PRINTER'S NO. 1566
No. 1347 Session of 1999
INTRODUCED BY CLYMER, BARRAR, BATTISTO, BELARDI, BELFANTI, BUNT,
CLARK, L. I. COHEN, M. COHEN, CORRIGAN, COY, DeLUCA, DeWEESE,
FLEAGLE, FLICK, GEIST, HALUSKA, HERMAN, HUTCHINSON, JAMES,
LaGROTTA, LAUGHLIN, LEDERER, LEH, LUCYK, MELIO, S. MILLER,
MYERS, READSHAW, ROHRER, ROSS, SAYLOR, SOLOBAY, STEELMAN,
SURRA, E. Z. TAYLOR, TRELLO, TRICH, WILLIAMS, YOUNGBLOOD AND
GODSHALL, APRIL 20, 1999
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS AND EMERGENCY
PREPAREDNESS, APRIL 20, 1999
AN ACT
1 Providing for certain emergency services reimbursements.
2 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
3 hereby enacts as follows:
4 Section 1. Short title.
5 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Emergency
6 Services Responder Reimbursement Act.
7 Section 2. Legislative findings and declaration.
8 (a) Findings enumerated.--The General Assembly finds as
9 follows:
10 (1) Emergency services providers in this Commonwealth,
11 especially volunteers, have and are experiencing ever-
12 increasing financial burdens.
13 (2) The increasing financial burdens and costs are
14 having an adverse and serious negative impact upon
1 maintaining, sustaining and providing emergency services.
2 (3) Volunteer emergency service organizations can no
3 longer realistically afford or be expected to exist and
4 provide services at a financial loss.
5 (b) Declaration.--The General Assembly declares as follows:
6 (1) It is vital to establish for our emergency services
7 providers a mechanism and process whereby they can be
8 reimbursed financially for real and reasonable expenses
9 related to responding to emergency situations, incidents and
10 events or to intentional false alarms.
11 (2) Such a process and mechanism should be self-
12 supporting.
13 Section 3. Definitions.
14 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
15 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
16 context clearly indicates otherwise:
17 "Emergency communication center." An officially recognized
18 and approved Federal, State, county or municipal operation whose
19 purpose is to receive emergency calls; to determine the
20 appropriate agency, equipment and/or vehicles required to
21 respond to these calls; and then to dispatch the appropriate
22 agency, equipment and/or emergency vehicle or vehicles to the
23 location of the emergency situation, incident or event.
24 "Emergency service." A municipal, public, private or
25 nonprofit service whose purpose is to respond to emergency
26 situations, incidents and events and provide emergency or
27 nonemergency assistance and service to the public. These
28 emergency services shall include, but are not limited to,
29 hazardous materials response units, fire services, ambulances,
30 heavy and light rescue squad units, quick response units and
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1 other related vehicles used in the normal operation of an
2 emergency service.
3 "Emergency situation, incident or event." A disaster;
4 hazardous materials incident; fire; industrial or private
5 security or fire alarm systems; industrial accidents; auto
6 accidents; medical emergencies; nonemergency calls for medical
7 assistance; or to any other situation, incident or event that
8 does or may present a potential danger and or threat to the
9 health and safety of members of the public.
10 "False alarm." A willfully fraudulent and intentional
11 transmission or request for a response by a volunteer emergency
12 services organization where the person making the transmission
13 or request knows there is no need for the transmission or
14 request. A person transmitting or requesting a response by a
15 volunteer emergency services organization who perceives or feels
16 there could be or may be a need for the transmission or request
17 shall not be considered to have transmitted or requested a
18 willfully fraudulent and intentional false alarm.
19 "Municipal emergency services department." A fire
20 department, ambulance service or rescue squad established,
21 operated and funded by the municipality.
22 "Officially recognized dispatch." The dispatch of a
23 volunteer emergency services organization by an officially
24 recognized and approved emergency communication center or
25 response to a special call or request from the Pennsylvania
26 State Police or local police whether it comes through an
27 emergency communication center or not. A volunteer emergency
28 services organization that responds to a special call or request
29 from the Pennsylvania State Police or local police that has not
30 come through an officially recognized and approved emergency
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1 communication center must be approved by an officially
2 recognized emergency communication center prior to responding to
3 the special call or request. Upon notification by a volunteer
4 emergency services organization of a request for dispatch, the
5 emergency communication center shall approve the response and
6 assign a dispatch number to the volunteer emergency services
7 organization and then contact the municipal emergency services
8 department, organization or person making the request to confirm
9 the request.
10 "Person." Includes a corporation, partnership, business
11 trust, other association, governmental entity other than the
12 Commonwealth, estate, trust, foundation or natural person.
13 "Volunteer ambulance service." A nonprofit chartered
14 corporation, association or organization located in this
15 Commonwealth which is regularly engaged in the service of
16 providing emergency medical care and transportation of patients.
17 "Volunteer emergency service organization." An organization
18 which is a volunteer fire company, volunteer ambulance service,
19 volunteer rescue squad or volunteer hazardous material response
20 team.
21 "Volunteer fire company." A nonprofit chartered
22 organization, association or organization located in this
23 Commonwealth which provides fire protection services, including
24 fire police services, and other volunteer emergency service
25 within this Commonwealth. Volunteer emergency service provided
26 by a volunteer fire company may include volunteer ambulance and
27 volunteer rescue service.
28 "Volunteer hazardous material response team." A nonprofit
29 chartered corporation, association or organization located in
30 this Commonwealth whose members are specially trained to respond
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1 to accidents or situations where hazardous or toxic material are
2 released into the environment.
3 "Volunteer rescue squad." A nonprofit chartered corporation,
4 association or organization located in this Commonwealth which
5 provides rescue service in this Commonwealth.
6 Section 4. Requirement to pay for response to emergencies.
7 (a) Party liable for volunteer emergency services
8 organization responses.--A person involved in an emergency
9 situation, incident or event that necessitates a response from a
10 volunteer emergency services organization shall be liable for
11 the real and reasonable costs incurred by the volunteer
12 emergency services organization.
13 (b) Party liable for fire department responses.--A person
14 involved in an emergency situation, incident or event that
15 necessitates a response from a municipal fire department,
16 ambulance service or rescue squad shall be liable for the real
17 and reasonable costs incurred by the paid fire department unless
18 the person is a resident of or taxpayer in the municipality
19 where the incident occurs.
20 (c) Party responsible for false alarms.--A person who makes
21 or transmits a false alarm which results in a response by a
22 volunteer emergency services organization shall be liable for
23 real and reasonable costs incurred by the volunteer emergency
24 services organization in responding to the false alarm. These
25 costs would be in addition to any fines or penalties imposed by
26 the State or municipality for false alarms.
27 Section 5. County office of emergency services reimbursement.
28 (a) Establishment.--Each county shall establish and maintain
29 an office of emergency services reimbursement.
30 (b) Powers, duties and procedures.--
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1 (1) The county offices of emergency services
2 reimbursement shall process and file reimbursement claims for
3 the volunteer emergency services organizations and municipal
4 emergency services department in their respective county, in
5 accordance with regulations promulgated for the
6 administration of the act and utilize a standard form for the
7 volunteer emergency services organizations and municipal
8 emergency services departments in its county when applying
9 for reimbursement.
10 (2) Volunteer emergency services organizations and
11 municipal emergency services departments may apply for real
12 and reasonable reimbursement for costs related to responding
13 to calls dispatched by an officially recognized and approved
14 emergency communication center as authorized in section 4.
15 (3) A volunteer emergency services organization or
16 municipal emergency services department wishing reimbursement
17 for costs related to an officially recognized dispatch shall
18 apply to the county office of emergency services
19 reimbursement where the emergency situation, incident, event
20 or false alarm occurred. A volunteer emergency service or
21 municipal emergency services organization involved in mutual
22 aid may be considered for reimbursement, in accordance with
23 regulations promulgated for the administration of this act.
24 (4) In those instances where a volunteer emergency
25 services organization or municipal emergency services
26 department from one county responds into another county, the
27 request for reimbursement shall be forwarded to the county
28 office where the emergency situation, incident, event or
29 false alarm occurred.
30 (5) Upon receipt of requests for reimbursement
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1 compensation, the county office of emergency services
2 reimbursement shall determine real and reasonable costs, in
3 accordance with regulations promulgated for the
4 administration of this act, and then forward a bill for
5 reimbursement directly to the person responsible for causing
6 the situation, incident, event or false alarm.
7 (6) When a person receives a bill for reimbursement from
8 a county office of emergency services reimbursements, the
9 person shall be responsible for payment. If the person is
10 forwarding the bill for reimbursement to an insurance
11 company, the person must notify the county office of
12 emergency services reimbursement from which the bill for
13 reimbursement was received. Forwarding the bill for
14 reimbursement to an insurance company does not relieve the
15 person from financial responsibility for payment.
16 (7) Upon receipt of payment of claims, the county office
17 for emergency services reimbursement shall reimburse,
18 according to services rendered and need to respond, those
19 volunteer emergency services organizations or municipal
20 emergency services departments who applied for reimbursement
21 in accordance with regulations promulgated for the
22 administration of this act.
23 Section 6. Funding.
24 Each county office of emergency services reimbursement shall
25 be funded by the retaining of an amount up to 10% of each claim
26 settled. This amount shall be used by the county office of
27 emergency services reimbursement for operating and
28 administrative costs. Remaining funds shall be disbursed in
29 accordance with section 5.
30 Section 7. Rules and regulations.
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1 The rules and regulations necessary for the implementation of
2 this act shall be established as follows:
3 (1) The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, in
4 consultation with volunteer emergency services organizations,
5 shall promulgate rules and regulations pertaining to
6 reimbursing volunteer fire companies, volunteer hazardous
7 material response teams and municipal fire departments.
8 (2) The Department of Health in consultation with
9 volunteer emergency services organizations shall promulgate
10 rules and regulations under this act pertaining to
11 reimbursing volunteer ambulance services and municipal
12 ambulance departments.
13 Section 8. Penalties.
14 Volunteer emergency services organizations filing false
15 requests for reimbursement commit a summary offense and, upon
16 conviction, shall be fined up to $100 for each false request.
17 Section 9. Repeals.
18 All acts and parts of acts are repealed insofar as they are
19 inconsistent with this act.
20 Section 10. Effective date.
21 This act shall take effect in 180 days.
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