House Bill 1513

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.







    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                HB 1513

        By Representative Patterson






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to local governments; providing

  3         that units of local government may not contract

  4         with specified organizations to provide

  5         emergency medical services and fire protection

  6         services without prior approval by the electors

  7         at a referendum; providing definitions;

  8         providing an effective date.

  9

10  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

11

12         Section 1.  (1)  As used in this section, the term:

13         (a)  "Emergency medical services" means:

14         1.  The treatment of life-threatening medical

15  emergencies through the use of techniques such as endotracheal

16  intubation, the administration of drugs or intravenous fluids,

17  telemetry, cardiac monitoring, and cardiac defibrillation by a

18  qualified person, pursuant to rules of the Department of

19  Health; or

20         2.  The treatment of medical emergencies by a qualified

21  person through the use of techniques such as patient

22  assessment, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), splinting,

23  obstetrical assistance, bandaging, administration of oxygen,

24  application of medical antishock trousers, administration of a

25  subcutaneous injection using a premeasured autoinjector of

26  epinephrine to a person suffering an anaphylactic reaction,

27  and other techniques described in the Emergency Medical

28  Technician Basic Training Course Curriculum of the United

29  States Department of Transportation.  The term also includes

30  other techniques which have been approved and are performed

31

                                  1

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                HB 1513

    719-114-00






  1  under conditions specified by rules of the Department of

  2  Health.

  3         (b)  "Emergency medical services personnel" means

  4  persons who are certified by the Department of Health to

  5  perform emergency medical services.

  6         (c)  "Firefighter" means any person who is employed as

  7  a full-time professional firefighter, whose primary

  8  responsibility is the prevention and extinguishment of fires,

  9  the protection and saving of life and property, and the

10  enforcement of municipal, county, and state fire prevention

11  codes, as well as of any law pertaining to the prevention and

12  control of fires, and who is certified pursuant to section

13  633.35, Florida Statutes.

14         (d)  "Fire protection services" means the prevention

15  and extinguishment of fires, the protection and saving of life

16  and property, and the enforcement of municipal, county, and

17  state fire prevention codes and laws relating to the

18  prevention and control of fires.

19         (e)  "Unit of local government" means a county,

20  municipality, consolidated city-county government, special

21  district, local agency, authority, or any other local

22  governmental body.

23         (2)  A unit of local government that provides fire

24  protection services or emergency medical services, or both,

25  for its residents using firefighters or emergency medical

26  services personnel may not provide fire protection services or

27  emergency medical services through an organization that is not

28  a local government, a department of local government, or a

29  state or federal agency and that provides fire protection

30  services or emergency medical services for the unit of local

31  government under a contract or other agreement for profit

                                  2

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                HB 1513

    719-114-00






  1  without the approval of the majority of the voters of the unit

  2  of local government voting at the next scheduled general

  3  election or at a special election.

  4         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2000.

  5

  6            *****************************************

  7                          SENATE SUMMARY

  8    Provides that units of local government may not contract
      with specified organizations to provide emergency medical
  9    services and fire protection services without prior
      approval of a majority of the electors voting at a
10    general or special election. Provides definitions.

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

                                  3