An act to amend Section 1797.172 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to emergency medical services.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.
Section 1797.172 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:
1797.172.
(a) The authority shall develop and, after approval by the commission pursuant to Section 1799.50, adopt minimum standards for the training and scope of practice for EMT-P.
(b) The approval of the director, in consultation with a committee of local EMS medical directors named by the EMS Medical Directors Association of California, is required prior to implementation of any addition to a local optional scope of practice for EMT-Ps proposed by the medical director of a local EMS agency.
(c) Notwithstanding any other
provision of
law, the authority shall be the agency solely responsible for licensure and licensure renewal of EMT-Ps who meet the standards and are not precluded from licensure
because of any of the reasons listed in
pursuant to
subdivision
(d)
(i)
of Section 1798.200. Each application for licensure or licensure renewal shall require the applicant’s social security number in order to establish the identity of the applicant. The information obtained as a result of a state and federal level criminal offender record information search shall be used in accordance with Section 11105 of the Penal Code, and to determine whether the applicant is subject to denial of licensure or licensure renewal pursuant to this division. Submission of fingerprint images to the Department of Justice may not be required for licensure renewal upon determination by the authority that fingerprint images have previously been submitted to the Department of Justice during initial licensure, or a previous licensure renewal, provided that the license has not lapsed and the applicant has resided continuously in the state since the initial licensure.
(d) The authority shall charge fees for the licensure and licensure renewal of EMT-Ps in an amount sufficient to support the authority’s licensure program at a level that ensures the qualifications of the individuals licensed to provide quality care. The basic fee for licensure or licensure renewal of an EMT-P shall not exceed one hundred twenty-five dollars ($125) until the adoption of regulations that specify a different amount that does not exceed the authority’s EMT-P licensure, license renewal, and enforcement programs. The authority shall annually evaluate fees to determine if the fee is sufficient to fund the actual costs of the authority’s licensure, licensure renewal, and enforcement programs. If the evaluation shows that the fees are excessive or are insufficient to fund the actual costs of the authority’s EMT-P licensure, licensure renewal, and enforcement programs, then the fees shall be adjusted accordingly through the rulemaking process described in the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code). Separate additional fees may be charged, at the option of the authority, for services that are not shared by all applicants for licensure and licensure renewal, including, but not limited to, any of the following services:
(1) Initial application for licensure as an EMT-P.
(2) Competency testing, the fee for which shall not exceed thirty dollars ($30), except that an additional fee may be charged for the cost of
any
services that provide enhanced availability of the exam for the convenience of the EMT-P,
such as
including, but not limited to,
on-demand electronic testing.
(3) Fingerprint and criminal record check. The applicant shall, if applicable according to subdivision (c), submit fingerprint images and related information for criminal offender record information searches with the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(4) Out-of-state training equivalency determination.
(5) Verification of continuing education for a lapse in licensure.
(6) Replacement of a lost licensure card. The fees charged for individual services shall be set so that the total fees charged to EMT-Ps shall not exceed the authority’s actual total cost for the EMT-P licensure program.
(e) The authority may provide nonconfidential, nonpersonal information relating to EMS programs to interested persons upon request, and may establish and assess fees for the provision of this information. These fees shall not exceed the costs of providing the information.
(f) At the option of the authority, fees may be collected for the authority by an entity that contracts with the authority to provide any of the services associated with the EMT-P program. All fees collected for the authority in a calendar month by
any
an
entity designated by the authority pursuant to this section to collect fees for the authority shall be transmitted to the authority for deposit into the Emergency Medical Services Personnel Fund within 30 calendar days following the last day of the calendar month in which the fees were received by the designated entity, unless the contract between the entity and the authority specifies a different timeframe.

Summary: Under existing law, the Emergency Medical Services System and the Prehospital Emergency Medical Care Personnel Act, the Emergency Medical Services Authority is responsible for establishing minimum standards and promulgating regulations for the training and scope of practice for emergency medical technician-paramedic (EMT-P).
This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.