Senate committee advances HB 2280 with AED registration and rural EMS amendments

House Bill 2280, which updates statutes governing emergency medical services and adds an AED registration requirement for devices in public places, passed out of the Senate Committee on Public Health and Welfare after several amendments.

Committee staff Jenna summarized the bill as updating authorized orders for paramedics, AEMTs, EMTs and emergency medical responders; clarifying requirements for ambulance services that operate fewer than 24 hours; and requiring automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to be registered. The committee considered multiple amendments addressing AED registration scope, civil liability protections and rural ambulance staffing.

Senator Clifford offered an amendment adopting a definition of "public place" drawn from the Clean Air Act and exempting private homes from the AED registration requirement unless the residence is used as a daycare. Senator Clifford explained the change as "a protection for individuals who have a right to own these devices" and said private homeowners should not be required to register an AED kept for family use.

A subsequent amendment struck language tying liability protections to registration status; committee staff explained the bill would still require registration but would not condition civil liability protections on registration. In discussion, Senator Petty asked whether entities would be liable if they failed to register; staff replied registration would remain required but failure to register would not remove civil liability protections so owners would still receive liability protection if devices were properly maintained and operated.

A third amendment expanded rural ambulance staffing flexibility for services serving areas with populations of 30,000 or less. The amendment allows ambulance drivers to be minimally trained (including CPR) rather than requiring two medically trained personnel on all transports; committee proponents said the change addresses volunteer shortages in rural services and facilitates interfacility and transport runs.

The committee adopted each amendment by voice vote and then passed the bill out of committee as amended. Senator Thomas moved passage and Senator Rose seconded; the motion carried on a committee voice vote recorded in the hearing.

Ending: House Bill 2280 was advanced from committee with technical and policy amendments intended to limit AED registration requirements to public places, preserve liability protections irrespective of registration status, and ease staffing requirements for rural ambulance services; the bill will proceed in the legislative process as amended.