HBA-MSH C.S.H.B. 3312 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 3312 By: Dunnam Public Safety 4/6/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, a 9-1-1 system must be capable of transmitting requests for fire-fighting, law enforcement, ambulance, and medical services to the proper public safety agency that provides the requested service. In many cases, the staff of a 9-1-1 center is able to provide direction and advice over the phone during an emergency before emergency services arrive on the scene of the emergency. However, some 9-1-1 centers do not have personnel trained in providing pre-arrival instructions. C.S.H.B. 3312 creates a pilot program to study the efficacy of providing pre-arrival instructions to 9-1-1 callers. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 3312 requires the Texas Department of Health (TDH) with the assistance of the emergency medical services advisory council to establish a pilot program to test the efficacy of using emergency medical dispatchers located in a regional emergency medical dispatch resource center (center) to provide life-saving and other emergency medical instructions to persons who need guidance while awaiting the arrival of emergency medical personnel. The bill requires the Commission on State Emergency Communications (commission) to provide technical assistance to TDH to facilitate the implementation of the pilot program. The bill requires TDH to determine which public safety answering points are interested in participating in the pilot program and select one public safety answering point to serve as the center, and sets forth necessary qualifications for serving as the center. The bill authorizes the appropriation of money in the 9-1-1 service fee fund to TDH to fund the pilot program. The bill requires TDH to report its findings to the presiding officer of each house of the legislature no later than December 1, 2002. The bill specifies that the liability provisions for 9-1-1 services apply to a center. The bill provides that employees of and volunteers at the center have the same protection from liability as a member of the governing body of a public agency. The bill provides that the pilot program expires September 1, 2003. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 3312 requires the Texas Department of Health (TDH) to create a pilot program to test the efficacy of using emergency medical dispatchers to provide emergency pre-arrival information whereas the original bill required the Commission on State Emergency Communications and TDH to establish one or more regional emergency medical dispatch resource centers (center) to provide emergency pre-arrival information. The substitute sets forth provisions relating to participation in and the administration of the pilot program and reporting of the results. The substitute provides that employees of and volunteers at the center have the same protection from liability as a member of the governing body of a public agency.