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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | January 24, 2023 12:40 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Lisa Baker and Sen. Timothy P. Kearney |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Allowing Counties the Option to Create EMS Authorities |
| In the near future, we plan to reintroduce a version of Senate Bill 698 to further improve upon the work of the General Assembly relevant to Recommendation 6 of the Senate Resolution 6 Commission’s Final Report issued in 2018, by allowing for the creation of county-wide Public Safety Authorities for EMS. We developed this legislation through many rounds of stakeholder engagement facilitated in coordination with the Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee Chairs. Local government associations, EMS organizations, and state agencies have provided input. We took the feedback from these important organizations and incorporated many changes to fulfill a key recommendation from the SR 6 report, specifically, that the General Assembly simplify the process to regionalize EMS services by allowing for the formation of regional or county-wide service districts, or what are better known as authorities. The report called for making statutory changes today to help prevent service lapses in the future. Many EMS companies and communities know that regionalization provides an opportunity to provide better services in perpetuity, but struggle to find successful ways to get around the legal obstacles that our current structure inadvertently creates. The Municipal Authorities Act, Chapter 56 of Title 53, provides an excellent framework for the creation, governance, and professional management of authorities to provide municipal services. It allows municipalities and counties to create authorities for a host of purposes – from sewers to swimming pools – but not for EMS. In Pennsylvania, one size solutions do not always fit all. An authority may not be necessary for every county or community. Our bill would give counties the option to create Public Safety Authorities, which may be used to provide services for EMS. Individual municipalities would be able to join, or not join if they so choose. Rather than replacing our incredible volunteer and career EMS companies, authorities would exist to support them and their work. By giving counties and municipalities the tools to organize regionally, we allow for innovative service models—from centralized administrative support to higher levels of coordination—that can best fit the needs of our diverse communities. Please join us in cosponsoring legislation that would address this urgent need and improve upon the work that has already been done by our colleagues to ensure the safety of our communities throughout the Commonwealth. |
Introduced as SB501