SB2231 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB097 10385 RPM 50600 b

97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
SB2231

Introduced 2/15/2011, by Sen. Michael W. Frerichs

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

210 ILCS 50/3.60

Amends the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act. Provides that a First Responder must be 16 years of age or older. Effective immediately.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning regulation.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act is amended by changing Section 3.60 as follows:

(210 ILCS 50/3.60)

Sec. 3.60. First Responder.

(a) "First Responder" means a person who has successfully completed a course of instruction in emergency first response as prescribed by the Department, who provides first response services prior to the arrival of an ambulance or specialized emergency medical services vehicle, in accordance with the level of care established in the emergency first response course. A First Responder who provides such services as part of an EMS System response plan which utilizes First Responders as the personnel dispatched to the scene of an emergency to provide initial emergency medical care shall comply with the applicable sections of the Program Plan of that EMS System. A First Responder must be 16 years of age or older.

Persons who have already completed a course of instruction in emergency first response based on or equivalent to the national curriculum of the United States Department of Transportation, or as otherwise previously recognized by the Department, shall be considered First Responders on the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1995.

(b) The Department shall have the authority and responsibility to:

(1) Prescribe education requirements for the First Responder, which meet or exceed the national curriculum of the United States Department of Transportation, through rules adopted pursuant to this Act.

(2) Prescribe a standard set of equipment for use during first response services. An individual First Responder shall not be required to maintain his or her own set of such equipment, provided he or she has access to such equipment during a first response call.

(3) Require the First Responder to notify the Department of any EMS System in which he or she participates as dispatched personnel as described in subsection (a).

(4) Require the First Responder to comply with the applicable sections of the Program Plans for those Systems.

(5) Require the First Responder to keep the Department currently informed as to who employs him or her and who supervises his or her activities as a First Responder.

(6) Establish a mechanism for phasing in the First Responder requirements over a 5-year period.

(7) Charge each First Responder applicant a fee for testing, initial licensure, and license renewal. A First Responder who exclusively serves as a volunteer for units of local government or a not-for-profit organization that serves a service area with a population base of less than 5,000 may submit an application to the Department for a waiver of these fees on a form prescribed by the Department.

(Source: P.A. 96-1469, eff. 1-1-11.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.