Panel hears split testimony on bill to restore local control of EMS instructor certification

The Workforce Development Committee heard competing testimony on Senate Bill 2,100 during a public hearing on the bill, which would remove a recent rule requiring emergency medical services instructors to be affiliated with a licensed EMS training institute.

Senator Todd Beard, R‑23, who introduced the bill, told the committee the measure would “ensure qualified entry level certification training for emergency responders and technicians may be provided by emergency medical services instructors without requiring involvement from a specific emergency medical services training institute.” He and witnesses representing rural services said the institute requirement, adopted in a recent administrative rule change, makes it harder for small communities to train and recruit volunteers.

Corey Johnson, assistant chief of the Williston Fire Department and a licensed EMS instructor coordinator, urged lawmakers to support the bill and said the rule change was adopted after a contested rule‑making process.…