BILL ANALYSIS
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Currently, an emergency ambulance service cannot respond to an emergency, accident, fire, disaster, or any other emergency situation outside their respective municipality without the scene first being secured by law enforcement officer of that county or municipality if there is a possible threat of any kind against the ambulance personnel. For various reasons a municipal police officer may arrive on a crime scene before a county law enforcement officer, but the municipal police officer is not able to secure the area because it lies outside of his or her jurisdiction. The EMS team is therefore unable to administer emergency care until the officer employed by that jurisdiction arrives and secures the scene. This could result in the victims of crime or accident being denied immediate emergency care.
HB 233 amends Chapter 774 of the Health and Safety Code to provide a municipality the option to allow a municipal police officer to accompany a municipal ambulance to a scene outside its respective municipality whenever the ambulance personnel can be placed in harms way.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS
The bill authorizes an agreement between two municipalities under Section 774.001(b) of the Health and Safety Code or an agreement between a municipality and a county under Section 774.001(b) or 774.003 of the same code to include an option to permit a municipal police officer to secure a scene outside of their jurisdiction, if that municipalities’ emergency ambulance service responds to the same emergency and there is a need of immediate emergency care.
EFFECTIVE DATE
This Act takes effect September 1, 2005 or immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.