What's happening
The Good Samaritan Ambulance Act of 2019 protects ambulance agencies from penalties when responding to life-threatening emergencies outside their primary territory under certain conditions.
Why it matters
Provides legal protection for ambulance agencies. that respond to life-threatening emergencies outside their assigned territory if they believe the local agency will be delayed and the situation could worsen without immediate care.
Reduces administrative penalties. for agencies that take action in good faith, as long as they attempt to notify the primary agency, have resources available, and are not canceled by the local authority—a move that encourages rapid emergency response.
Clarifies mutual aid scenarios. by ensuring that if the primary agency uses another agency’s resources during an out-of-territory response, it is automatically treated as a mutual aid situation, shielding the responding agency from sanctions.
Emphasizes discretion and does not mandate response. outside an agency’s primary area, making clear that agencies are not legally required to act but are allowed to help without fear of penalty if they choose to do so.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Allow Ambulances Cross-Territory Aid
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
2 Multi-sponsors
History
- Referred to health
- Referred to health
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1079
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 14, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. QUART, LAVINE, LALOR, RAIA, O'DONNELL, GOODELL -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. GALEF, McDONOUGH -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to enacting the good samaritan ambulance act of 2019
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "the good samaritan ambulance act of 2019".
§ 2. Section 3001 of the public health law is amended by adding a new subdivision 22 to read as follows:
22. "Operate" means with respect to an ambulance receiving patients.
§ 3. Subdivision 1 of section 3010 of the public health law, as amended by chapter 588 of the laws of 1993, is amended to read as follows:
1. Every ambulance service certificate or statement of registration issued under this article shall specify the primary territory within which the ambulance service shall be permitted to operate. An ambulance service shall receive patients only within the primary territory specified on its ambulance service certificate or statement of registration, except: (a) when receiving a patient which it initially transported to a facility or location outside its primary territory; (b) as required for the fulfillment of a mutual aid agreement authorized by the regional council; (c) upon express approval of the department and the appropriate regional emergency medical services council for a maximum of sixty days if necessary to meet an emergency need; provided that in order to continue such operation beyond the sixty day maximum period necessary to meet an emergency need, the ambulance service must satisfy the requirements of this article, regarding determination of public need and specification of the primary territory on the ambulance service certificate or statement of registration; [or] (d) an ambulance service or advanced
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01148-01-9
A. 1079 2
life support first response service organization formed to serve the need for the provision of emergency medical services in accordance with the religious convictions of a religious denomination may serve such needs in an area adjacent to such primary territory and, while responding to a call for such service, the needs of other residents of such area at the emergency scene; (e) any agency receiving a report of a life threatening medical emergency requiring emergency medical services that in good faith concludes, on the basis of information available at the time, that the agency having primary responsibility for the territory will be delayed, and such delay may unnecessarily escalate or exacerbate the emergency, shall not be subject to any sanction for operating outside its primary territory, provided, that, it: attempts to notify the agency having primary responsibility for that territory of the emergency and of its response; has the resources available to respond to the emergency; and is not cancelled either in route or on the scene by an agency or dispatcher having primary responsibility for the territory; or (f) if an agency having primary responsibility for a territory avails itself of the resources, equipment, or personnel of an agency responding to an emergency outside the responding agency's primary territory, then the agency having primary responsibility for the territory will be deemed to have made a request for mutual aid pursuant to a mutual aid agreement and the agency responding outside of its primary territory will not be the subject of any administrative sanction for operating outside its primary territory; provided that (g) nothing contained in this subdivision shall impose a legal duty on any agency to respond outside of its primary territory and any such response shall be solely at the discretion of the agency. Any ambulance service seeking to operate in more than one region shall make application to each appropriate regional council. Whenever an application is made simultaneously to more than one regional council, the applications submitted to the regional councils shall be identical, or copies of each application shall be submitted to all the regional councils involved.
§ 4. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have become a law; provided, however, that effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized and directed to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
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