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Committee backs bill allowing roadside signs to direct people to public AEDs
Summary
House File 1290, sponsored by members of the House, would authorize standardized roadside signage to direct the public to registered outdoor automated external defibrillators (AEDs). Supporters said signs and mapping can reduce response time for sudden cardiac arrest; the committee recommended the bill to pass and sent it to Ways and Means.
The Finance and Government Operations Committee recommended House File 1290, which would authorize standardized roadside signage and roadway guidance showing registered outdoor public-access automated external defibrillators (AEDs).
The bill sponsor told the panel MnDOT would develop a standardized AED sign and "may update the Minnesota manual on uniform traffic control devices to integrate these signs into official roadway guidance." Testimony from proponents focused on the life‑saving potential of faster AED access.
Rich Fenis, founder of Advocates for Health, testified that his nonprofit installs outdoor, smart-monitored AED cabinets and that the group’s aim is to "bridge the gap between a sudden cardiac arrest occurring and when EMS arrives." He warned that "25 up to 25% of the AEDs in The United States don't work because they've got expired pads or batteries." Fenis also questioned elements of MnDOT’s fiscal note, saying MnDOT assumed an average of six signs per AED location while local examples often use fewer.
Joel Vogel, program director for Advocates for Health, said an app called PulsePoint lists AED locations and that some 911 centers pay for PulsePoint coverage; he told the committee an example cost was about $8,000 per year for one county’s 911 dispatch coverage. Vogel and other witnesses said existing directional signs in some towns and placing AEDs in publicly accessible smart cabinets make it possible for bystanders to retrieve an AED quickly.
Committee members asked questions about where the nearest AED to the hearing room might be, how PulsePoint works, and the MnDOT cost estimate. The author and witnesses emphasized that the fiscal note’s projected sign count and annual per-sign costs remain under discussion and that the fiscal burden, as drafted, would fall on the AED location participants rather than on state government.
The chair moved that House File 1290 be recommended to pass and be re-referred to the Ways and Means Committee. The motion passed; the transcript records "all in favor, aye," and the chair announced the motion passes. The transcript does not include a roll-call tally.
Ending: Proponents urged the committee to advance the bipartisan bill, saying signage and centralized mapping would improve public access to life‑saving devices.
