SENATE BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

[First Reprint]

SENATE, No. 2223

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  DECEMBER 21, 2023

      The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 2223 (1R).

      As amended by the committee, this bill revises the requirements to receive reimbursement from the “Emergency Medical Technician Training Fund.”

      Currently, any private agency, organization, or entity which is certified by the Commissioner of Health to provide training and testing for volunteer ambulance, first aid and rescue squad personnel who are seeking certification or recertification as an emergency medical technician (EMT) may be reimbursed from the fund for any costs associated with the training and testing of volunteer EMTs that are not otherwise reimbursed.  Volunteer ambulance, first aid and rescue squads are eligible for reimbursement from the fund if the squad does not receive any payment for the provision of emergency medical services, regardless of whether the individual EMTs on the squad are paid by the squad for their services.

      The amended bill would revise these requirements to provide that any agency, organization, or entity may be eligible for reimbursement from the fund for the unreimbursed costs of training and certifying a volunteer EMT, regardless of whether the ambulance, first aid and rescue squad employing or utilizing the services of the volunteer EMT charges for the provision of basic life support services.  The priority for reimbursement from the fund would be initial EMT training and certification classes and EMT refresher recertification classes.

      The bill requires that all reimbursements from the fund be promptly paid upon receipt of a qualifying application for reimbursement, which payment is to be made to the agency, organization, or entity that provided training to the volunteer EMT.

      As amended, the bill provides that the head of each ambulance, first aid and rescue squad will be required to notify the Department of Health whenever an individual who received initial EMT training from an agency, organization, or entity that received reimbursement from the fund for providing the initial EMT training to that individual, ceases to serve as a volunteer EMT within a given three-year certification period.

      As amended, the bill provides that the head of the ambulance, first aid and rescue squad employing or utilizing the services of an EMT, who received initial EMT training that was reimbursed by the fund, will determine the EMT to be a volunteer in good standing provided that the EMT works at least one service call per month during the initial three-year certification period as a volunteer EMT.

      A “volunteer EMT” is defined under the bill to mean an EMT who provides basic life support services without receiving any compensation, such as an hourly wage or a salary.

      As amended, the bill requires the head of the ambulance, first aid and rescue squad to seek reimbursement from an EMT that cease to be a volunteer in good standing for monies paid out of the fund in connection with the EMT’s training, testing, certification, recertification, as appropriate, for that initial three-year certification period.  The Department of Health will exercise oversight authority over the collection of funds.

      As amended and reported by the committee, Senate Bill No. 2223 (1R) is identical to Assembly Bill No. 3772 (1R), which was also amended and reported by the committee on this date.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amendments revise statutory law to clarify that the “Emergency Medical Technician Training Fund” (fund) can be used to reimburse training and testing of any ambulance, first aid and rescue squad personnel who are seeking certification or recertification as a volunteer emergency medical technician (EMT).  The provisions of the current law specifically applied to personnel from volunteer ambulance, first aid and rescue squads.

      The committee amendments remove references to specific EMT refresher recertification classes.

      The committee amendments revise the bill to provide that the head of the ambulance, first aid and rescue squad employing or utilizing the services of an EMT, who received initial EMT training that was reimbursed by the fund, will determine that the EMT is a volunteer in good standing provided that the EMT works at least one service call per month during the initial three-year certification period as a volunteer EMT.

      The committee amendments revise the bill to require the head of the ambulance, first aid and rescue squad to seek reimbursement from an EMT that ceases to be a volunteer in good standing for monies paid out of the fund in connection with the EMT’s training, testing, certification, recertification, as appropriate, for that initial three-year certification period.  The Department of Health will exercise oversight authority over the collection of funds.  The bill previously required the Commissioner of Health to establish a process to seek the reimbursement.

FISCAL IMPACT:

      The Office of Legislative Services concludes that the bill will have an indeterminate net impact on annual State expenditures due to the countervailing effects of the bill’s provisions affecting eligibility of ambulance, first aid, and rescue squads to secure reimbursement from the EMT training Fund for certain EMT training and testing costs.

      By expanding eligibility for reimbursement from the fund to all ambulance, first aid, and rescue squads, regardless of whether the entity charges for the provision of emergency services, the bill will increase annual State expenditures from the fund by an indeterminate amount.  By contrast, a provision in the bill that restricts reimbursements to costs associated with training and testing volunteer EMTs, as opposed to both volunteer and paid EMTs as allowed under current law, may potentially reduce annual State expenditures from the fund.  The magnitude and direction of these countervailing effects cannot be determined. 

      The bill directs that the head of a squad employing the services of an EMT, who received initial EMT training for which costs were reimbursed from the fund, will determine the EMT to be a “volunteer in good standing,” provided the EMT works as a volunteer for a minimum of one service call per month during the EMT’s initial three-year certification period.  The OLS concludes that this provision will potentially increase expenditures from the fund by a substantive amount, since the majority of EMT candidates will likely respond to this provision by volunteering for one service call per month during their initial three-year certification period, in order to have their initial training and testing costs reimbursed from the fund.  Additionally, the heads of ambulance, first aid, and rescue squads will be motivated to require newly-certified EMTs to meet the requirements to be deemed a “volunteer in good standing,” since squads frequently provide upfront training and testing services to new EMTs, who are eligible to have their training reimbursed through the fund, at no cost, and subsequently submit reimbursement claims to the fund.

      Annual State revenues may increase marginally under the bill, to the extent that the head of an ambulance, first aid, and rescue squad is required to seek repayment of initial EMT training and testing costs, previously reimbursed by the fund, for an individual who ceases to be a “volunteer in good standing” during an initial three-year certification window.

      This provision will additionally increase State costs by a marginal amount for the Department of Health to oversee the collection of these funds by squads.