Emergency Services Access Act

Bill: 116-hr-8272
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Higgins, Clay [R-LA-3]
Introduced: 2020-09-16
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Criminal procedure and sentencing

Emergency medical services and trauma care

Health facilities and institutions
Latest action: action_date: 2020-09-16
text: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Summaries:
action_date: 2020-09-16
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><b>Emergency Services Access Ac</b>t</p> <p>This bill establishes a new criminal offense for preventing emergency medical technicians assigned to ambulances or other emergency vehicles from providing medical care. It also makes it a criminal offense to block an emergency vehicle that is transporting an individual in need of treatment from a hospital entrance.</p> <p>An individual who engages in this conduct is subject to criminal penalties--a fine, a prison term of up to five years, or both. If death results, the prison term may be for any term of years or for life.</p>

tv_txt: I 116th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8272 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 16, 2020 Mr. Higgins of Louisiana introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit physically impeding an ambulance from providing emergency medical treatment, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Emergency Services Access Act . 2. Prohibition on blocking ambulances at hospital entrances (a) In general Chapter 65 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 1370. Blocking ambulances at hospital entrances Whoever travels in interstate or foreign commerce or uses any facility of interstate or foreign commerce, and thereafter knowingly physically impedes an ambulance or other emergency vehicle, or an emergency medical technician assigned to such vehicle from— (1) providing treatment to an individual in need of emergency medical treatment; or (2) accessing the entrance to a hospital, in the case of a vehicle transporting an individual in need of emergency medical treatment, shall be imprisoned for not more than 5 years or fined under this title, or both, or if death results, imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or fined under this title, or both. . (b) Clerical amendment The table of sections for such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following: 1370. Blocking ambulances at hospital entrances. .