HBA-MSH H.B. 3312 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3312
By: Dunnam
Public Safety
7/18/2001
Enrolled



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.  House Bill 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

House Bill 3312 requires the Texas Department of Health (TDH)  to establish
a pilot program, if funding is available, with the assistance of the
emergency medical services advisory council 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 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 and authorizes TDH to seek grant funding for the 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.