SB 1161

This bill makes various changes related to ambulance staffing and certain licensing and certification requirements for emergency medical responders and emergency medical services practitioners.

Under current law, a physician, physician assistant, or registered nurse is permitted to staff an ambulance, but under current administrative rules promulgated by the Department of Health Services, a physician assistant or registered nurse may not practice at a higher level of care than the level at which the ambulance service provider is licensed. The bill provides that, when a licensed physician or physician assistant or licensed registered nurse is staffing an ambulance or an emergency medical responder department, DHS may not limit the physician, physician assistant, or registered nurse from practicing within the scope of practice of the individual license of the physician, physician assistant or registered nurse.

Current law allows a rural ambulance service provider to upgrade the service level of an ambulance to the highest level of license of any emergency services practitioner staffing that ambulance if approved by the medical director. The bill adds the same allowance for rural emergency medical responder departments, but requires that if a member of a rural emergency medical responder department performs services within the scope of the member’s level of license, but above the transporting ambulance service provider’s service level, that member must accompany the patient to the hospital.

The bill also adopts in statute certain standards for late renewals and reinstatement of licenses and certificates for emergency medical services practitioners and emergency medical responders. Under current administrative rules promulgated by DHS, an individual may renew a license that has been expired less than six months. The bill allows late renewal for up to 12 months after expiration. Current administrative rules also allow reinstatement of a license or certificate that has been expired for over six months but less than two years if certain requirements are met. The bill specifies requirements modified from those in the current DHS administrative rules for reinstatement of a license or certificate that has been expired for over 12 months but less than three years, and also establishes requirements for reinstatements of a license or certificate that has been expired for three years or more, but less than six years. Current DHS administrative rules allow reinstatement of a license expired more than two years only if the applicant has successfully recompleted the training and examination requirements for the initial license or certificate within the 24 months immediately preceding submission of the application for reinstatement. Under the bill, that timeline would be extended to apply only when a license or certificate has been expired for six years or more.

The bill also changes certain reciprocity standards. Under current DHS administrative rules, in order to be eligible to apply for a license based on an out-of-state license as an emergency medical services practitioner or out-of-state certificate as an emergency medical responder, the applicant must meet certain requirements, including that the individual present 1) documentation of a current license or certificate issued by another state at or above the level being applied and a completed verification of licensure form from every state the individual has ever been licensed or certified as an emergency medical responder or emergency medical services practitioner; and 2) a completed verification of education form documenting completion of an initial course equivalent to the training required for an initial license or certificate under the applicable Wisconsin curriculum, as determined by the department and, if initial training was completed prior to the current licensing period, documentation of completion of an approved refresher course, as determined by the department. Under the bill, if such an applicant holds current national registry of emergency medical technicians certification at or above the certification or license levels for which the applicant seeks a license or certificate, DHS may not require the applicant to meet those requirements.

The bill also provides an income tax subtraction of up to $2,000 for stipends received by individuals who serve as volunteer emergency responders in this state. The stipend must be based on the number of calls or shifts worked, time on call, or a similar metric and must be paid by a local governmental unit or an entity with which the local governmental unit contracts to provide firefighting or emergency medical services. The bill defines “emergency responder” as an emergency medical responder; an emergency medical services practitioner, which includes an emergency medical technician or paramedic; or a firefighter.

Because this bill relates to an exemption from state or local taxes, it may be referred to the Joint Survey Committee on Tax Exemptions for a report to be printed as an appendix to the bill.