Senate committee advances ambulance payment rules, EMS enforcement, school epinephrine and other health measures

The Senate Health and Human Services Standing Committee on March 12, 2025, unanimously recommended a package of health bills to the full Senate, including measures on ambulance provider payments (HB 301 third substitute), emergency medical services enforcement and a new critical‑needs account (HB 391 first substitute), expanded authority for use of new epinephrine delivery forms in schools (HB 333 first substitute), coordination pilots for mental health in criminal justice settings (HB 63 third substitute), administrative Health and Human Services code updates (HB 434 second substitute), a presumption-of-state-jurisdiction resolution (HB 380), and odor‑mitigation and operating-plan requirements for cannabis production in industrial zones (HB 343).

Committee leaders and bill sponsors said the measures were the product of extended stakeholder work and technical drafting. Representative Malloy, sponsor of the ambulance payment bill, described HB 301 as a package to “ensure fair and transparent ambulance pricing in Utah by setting sustainable base rates for transport, mileage, and medications,” and said the measure also “prohibits balance billing.”

The committee’s action moves each bill to the Senate floor for debate by the full body.

Why it matters: Several of the bills make changes that affect emergency care delivery or access to life‑saving medicines. HB 301 changes how ambulance services are paid and adds a medication price cap and a mileage rate; HB 391 gives the Bureau of Emergency Medical Services additional enforcement tools and authorizes fines to create an emergency medical critical needs account; HB 333 updates school code to allow non‑injectable rescue medication delivery systems that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved; HB 63 asks the Behavioral Health Crisis Response Committee to plan pilots to improve coordination between mental‑health and criminal‑justice systems.

What the committee heard

Ambulance provider payment amendments (HB 301, third substitute) Representative Malloy told the committee the bill “codifies a base rate for ground ambulance transport to ensure financial stability for providers while protecting patients from excessive charges.” Stakeholders from private ambulance services and local fire chiefs testified in support. Mike Moffitt of Gold Cross Ambulance said his company and other providers had worked with the sponsor “since the beginning of the session” and supported the draft. Clint Smith, Draper fire chief and president of the Utah State Fire Chiefs Association, said fire chiefs and EMS leaders were “very comfortable with the bill” and urged the committee to pass it.

Emergency medical services revisions (HB 391, first substitute) Sponsor testimony said HB 391 implements recommendations from an audit of Utah’s emergency medical transportation system. The bill would create an emergency medical critical needs account and authorize the Bureau of Emergency Medical Services to levy fines on providers found out of compliance, with fines deposited to the new account to encourage compliance before license suspension or revocation. Darren Bushman, director of the Bureau of Emergency Medical Services, told the committee the bureau supported the legislation and believed it would help achieve the bill’s goals.

Presumption of state jurisdiction (HB 380) A sponsor framed HB 380 as a codification of the federalism canon of statutory construction — a presumption that federal statutes do not preempt state law — and said the bill would formalize a “presumption of state jurisdiction” to guide coordination with federal partners. The sponsor cited recent U.S. Supreme Court language describing states’ retained “police power” and said the measure would direct the state’s federalism commission to manage coordination where federal and state authorities overlap.

Health and Human Services code cleanup (HB 434, second substitute) Committee members were told HB 434 is largely technical: renumbering, outdated language repeal, updated references and clarified qualifications for certain positions. No public opposition was recorded.

Criminal justice and mental health coordination (HB 63, third substitute) Representative Daley‑Provost described HB 63 as a follow‑up to interim discussions and to recent statutory changes that created a Behavioral Health Crisis Response Committee within the Behavioral Health Commission. The bill asks that committee to convene stakeholders and produce a plan for pilot programs to improve crisis response and cross‑system coordination between mental health, public safety and criminal‑justice systems.

Medications in schools (HB 333, first substitute) Representatives explained the bill would allow school nurses to administer “rescue medications” in noninjectable forms recently cleared by the FDA (committee testimony identified a nasal epinephrine product approved in August). The change replaces language limited to “auto‑injectors” so schools may receive and use new delivery systems. Samantha Bushnell, the state school nurse consultant, told the committee the manufacturer’s school donation program (four units per school per year) required code language that did not restrict rescue medication to an auto‑injector format.

Cannabis production amendments (HB 343) The cannabis production bill applies to production establishments in industrial zones and requires odor‑mitigation operating plans, clarifies that local nuisance ordinances remain applicable, and tasks the Department of Agriculture to work with stakeholders for up to a year to study odor‑monitoring feasibility and potential standards. City officials and business representatives, including a Centerville council member and an affected tenant, described repeated odor incidents; a licensee said it had already spent more than $200,000 on mitigation and committed to further work.

Votes at a glance (committee recommendation) - HB 301 (Ambulance provider payment amendments, 3rd sub): recommended favorably to the full Senate (committee vote recorded as unanimous). - HB 391 (Emergency medical service provisions, 1st sub): recommended favorably to the full Senate (committee vote recorded as unanimous). - HB 380 (Presumption of state jurisdiction): recommended favorably to the full Senate (committee vote recorded as unanimous). - HB 434 (Health and Human Services amendments, 2nd sub): recommended favorably to the full Senate (committee vote recorded as unanimous). - HB 63 (Criminal justice and mental health coordination, 3rd sub): recommended favorably to the full Senate (committee vote recorded as unanimous). - HB 333 (Medications in schools, 1st sub): recommended favorably to the full Senate (committee vote recorded as unanimous). - HB 343 (Cannabis production amendments): recommended favorably to the full Senate (committee vote recorded as unanimous).

What the committee did not do The committee announced it would not hear Senate Bill 331 (Pain Medication Amendments) at this meeting.

Context and next steps Committee members repeatedly praised stakeholder collaboration and said many bills were the product of months of drafting and negotiation. Each measure now goes to the full Senate for further consideration; the committee record shows no recorded opposition votes in committee. Where the committee noted further work — for example, odor‑monitoring standards for cannabis operations or pilot design from the Behavioral Health Crisis Response Committee — the bills ask agencies or committees to return recommendations to the Legislature for future action.

Ending note: The committee adjourned after completing its agenda and thanked staff and state law enforcement for support.