Legislative session produces unfunded state trauma system, no pension overhaul

By JOHN HULTGREN
Kentucky EMS Connection

LOUISVILLE — The 2008 Kentucky legislative session finally authorized a state-wide trauma system, although they didn't fund it, but failed to overhaul the state pension system.

Kentucky House Bill 371 was signed into law by Governor Beshear on April 9 and should take effect in July.

In all there were 17 bills introduced in this session that had, to at least some degree, an impact on emergency medical services.

The only major bill that passed was the bill which now creates a statewide trauma system.

A bill to overhaul the state retirement system, an important goal of this legislative session, was never agreed upon. This may be continued in a special session if Governor Beshear chooses to call one.

A sales tax bill that would have inadvertently applied to air medical transports was passed in both the House and the Senate in slightly different versions but never made it out of concurrence.

A DUI blood testing bill and a bill that would have removed the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians from the initial certification testing process never made it out of their first committee assignment.

This year's legislative session ended on April 15, although there are reports the legislature continued, possibly illegally, into the following day by stopping the clocks.

Signed into law by the Governor:

• Trauma care system, establish - HB 371 (Apr 9)
• Personal emergency response systems, supervision of - SB 57 (Apr 14)
• Missing impaired adults, improve rescue squads and searches for - SB 125 (Apr 14)

Passed both House and Senate but never fixing differences:

• Sales tax, services subject to HB 262 (passed House; passed Senate; received in House; to Rules (H); posted for passage for concurrence in Senate Committee Substitute, committee amendments (1) and (2) Mar 28)

Passed the Senate but didn't progress in the House:

• Dispatch communications personnel, definitions for collective bargaining in urban-county governments - SB 106 (posted in Local Government Committee Mar 21)
• Driver's license, emergency contact to be part of the driver's license database - SB 182 (posted in Committee Mar 20)
• Coal mine safety, medical air evacuation, emergency action plan, requirements for - SB 213 (to Natural Resources & Environment Committee Mar 20)
• Missing impaired adults, rescue squads and searches for - HB 667 (to Veterans, Military Affairs & Public Protection Committee Mar 18)

Never progressing in the House:

• Blood testing, DUI - HB 28 (sent to Judiciary Committee Jan 8)
• Pesonal emergency response systems, regulate private residential use and sale of - HB 40 (sent to Licensing & Occupations Committee Jan 8)
• Pesonal emergency response systems and other alarm systems, regulation of contractors providing - HB 41 (sent to Licensing & Occupations Committee Jan 8)
• Personal emergency response system providers, regulation of - HB 409 (posting withdrawn Feb 27)
• Emergency medical technicians, NREMT testing requirement, removal of - HB 462 (sent to Health & Welfare Committee Feb 6)
• Patient transport to practitioner's offices, priority care for - HB 522 (posted in Health & Welfare Feb 20)
• Exposure to disease, workers' compensation injury, rebuttable presumption of - HB 597 (sent to Labor & Industry Feb 25)
• Driver's license, phone number to be part of driver license database - HB 662 (posted in Transportation Mar 6)

Never progressing in the Senate:

• Trauma care system, establish - SB 138 (sent to Health & Welfare Feb 7)

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