| 1 | The Justice Appropriations Committee recommends the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Council/Committee Substitute |
| 4 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 5 | A bill to be entitled |
| 6 | An act relating to automated external defibrillators in |
| 7 | law enforcement vehicles; providing legislative findings |
| 8 | and intent; providing definitions; requiring the |
| 9 | Department of Law Enforcement to administer a grant |
| 10 | program to fund the placement of automated external |
| 11 | defibrillators in law enforcement vehicles; requiring a |
| 12 | law enforcement agency to provide matching funds when |
| 13 | making a grant request; providing an exception; providing |
| 14 | for priority consideration for certain applications; |
| 15 | requiring the department to adopt rules; providing an |
| 16 | effective date. |
| 17 |
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| 18 | WHEREAS, automated external defibrillators (AEDs) have |
| 19 | saved numerous lives in Florida from sudden cardiac arrest, and |
| 20 | WHEREAS, currently only 5 percent of sudden cardiac arrest |
| 21 | victims survive, and |
| 22 | WHEREAS, early defibrillation is critical in saving lives |
| 23 | from sudden cardiac arrest, and |
| 24 | WHEREAS, a victim of sudden cardiac arrest who is not |
| 25 | defibrillated within 8 to 10 minutes has little chance of |
| 26 | survival, and |
| 27 | WHEREAS, even the best emergency medical services systems |
| 28 | are often not able to respond to victims of sudden cardiac |
| 29 | arrest within the necessary 4 minutes after collapse, and |
| 30 | WHEREAS, law enforcement officers who have been equipped |
| 31 | with AEDs in their cars have saved lives, and |
| 32 | WHEREAS, law enforcement officers are frequently first on |
| 33 | the scene in an emergency medical situation, and |
| 34 | WHEREAS, communities have greater numbers of law |
| 35 | enforcement officers than emergency medical service personnel, |
| 36 | and |
| 37 | WHEREAS, victims of sudden cardiac arrest have a greater |
| 38 | chance of survival in communities where law enforcement officers |
| 39 | are equipped with AEDs, and |
| 40 | WHEREAS, AEDs allow trained lay rescuers to quickly and |
| 41 | safely deliver defibrillation before emergency medical service |
| 42 | personnel can arrive, and |
| 43 | WHEREAS, law enforcement officers are continuously on |
| 44 | patrol and are poised to respond immediately to emergencies, and |
| 45 | WHEREAS, equipping law enforcement vehicles with AEDs can |
| 46 | save lives, NOW, THEREFORE, |
| 47 |
|
| 48 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 49 |
|
| 50 | Section 1. (1)(a) The Legislature finds that placing |
| 51 | automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in law enforcement |
| 52 | vehicles will save lives. |
| 53 | (b) The Legislature further finds that law enforcement |
| 54 | officers have an established public role as guardians of public |
| 55 | safety and are in a unique position to help reduce death from |
| 56 | sudden cardiac arrest. Therefore, the Legislature intends to |
| 57 | promote and encourage law enforcement agencies to equip their |
| 58 | vehicles with AEDs. |
| 59 | (2) As used in this section, the term: |
| 60 | (a) "AED" means an automated external defibrillator. |
| 61 | (b) "Department" means the Department of Law Enforcement. |
| 62 | (c) "Law enforcement agency" means any law enforcement |
| 63 | service provider, including a municipal police department, a |
| 64 | county sheriff's office, and the Florida Highway Patrol. |
| 65 | (d) "Law enforcement vehicle" means any marked or unmarked |
| 66 | automobile used by a law enforcement agency to serve the |
| 67 | community or patrol a specific area. |
| 68 | (3) The department shall administer a grant program to |
| 69 | provide funds to law enforcement agencies for the purpose of |
| 70 | placing AEDs in law enforcement vehicles. |
| 71 | (4)(a) A law enforcement agency shall provide matching |
| 72 | funds of at least 25 percent in order to be considered for |
| 73 | funding when making a grant request. |
| 74 | (b) A law enforcement agency that serves a rural community |
| 75 | as defined in s. 288.0656, Florida Statutes, which requests a |
| 76 | grant is not required to provide a 25-percent match, but must |
| 77 | provide matching funds of at least 10 percent in order to be |
| 78 | considered for funding. The department shall give priority |
| 79 | consideration to grant applications from rural law enforcement |
| 80 | agencies. |
| 81 | (5) The department shall adopt rules for administering the |
| 82 | Automated External Defibrillator Grant Program by September 1, |
| 83 | 2005. |
| 84 | Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |