DE HB317 | 2013-2014 | 147th General Assembly
Status
Completed Legislative Action
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: Passed on September 24 2014 - 100% progression
Action: 2014-09-24 - Signed by Governor
Text: Latest bill text (Engrossed) [HTML]
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: Passed on September 24 2014 - 100% progression
Action: 2014-09-24 - Signed by Governor
Text: Latest bill text (Engrossed) [HTML]
Summary
In 1999, House Bill 332 established new response time goals and certification standards for the delivery of basic life support and emergency medical services. In order to meet the new standards, volunteer ambulance companies needed to hire paid EMTs and ambulance attendants to ensure the availability of sufficient numbers of trained, certified staff on a 24 hour, 7 days a week basis to meet the new response time goals. The authors of House Bill 332 recognized that compliance with the new goals and standards would impose additional expense on the volunteer ambulance companies; however, neither House Bill 332 nor any subsequent legislation has addressed the funding sources for basic life support ambulance service in Delaware. Increased costs, without corresponding increases in revenue, have eroded the financial stability of volunteer ambulance companies. In 2012, 40 of Delaware’s 55 volunteer ambulance companies reported they are now conducting ambulance/EMS operations at a loss. In 2013, House Bill 215 established the Ambulance and EMS Task Force (“Task Force”). In February 2014, the Task Force issued its report on the state of funding of ambulance and EMS services in Delaware and noted, “By some accounts, the public may begin to see diminished ambulance service in as little as 8 to 12 months, if steps are not taken promptly to meet the funding need.” The Task Force made 9 findings and 13 recommendations aimed at addressing this issue. This bill would implement two of the Task Force’s recommendations to improve the funding of basic life support ambulance services in Delaware by (1) specifying that certain types of health insurers are subject to the insurance premium tax assessment for ambulance service and (2) increasing the amount of the moneys placed in the fund to forty five one hundredths of 1 percent. The bill also adds definitions for volunteer ambulance companies and other related terms. While the bill adds the new definition for volunteer ambulance companies, it retains the prior reference to volunteer rescue services to ensure those entities continue to receive funding from the special fund.
Title
An Act To Amend Title 18 Of The Delaware Code Relating To Gross Premiums Received By Life And Health Insurers And The Special Fund For Payments To All Volunteer Ambulance Companies.
Sponsors
Roll Calls
2014-07-01 - Senate - Senate Third Reading (Y: 20 N: 1 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]
2014-07-01 - House - House Third Reading (Y: 41 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]
2014-07-01 - House - House Third Reading (Y: 41 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]
History
| Date | Chamber | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 2014-09-24 | House | Signed by Governor |
| 2014-07-01 | Senate | Passed by Senate. Votes: Passed 20 YES 1 NO 0 NOT VOTING 0 ABSENT 0 VACANT |
| 2014-07-01 | Senate | Necessary rules are suspended in Senate |
| 2014-07-01 | Senate | Introduced in Senate |
| 2014-07-01 | House | Passed by House of Representatives. Votes: Passed 41 YES 0 NO 0 NOT VOTING 0 ABSENT 0 VACANT |
| 2014-07-01 | House | Amendment HA 2 - Passed in House by Voice Vote |
| 2014-07-01 | House | Amendment HA 2 - Introduced in House |
| 2014-07-01 | House | Amendment HA 1 - Passed in House by Voice Vote |
| 2014-06-10 | House | Amendment HA 1 - Introduced in House |
| 2014-05-14 | House | Reported Out of Committee (APPROPRIATIONS) in House with 2 Favorable, 2 On Its Merits |
| 2014-05-08 | House | Assigned to Appropriations Committee in House |
| 2014-05-07 | House | Reported Out of Committee (PUBLIC SAFETY & HOMELAND SECURITY) in House with 10 On Its Merits |
| 2014-04-30 | House | Introduced and Assigned to Public Safety & Homeland Security Committee in House |
