Assembly Bill AB2456 Hurts California EMS

Assembly Bill AB2456 recently passed through the state Assembly and is now making its way to the Senate floor for a vote. What does this mean to us as California EMTs and Paramedics? Well….lots of things. Some known and some unknown. The proposed bill aims to virtually eliminate local EMS agencies and give ultimate governing authority to our wonderful State EMSA. That’s right, the same agency that takes 90 days to process your license renewal, doesn’t return phone calls and takes years to complete investigations. Yep, those guys.

Mark my words, THIS WILL AFFECT YOU NEGATIVELY.

The sponsors of this bill want to see statewide protocols as opposed to the county system that we currently have in place. Sure I get the reasoning behind this, but do you really think that they are going to adopt aggressive and cutting edge protocols? No, because that would require them to fund mandatory training for the majority of the counties around the state that still play “mother may I” instead of para-medicine. Instead you would see everyone “dumbed down” to the level of the county with the tightest standards. I hope you don’t mind taking a few steps backwards because thats where we are headed.

Such a wonderful plan must come with a price right? Nobody eats for free in this world. The proposed legislation will add at least $800,000.00 to the state budget. That’s right, the budget that our legislators haven’t passed on time AGAIN. But don’t worry folks because it wont add to the current deficit. No, instead we the EMS professionals will pay for it in the form of fees tacked on to our license renewals.

The authority may develop and, after approval by the

commission pursuant to Section 1799.50, adopt a schedule of fees

to be collected from each certifying entity, and an increase in fees

pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 1797.172, in amounts

sufficient to support the authority’s actual additional costs to

promulgate regulations pursuant to paragraph (1). The fees shall

be imposed proportionally between the certifying entities, and

through EMT-P licensure fees, based on the number of EMT-Is

and EMT-IIs Advanced EMTs certified by certifying entities and

the number of EMT-Ps licensed by the authority.

Translation: We are going to take as much of your money as we see fit.

Our current EMSA is under-staffed and under-funded. Do you really think that they are equipped to handle the task of managing EVERY agency in California? Imagine how much money it would take to hire the staff, buy the equipment, establish committees and do studies to formulate a statewide set of protocols. All of that money will come from you and me.

If you are interested, you can download and read the legislation by clicking on the link AB2456. See it for yourself.

It’s time to act

If we do nothing, this bill will pass with flying colors. Maybe we don’t have a perfect system, but lets not let the legislators in Sacramento decide what IS best for us. You can help kill this bill by calling not only your local senator, but every senator out there and voicing your opposition. It doesn’t take much time and it’s really easy. Just call them, tell them your name, zip code and the fact that you are an EMS professional and explain that you OPPOSE this bill. We have to get people from all over the state lighting up their phones to get the message through.

Follow this link for a list of all the Senators and their phone numbers. California State Senate

Please don’t let this pass. Make the calls, talk to your friends, and write letters. Lets work together to bring EMS forward, not backwards.

If you have any questions regarding this bill, you can e-mail me at sean@medicamdness.com. I will answer any questions I can in a timely manner.