1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to health; modifying volunteer ambulance 
  1.3             attendant provisions; amending Minnesota Statutes 
  1.4             1998, sections 144E.001, by adding a subdivision; 
  1.5             144E.35, subdivision 2; 144E.41; 168.12, subdivision 
  1.6             2e; and 295.52, subdivision 5. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 144E.001, is 
  1.9   amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 11.  [VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE ATTENDANT.] "Volunteer 
  1.11  ambulance attendant" means a person who provides emergency 
  1.12  medical services for a Minnesota licensed ambulance service 
  1.13  without the expectation of remuneration and who does not depend 
  1.14  in any way upon the provision of these services for the person's 
  1.15  livelihood.  An individual may be considered a volunteer 
  1.16  ambulance attendant even though the individual receives an 
  1.17  hourly stipend for each hour of actual service provided, except 
  1.18  for hours on standby alert, or other nominal fee, and even 
  1.19  though the hourly stipend or other nominal fee is regarded as 
  1.20  taxable income for purposes of state or federal law, provided 
  1.21  that the hourly stipend and other nominal fees do not exceed 
  1.22  $3,000 within one year of the final certification examination. 
  1.23     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 144E.35, 
  1.24  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.25     Subd. 2.  [VOLUNTEER ATTENDANT DEFINED REIMBURSEMENT 
  1.26  PROVISIONS.] For purposes of this section, "volunteer ambulance 
  2.1   attendant" means a person who provides emergency medical 
  2.2   services for a Minnesota licensed ambulance service without the 
  2.3   expectation of remuneration and who does not depend in any way 
  2.4   upon the provision of these services for the person's 
  2.5   livelihood.  An individual may be considered a volunteer 
  2.6   ambulance attendant even though that individual receives an 
  2.7   hourly stipend for each hour of actual service provided, except 
  2.8   for hours on standby alert, even though this hourly stipend is 
  2.9   regarded as taxable income for purposes of state or federal law, 
  2.10  provided that this hourly stipend does not exceed $3,000 within 
  2.11  one year of the final certification examination.  Reimbursement 
  2.12  will be paid under provisions of this section when documentation 
  2.13  is provided the board that the individual has served for one 
  2.14  year from the date of the final certification exam as an active 
  2.15  member of a Minnesota licensed ambulance service. 
  2.16     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 144E.41, is 
  2.17  amended to read: 
  2.18     144E.41 [PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY; QUALIFIED AMBULANCE SERVICE 
  2.19  PERSONNEL.] 
  2.20     (a) Persons eligible to participate in the ambulance 
  2.21  service personnel longevity award and incentive program are 
  2.22  qualified ambulance service personnel. 
  2.23     (b) Qualified ambulance service personnel are ambulance 
  2.24  attendants, ambulance drivers, and ambulance service medical 
  2.25  directors or medical advisors who meet the following 
  2.26  requirements: 
  2.27     (1) employment of the person by or provision by the person 
  2.28  of service to an ambulance service that is licensed as such by 
  2.29  the state of Minnesota and that provides ambulance services that 
  2.30  are generally available to the public and are free of unfair 
  2.31  discriminatory practices under chapter 363; 
  2.32     (2) performance by the person during the 12 months ending 
  2.33  as of the immediately previous June 30 of all or a predominant 
  2.34  portion of the person's services in the state of Minnesota or on 
  2.35  behalf of Minnesota residents, as verified by August 1 annually 
  2.36  in an affidavit from the chief administrative officer of the 
  3.1   ambulance service; 
  3.2      (3) current certification of the person during the 12 
  3.3   months ending as of the immediately previous June 30 by the 
  3.4   Minnesota department of health as an ambulance attendant, 
  3.5   ambulance driver, or ambulance service medical director or 
  3.6   medical advisor under section 144E.16, and supporting rules, and 
  3.7   current active ambulance service employment or service provision 
  3.8   status of the person, as verified by August 1 annually in an 
  3.9   affidavit from the chief administrative officer of the ambulance 
  3.10  service; and 
  3.11     (4) conformance by the person with the definition of the 
  3.12  phrase "volunteer ambulance attendant" under section 144E.35, 
  3.13  subdivision 2 144E.001, subdivision 11, except that for the 
  3.14  salary limit specified in that provision there must be 
  3.15  substituted, for purposes of this section only, a limit of 
  3.16  $3,000 for calendar year 1993, and $3,000 multiplied by the 
  3.17  cumulative percentage increase in the national Consumer Price 
  3.18  Index, all items, for urban wage earners and clerical workers, 
  3.19  as published by the federal Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor 
  3.20  Statistics, since December 31, 1993, and for an ambulance 
  3.21  service medical director, conformance based solely on the 
  3.22  person's hourly stipends or salary for service as a medical 
  3.23  director.  
  3.24     (c) The term "active ambulance service employment or 
  3.25  service provision status" means being in good standing with and 
  3.26  on the active roster of the ambulance service making the 
  3.27  certification. 
  3.28     (d) The maximum period of ambulance service employment or 
  3.29  service provision for which a person may receive credit towards 
  3.30  an award under this chapter, including prior service credit 
  3.31  under section 144E.45, subdivision 2, paragraph (c), is 20 years.
  3.32     (e) For a person who is employed by or provides service to 
  3.33  more than one ambulance service concurrently during any period 
  3.34  during the 12-month period, credit towards an award under this 
  3.35  chapter is limited to one ambulance service during any period.  
  3.36  The creditable period is with the ambulance service for which 
  4.1   the person undertakes the greatest portion of employment or 
  4.2   service hours. 
  4.3      Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 168.12, 
  4.4   subdivision 2e, is amended to read: 
  4.5      Subd. 2e.  [VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE ATTENDANTS; SPECIAL 
  4.6   PLATES.] (a) The registrar shall issue special license plates to 
  4.7   an applicant who is a volunteer ambulance attendant as defined 
  4.8   in section 144E.35, subdivision 2 144E.001, subdivision 11, and 
  4.9   who owns or jointly owns a motor vehicle taxed as a passenger 
  4.10  automobile.  The registrar shall issue the special plates on 
  4.11  payment of the registration tax required by law for the vehicle, 
  4.12  compliance with all other applicable laws relating to 
  4.13  registration and licensing of motor vehicles and drivers, and 
  4.14  payment of an additional fee of $10.  The registrar shall not 
  4.15  issue more than one set of these plates to each qualified 
  4.16  applicant. 
  4.17     (b) A person may use special plates issued under this 
  4.18  subdivision only during the period that the person is a 
  4.19  volunteer ambulance attendant.  When the person to whom the 
  4.20  special plates were issued ceases to be a volunteer ambulance 
  4.21  attendant, or when ownership of the vehicle is transferred, the 
  4.22  person shall remove the special plates from the vehicle and 
  4.23  return them to the registrar.  On return of the plates, the 
  4.24  owner of the vehicle, or new owner in case of a transferred 
  4.25  vehicle, is entitled to receive regular license plates for the 
  4.26  vehicle without cost for the rest of the registration period for 
  4.27  which the special plates were issued.  Special plates issued 
  4.28  under this subdivision may be transferred to another vehicle 
  4.29  owned by the volunteer ambulance attendant on payment of a fee 
  4.30  of $5. 
  4.31     (c) The fees specified in this subdivision must be paid 
  4.32  into the state treasury and deposited in the highway user tax 
  4.33  distribution fund.  
  4.34     (d) The commissioner may adopt rules governing the design, 
  4.35  issuance, and sale of the special plates authorized by this 
  4.36  subdivision. 
  5.1      Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 295.52, 
  5.2   subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  5.3      Subd. 5.  [VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE SERVICES.] Volunteer 
  5.4   ambulance services are not subject to the tax under this 
  5.5   section.  For purposes of this requirement, "volunteer ambulance 
  5.6   service" means an ambulance service in which all of the 
  5.7   individuals whose primary responsibility is direct patient care 
  5.8   meet the definition of volunteer under section 144E.35, 
  5.9   subdivision 2 144E.001, subdivision 11.  The ambulance service 
  5.10  may employ administrative and support staff, and remain eligible 
  5.11  for this exemption, if the primary responsibility of these staff 
  5.12  is not direct patient care. 
  5.13     Sec. 6.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  5.14     Sections 1 to 5 are effective the day following final 
  5.15  enactment.