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Senate Bill 523 |
Senate Author: Deuell et al. |
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Effective: 5-3-05 |
House Sponsor: McReynolds |
Senate Bill 523 amends provisions of the Health and Safety Code relating to the regional emergency medical dispatch resource center pilot program. The bill requires the area health education center (center) at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB), rather than the Texas Department of Health, to establish the pilot program and transfers related authority, duties, and cooperative activities to the center. It authorizes UTMB, on behalf of the center, to receive funding from the 9-1-1 services fee and seek additional grant funding for the program. Senate Bill 523 also provides for selecting multiple public safety answering points as program participants or as regional emergency medical dispatch resource centers. The bill extends the pilot program until 2009 and revises reporting requirements to occur biennially and to include the governor and the Advisory Council on Emergency Medical Services as report recipients.