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Committee backs ‘super speeder’ fines to fund Kentucky trauma system and rural EMS supports
Summary
Senate Bill 57 would add higher fines for excessive speeding and dedicate revenue to a state trauma system, EMT scholarships, rural hospital support and AEDs for schools; the Transportation Committee reported the bill favorably with a committee substitute after testimony from trauma surgeons and system directors.
The Senate Transportation Committee voted to report Senate Bill 57 favorably with a committee substitute that sponsors say will fund an expanded trauma-care system by adding an elevated penalty for excessive speeding.
Sen. Steve Meredith, R‑5, sponsor of the measure, described the proposal as a ‘‘super speeder’’ fine modeled on Georgia’s program. Under Meredith’s plan, drivers ticketed for traveling 25 miles per hour or more over the posted limit would face an additional fine; projected revenue was described in committee testimony as roughly $10 million a year under the bill’s parameters, while Georgia’s version raises substantially more in a larger system.
Meredith said the bill would dedicate an initial revenue split: 40 percent to the state trauma system, 30 percent to an EMT scholarship fund, 20 percent to a rural‑hospital preservation fund and 10 percent to purchase automated external defibrillators (AEDs) for public schools. The bill contains a provision for the Revenue Subcommittee on Appropriations for Human Services to review distribution percentages every four years.
Trauma surgeons and system leaders urged the committee to approve recurring funding. Dr. Jason Smith, trauma surgeon at the University of Louisville, described ‘‘trauma deserts’’ across Kentucky and said many patients currently are flown out of their home counties or even out of state for care. Dr. Zach Warner, a trauma surgeon at the University of Kentucky from Knox County, said injury is the most common cause of death for people under about 47 years old in Kentucky and nationwide and testified that an adequately funded trauma system could conservatively save 10 percent of trauma deaths statewide—an estimated 250 to 500 lives a year.
Richard Bartlett, state trauma program director, and other witnesses told the committee that emergency medical services (EMS) and paramedic staffing are strained in many rural communities and that dedicated funding would help recruit, train and retain personnel and develop level‑3 and level‑4 trauma centers to treat more patients close to home.
Committee members asked about geography and fairness. Sen. Wheeler asked whether super speeder fines should apply differently on limited‑access highways where traffic is light; Meredith and witnesses said that trauma events on sparsely served corridors still create high medical and transport costs and that funding distribution could be reviewed over time. Sen. Smith (committee member) asked whether some revenue could be used to help defray costly air‑flight bills for families; Meredith said the distribution review mechanism could shift funds as the system is built.
The governor’s office sent a fiscal communication earlier that suggested a $700,000 cost tied to an earlier draft; committee members said their substitute eliminated the problematic provision and that the Transportation Cabinet supported the concept of funding trauma related to traffic incidents.
Sen. Wheeler recorded an explained no vote citing opposition to the funding mechanism; other senators offered explained yes votes in committee. The committee reported Senate Bill 57 favorably with the committee substitute attached and will send the bill to the Senate calendar.
