An Act to Establish a Regional Ambulance Service in Southern
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 0176
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: FREDETTE

Legislative Document
No. 176
H.P. 109
House of Representatives, January 14, 2025
An Act to Establish a Regional Ambulance Service in Southern 
Penobscot County
Reference to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered 
printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative FREDETTE of Newport.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. Establishment; membership. The Southern Penobscot County Regional 
Ambulance Service Authority, referred to in this Act as "the authority," is established to 
facilitate the provision of emergency medical services to the residents of towns in southern 
Penobscot County that vote to join the authority, referred to in this Act as "the member 
towns." Any town in southern Penobscot County may join the authority by a majority vote 
of the municipal officers of the town. 
For the purposes of this Act, "municipal officers" has the same meaning as in the Maine 
Revised Statutes, Title 30-A, section 2001, subsection 10.
Sec. 2. Board of directors. The authority is governed by a board of directors, 
referred to in this Act as "the board." The board consists of one member from each member 
town appointed by the municipal officers of that town. 
The municipal officers of each member town shall appoint an alternate who may serve 
in the absence of the appointed member for that town. 
The members of the board are appointed for terms of 2 years, except that the first 3 
members appointed are appointed for an initial term of 3 years and the 2nd 3 members 
appointed are appointed for an initial term of one year. The members may be reappointed 
at the pleasure of the appointing authority.
Sec. 3. Powers; funding. The authority may: 
1. Make and enter into contracts and agreements and, pursuant to the bylaws of the 
authority, purchase or lease all vehicles and equipment necessary to provide emergency 
medical services to member towns;
2. Hold public hearings and sponsor public forums;
3. Sue and be sued in its own name;
4. Accept funds, grants and services from federal, state, county and municipal 
governments, or any agency thereof, gifts and stipends from its member towns and private 
gifts from individuals and entities; 
5. Apply for and accept loans and allocate and disburse funds received to carry out the 
purposes of the authority;
6. Require payment of funding from each member town on a per capita basis or based 
on service call volume, as determined by the board. A member town through its governing 
body may authorize a property tax levy to support the authority, with the levy amount based 
on service needs;
7. Establish a schedule of fees for emergency medical services provided to individuals 
who are not residents of a member town or for specific types of services not covered by 
insurance;
8. Apply for and accept county, state or federal grants designated for emergency 
medical services and shared service operations; and
9. Negotiate agreements with local hospitals or health care facilities to share costs for 
high-demand services.
Debts of the authority authorized under this Act do not constitute or create any debt or 
liability on behalf of the State. Debts incurred under this Act do not directly, indirectly or 
contingently obligate the State to levy or to pledge any form of taxation or to make any 
appropriation for their payment. This section may not be construed to prevent the authority 
from pledging its full faith and credit to the payment of loans or other debts authorized 
pursuant to this Act.
Sec. 4. Duties. The authority shall:
1. Employ or contract with licensed emergency medical services personnel as described 
in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 32, section 83, which may include employment of 
technical or support staff as needed. All personnel must meet license requirements pursuant 
to the Maine Emergency Medical Services Act of 1982, including initial training and 
ongoing professional development;
2. Prioritize emergency medical services coverage within member towns, with 
availability for mutual aid assistance to neighboring towns that are not member towns in 
emergency cases as approved by the board;
3. Establish and enforce standards for ambulances, medical equipment and dispatch 
operations, ensuring alignment with state emergency medical services laws and rules;
4. Provide an annual report to member towns, detailing service response times, 
financial status and other relevant performance metrics;
5. Prepare an annual budget and require an annual audit, which must be made available 
for public inspection; 
6. Establish minimum annual training hours to ensure employed emergency medical 
services personnel are up to date with the latest emergency medical services standards. 
Salaries, benefits and employment conditions must be set by the board, ensuring 
competitive rates to attract qualified personnel; and
7. Follow uniform standards provided in the Maine Revised Statutes insofar as they 
relate to Department of Public Safety rules.
Sec. 5. Organization; conduct of business. The board must be organized and its 
business must be conducted in accordance with the following.
1. The board shall elect a chair, vice-chair, secretary and treasurer from among its 
members.
2. The secretary shall keep a record of the board's meetings. These records are public 
records as defined in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 1, section 402, subsection 3.
3. The treasurer shall keep records of the board's transactions. These records are public 
records as defined in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 1, section 402, subsection 3.
4. The treasurer must be bonded in an amount to be determined by the board.
5. A quorum of the board must be established in the bylaws of the authority and must 
include the chair or vice-chair and the secretary or treasurer.
6. The board shall adopt such bylaws and mission statements as are necessary for the 
legal operation and proper management of the authority. The board shall oversee service 
operations, establish policies, approve budgets, set training requirements and manage 
personnel.
7. Decisions must be made by majority vote of the board, with each member entitled 
to one vote.
Sec. 6. Meetings. The bylaws must establish the annual meeting of the board. 
Additional meetings may be scheduled at the call of the chair or at the written request of 
any 4 members of the board. 
A member who fails to attend board meetings 5 consecutive times may be replaced by 
the municipal officers of the town the member represents. Notification of such absences 
from the secretary of the board to the municipal officers is sufficient to trigger the 
appointment of a replacement board member by the municipal officers.
Sec. 7. Member withdrawal. Any member town whose municipal officers by 
majority vote opt to withdraw from the authority shall provide written notice to the board 
at least one year prior to the proposed date of withdrawal. Upon receiving a withdrawal 
request, the board shall evaluate the financial and operational impact of the withdrawal. If 
the withdrawal is approved, the departing member town shall settle any outstanding 
financial obligations to the authority by the withdrawal date.
A town that withdraws from the authority may rejoin the authority by a majority vote 
of its municipal officers and acceptance by the board, subject to any reentry conditions the 
board may require.
SUMMARY
This bill establishes the Southern Penobscot County Regional Ambulance Service 
Authority to facilitate the provision of emergency medical services to residents of southern 
Penobscot County.