House Bill hb0849

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2001                 HB 849

        By Representative Crow






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to Pinellas County; amending

  3         chapter 80-585, Laws of Florida, as amended;

  4         increasing the number of members of the

  5         Emergency Medical Services Authority required

  6         for a quorum from three to four; correcting

  7         terminology; providing an effective date.

  8  

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

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11         Section 1.  Section 1 of chapter 80-585, Laws of

12  Florida, is amended to read:

13         Section 1.  There is hereby created a countywide

14  Emergency Medical Services Authority, hereinafter called the

15  "authority."  The governing body of the authority and its

16  membership shall be the Board of County Commissioners of

17  Pinellas County.  Four Three members of the authority shall

18  constitute a quorum. The Chairperson of the Emergency Medical

19  Services Advisory Council shall be an ex officio ex-officio

20  member of the authority without voting privileges.  The

21  authority shall keep a record of its transactions,

22  resolutions, findings, determinations, recommendations and

23  orders, which record shall be a public record.

24         Section 2.  Section 3 of chapter 80-585, Laws of

25  Florida, as amended by chapter 89-424, Laws of Florida, is

26  amended to read:

27         Section 3.  The authority shall make provision for EMS

28  in any designated districts.  This may be done on a contract

29  management basis where new services are to be provided.

30  However, where EMS are already being provided, full

31  reimbursement shall be made by the authority to the EMS

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2001                 HB 849

    568-171B-01






  1  provider for the reasonable and customary cost of said

  2  services, such cost to be defined by the authority.  The firm

  3  receiving said management contract will operate under the

  4  direction of the EMS medical director, carrying out such

  5  policies and programs as the authority deems necessary.  In

  6  determining reimbursable costs pursuant to this section, where

  7  EMS are already being provided, the authority may take into

  8  consideration the standards and levels of service established

  9  pursuant to section 2 and may reimburse the EMS providers for

10  reasonable actual costs incurred in providing EMS in

11  accordance with the standards and levels of service

12  established by the authority.  However, neither the authority

13  nor the Board of County Commissioners may be required to pay

14  or budget for the payment of reimbursable costs to the EMS

15  providers if that payment would cause the annual budget of the

16  authority to exceed the 1.5 millage authorized by this article

17  act.  If budget requests approved by the authority for the new

18  fiscal year exceed the total estimated revenue available,

19  including ad valorem tax revenue generated by 1.5 mills, the

20  authority shall:

21         (1)  Calculate the percentage of each provider's share

22  of the total requested and approved increases in the

23  authority's budget for the new fiscal year.

24         (2)  Calculate the revenue available for funding

25  increases by subtracting the approved authority budget for the

26  current fiscal year from the total estimated revenue available

27  for the new fiscal year.

28         (3)  Multiply the percentage calculated in subsection

29  (1) for each provider requesting an increase, by the amount

30  calculated in subsection (2), and add the resulting amount to

31  that provider's approved budget for the current fiscal year.

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2001                 HB 849

    568-171B-01






  1  This amount will be the total budgeted for that provider for

  2  the new fiscal year.

  3         Section 3.  Section 5 of chapter 80-585, Laws of

  4  Florida, is amended to read:

  5         Section 5.  There is hereby also created an Emergency

  6  Medical Services Advisory Council, hereinafter called "the

  7  Council," to consist of no fewer than 15 fifteen (15) nor more

  8  than 24 twenty-four (24) members.  Members shall be proposed

  9  by the present EMS Advisory Council and ratified by the

10  authority.  Members shall constitute a broad spectrum of

11  County representation and shall include members of the

12  emergency medical services system and four (4) mayors (or each

13  mayor's designee, who shall be an elected official from the

14  respective city) to be appointed by the Pinellas County

15  Council of Mayors.  The term of appointment shall be for 2 two

16  years; however, there is no limit on the number of terms an

17  individual may serve.  The Director of Civil Emergency Medical

18  Services for Pinellas County shall be a nonvoting non-voting

19  member of the Council.  It shall be the responsibility of this

20  Council to evaluate the County's emergency medical services

21  system from a qualitative point of view, to review the

22  operation of EMS on a countywide basis, to recommend

23  requirements and programs for the contract management firm and

24  monitor performance of same, to review and evaluate studies

25  commissioned by the authority upon the authority's request,

26  and to make such recommendations as may be necessary to the

27  authority on needs, problems and opportunities opportunties

28  relating to emergency medical services, including the

29  financing and establishment of a trauma center or centers, and

30  to carry out such other duties as may be required to ensure

31  

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2001                 HB 849

    568-171B-01






  1  insure the delivery of good, countywide EMS at reasonable

  2  cost.

  3         Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

  4  law.

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