Committee hears SB 379 to create voluntary statewide emergency medical dispatch and telecommunicator CPR program

The Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications opened and closed a hearing on SB 379, a bill that would authorize the state 9‑1‑1 board to establish a statewide Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) and Telecommunicator CPR (TCPR) program, create a dedicated fund seeded by a one-time $300,000 transfer from the state 9‑1‑1 operations fund, require annual reporting to the legislature and provide limited civil-liability protections for providers.

Assistant Revisor of Statutes Nick Meyer told the committee SB 379 would permit the state 9‑1‑1 board to adopt statewide EMD and TCPR protocols, contract or employ a medical director to develop and maintain protocols and oversee quality assurance (QA), and establish minimum training standards. Meyer said the fund would be administered by the state 9‑1‑1 board and that interest on the fund would be credited back for program use. He also said the bill includes liability exemptions for contracted medical direction and QA providers and extends certain protections under the Kansas Tort Claims Act to governmental employees who provide EMD or TCPR services, while preserving liability for gross or wanton negligence.

Proponents told the committee the proposal is intended to lower financial and operational barriers for small and rural PSAPs (public safety answering points). Ed Klump, chair of the SB 11 study group, described a phased approach that would prioritize TCPR because it is faster and less resource-intensive to implement, then expand into broader EMD services. “The initial phase would prioritize the TCPR because it can be implemented quickly,” Klump said, adding that centralizing medical direction, protocols and QA could allow smaller PSAPs to transfer medical calls to larger hubs rather than build duplicate local programs.

Sheriff Jacob Welsh of Chase County, speaking for the Kansas Sheriff’s Association, urged a voluntary, state-supported approach that preserves local control and avoids imposing mandates on chronically understaffed, one‑seat PSAPs. “Imposing medical instruction requirements on non‑certified chronically understaffed centers without adding capacity and protection increases burnout, turnover, and risk,” he said.

Chief Dan Cooper of Oakley, representing the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police, supported the phased, consolidated model and offered data on current coverage: he told the committee about 42.8% of the state’s 119 PSAPs do not offer EMD services, which he said covers roughly 47% of the state’s land area and about 12.8% of the population.

Sherry Massey, a member of the SB 11 exploratory committee who said the state 9‑1‑1 board had not yet voted on the funding approach, described the $300,000 figure as an estimate. She said a full medical director contract could be as much as roughly $200,000, with QA services potentially up to $100,000, but that both figures could be lower depending on procurement and contracting choices. Massey said the funds would remain subject to the limits on 9‑1‑1 fee usage and would not be spent if not needed: “The $300,000 number is really a guess,” she said.

The American Heart Association’s Carrie Rinker opposed the bill’s voluntary approach and urged the legislature to set a minimum standard. Rinker cited survival statistics for out‑of‑hospital cardiac arrest and argued that mandating TCPR for medical dispatchers would save lives: “For every minute that CPR is not administered, survival rates decrease by 10 percent,” she said.

Committee members asked several practical questions: whether the $300,000 would cover training, equipment, travel or personnel, how the fund might be limited to a TCPR-only first year, and how a single‑seat PSAP would handle concurrent calls while performing TCPR. Witnesses said the seed money is intended primarily for central contracts (medical direction, protocols, QA) and training distribution; it could cover travel but not personnel or overtime, which must come from PSAP budgets. Massey estimated a TCPR-only first year could be substantially less than $300,000 and suggested $100,000 could be sufficient for that narrower scope.

The bill requires the state 9‑1‑1 board to report annually to the legislature — including data on the number and geographic territory of PSAPs using EMD or TCPR and barriers to wider adoption — and directs that the report be submitted to the committee and to the House Committee on Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications by Jan. 31 of each year. The bill also specifies a single one‑time transfer to the new fund on July 1, 2026, if enacted.

The committee closed the hearing, placed the fiscal note for SB 379 in the committee folder and adjourned without taking a vote. The committee received written proponent and neutral testimony and heard one opponent in person.