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Senate committee hears bill to restore 'emergency medical responder' title, citing rural needs
Summary
Senate Bill 24 would add "emergency medical responder" back into Nevada statutes to match national standards and support pre-hospital care in rural communities; presenters and firefighters endorsed the change at a Senate Health and Human Services hearing.
Carson City — The Senate Committee on Health and Human Services heard Senate Bill 24 on Wednesday, a bill that would add "emergency medical responder" as a recognized pre‑hospital provider in Nevada statutes to align state law with national standards and support rural emergency response.
The bill was presented by Kyle Devine, deputy administrator with the Division of Public Behavioral Health, who told the committee that the provider type was previously called the first responder and was omitted when earlier legislation renamed emergency medical personnel to match national nomenclature. "We just are very thankful that you're willing to hear this. We believe that this will be very beneficial, to our rural communities and, providing more personnel who can, respond to emergencies," Devine said.
The measure drew supportive testimony from Ryan Beaman, representing professional firefighters in Nevada, who said restoring the certification would help rural departments that face long response distances. "With this change...it actually will help out our rural division," Beaman said, adding that Clark County and other departments rely on mutual assistance across long distances.
The Division of Public Behavioral Health clarified that the state currently recognizes the emergency medical responder role informally and that SB 24 would codify the classification for statewide consistency. Bobby Sullivan, who manages the state's EMS office, accompanied Devine for the presentation and was available to answer technical questions.
No witnesses testified in opposition or neutral during the hearing. The committee closed the hearing on SB 24 without taking a final vote.
Why it matters: Restoring the emergency medical responder designation aims to ensure Nevada's statutory language matches national standards and to make certification and scope-of-practice rules clear across urban and rural jurisdictions, a point witnesses said could improve response capacity in remote areas.
The committee did not take a vote during this hearing; supporters and agency staff said they expect the discussion to continue as the bill advances through the legislative process.
