concerns about distressed-ambulance program in Senate Bill 2,033

Chair Senator Lee opened a hearing on Senate Bill 2,033 and asked the clerk to call the roll before members heard legal and policy concerns about the bill’s language and timetable.

Allison Hicks, general counsel for the Public Health Division of the Department of Health and Human Services, told the conference committee the draft "creates kind of a parallel disciplinary process" and lacks the due‑process protections found in existing licensure statutes and administrative code. Hicks said the bill as written permits findings of violation or noncompliance to trigger suspension or revocation of an ambulance service license outside the department’s existing operator disciplinary process.

Hicks said the bill would allow a work group made up partly of stakeholders — and, as drafted, possibly local elected officials — to determine that a service is "distressed," a designation that in the bill’s definitions equates to suspension or revocation. "Now school board members, city council members, county commission members are suspending and revoking EMS operator licenses with no ability to appeal, no ability for hearings, no ability for due process," she said.

Because of those legal conflicts, Hicks urged placing the program in administrative rules so the Emergency Medical Advisory Committee (EMAC), the broader stakeholder process and the Administrative Rules Committee could vet details and create a nimble implementation pathway. The department’s proposed amendment would house the program in administrative code, start rulemaking now, and delay the program’s full application until Aug. 1, 2027, to allow time for rule development and an additional legislative review.

Lawmakers expressed frustration with the timing and revisions. "I'm incredibly frustrated right now," said Senator Rohrs, saying the department had been included in prior interim and session meetings but that the committee was seeing new language late in the process. Other committee members, including Representative Feigley, urged stronger local ownership of any program. Feigley said many rural ambulance services were formed and sustained locally and that a stakeholder‑driven approach could preserve community commitment and pride.

Committee members debated statutory overlap and process. Hicks cited chapter references used in hearings and written testimony and said prior statutory provisions (cited in discussion as chapter 11‑28.3 and 11‑28.308) already provide mechanisms for annexation and handling dissolved services. Senator Clemens and others questioned adopting a bill that requires compliance with rules that have not yet been drafted. Members discussed the tradeoff between placing implementation details in statute versus leaving them to administrative rulemaking with a delayed effective date.

No formal amendments or votes were recorded at the hearing. The committee agreed to "mull over" the concerns, seek additional stakeholder input and reconvene. Chair Lee closed the session, saying the committee would adjourn and reschedule another meeting.

The hearing focused on legal compatibility with existing licensure processes, the proper role of local stakeholders versus health‑department regulators, timing for rulemaking, and an implementation date intended to allow administrative rule development and additional legislative oversight by the 70th legislative assembly.