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Subcommittee carries over transport bill after debate over liability language
Summary
S.299, which would extend certain certificate expirations after disasters and create an alternative transport framework, was carried over after members questioned civil‑liability immunity language and asked staff to reconcile it with the Tort Claims Act.
The subcommittee carried over S.299 for further work after members raised concerns about a civil‑liability immunity clause.
Staff described S.299 as extending certificate expirations to three days after conditions are safe for transport in life‑threatening circumstances or a natural disaster, authorizing relatives or friends to assist with transport if the patient is not a flight or harm risk, adding hospitals and the department to entities that can arrange transportation, establishing departmental minimum standards for transport, and—including in the draft text—a civil‑liability immunity provision for law enforcement, EMTs, certifying physicians and third parties meeting the minimum standards.
A member asked whether the draft immunity language would conflict with the state's Tort Claims Act and whether the bill was intended to create absolute immunity. Committee members said they were uncomfortable with the lack of clarity. Robin Crawford of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, who was sworn in to testify, said a retired department attorney drafted the language, she was not an attorney, and the provision was intended to reassure hospitals and doctors about liability related to use of an alternative transport program. "I think when the program was implemented there was some concern... questions about where the liability might land," she said, and offered to change or remove the language while staff consult counsel.
Members voted to carry the bill over to the next subcommittee meeting so legal staff could refine the liability language.
What happens next: S.299 will be revisited by the subcommittee after staff and legal counsel provide additional analysis and revised language addressing qualified immunity and Tort Claims Act concerns.
