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Committee reduces EMS continuing-education hours and consolidates licensing chapters to match neighboring states
Summary
The Senate Health and Welfare Committee approved consolidation of EMS licensing chapters and cut continuing-education hour requirements to align with averages in neighboring states; the committee also approved an omnibus repeal of older EMS chapters.
The Idaho Senate Health and Welfare Committee approved rule dockets that consolidate multiple Emergency Medical Services (EMS) chapters into a single chapter and reduce continuing-education requirements for EMS personnel to reflect averages among neighboring states.
Jared Larson told the committee the consolidation folds subsequent EMS chapters into one chapter and implements a change required by the Occupational Licensing Reform Act (House Bill 705) that asks the department to consider neighboring-state requirements. As a result, continuing-education requirements were reduced: for emergency medical technicians (EMTs) from 8 hours to 5 hours (annual equivalent), for advanced EMTs from 16 hours to 12 hours, for intermediate levels from 27 to 20 hours, and for paramedics from 36 to 30 hours. Wayne Denny, Bureau Chief for EMS and Preparedness, said the department compared hours on a per-year basis across three-year and two-year license cycles and prorated hours accordingly.
Larson said the department had received outreach and held two hours of public hearings and regional outreach to EMS personnel during the rulemaking process. Senator Wintrow asked whether negotiated rulemaking produced substantive changes beyond consolidation; Larson said the department incorporated stakeholder feedback collected in outreach.
The committee approved the consolidated EMS docket by voice vote and then approved an omnibus motion to repeal the now-folded chapters in a single vote. Senator Wintrow moved to approve multiple repeal dockets at once; the motion passed by voice vote. The transcript records that some votes were voice votes without roll-call tallies.
The department said the changes aim to reduce barriers for EMS professionals licensed in other states and to ease administrative burdens that may discourage practitioners from working in Idaho.
