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Committee reviews housekeeping rule renaming and EMS licensure updates; no substantive policy changes announced
Summary
The committee reviewed Department of Energy/Environment nomenclature changes to Regulation 19 (now Rule 19) and Department of Health updates to EMS licensure and certification requirements required by 2019 acts, with presenters saying there are no substantive program changes.
Agency legal staff briefed the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee on administrative rule changes that mostly update language and bring agency rules into alignment with recent legislative acts.
Michael McAllister, deputy chief counsel for the Department of Energy and Environment, told the panel the proposed changes to Regulation 19 are housekeeping: "The changes in this rule making are strictly housekeeping... nomenclature changes to change Department of Environmental Quality to Division of Environmental Quality to change the regulation 19 to rule 19," he said, and emphasized there are no substantive regulatory changes to the Clean Air Act implementation.
Members asked whether the change from "regulation" to "rule" alters agency authority. William Montgomery (associate director, Office of Air Quality) and McAllister said the change is intended to comply with Act 315 of 2019 and similar transformation legislation and that future rule changes will remain subject to legislative review as before.
The Department of Health presented EMS-related rule updates to comply with 2019 legislation, address national certification requirements under Acts cited by staff, reduce red tape for licensure and implement military licensure provisions. Laura Shue, general counsel, said the ambulance association reviewed the updates favorably. The Department of Health and staff offered to return with additional subject-matter expertise on contact tracing and privacy at members’ request.
Procedurally, the committee found the DOE nomenclature changes and the Health Department’s EMS rule amendments reviewed without objection.
Next steps: Agencies will provide requested follow-up materials (e.g., specific codes, contact-tracer briefing materials) on request and bring any substantive future rule changes back for legislative review.
