1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to health; authorizing the emergency medical 
  1.3             service regulatory board to adopt rules to establish a 
  1.4             registration program for first responders; providing 
  1.5             interim registration requirements for first 
  1.6             responders; amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 
  1.7             144.801, subdivision 11; proposing coding for new law 
  1.8             in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 144. 
  1.9   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.10     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 144.801, 
  1.11  subdivision 11, is amended to read: 
  1.12     Subd. 11.  [FIRST RESPONDER.] "First responder" means ~~an~~ 
  1.13  ~~individual~~ a person who is ~~certified~~ registered by the 
  1.14  ~~commissioner~~ board to perform, at a minimum, basic emergency 
  1.15  skills before the arrival of a licensed ambulance service, and 
  1.16  is: 
  1.17     (1) a member of an organized service recognized by a local 
  1.18  political subdivision whose primary responsibility is to respond 
  1.19  to medical emergencies to provide initial medical care before 
  1.20  the arrival of a licensed ambulance service; or 
  1.21     (2) a member of an organized industrial medical first 
  1.22  response team. 
  1.23     Sec. 2.  [144.8051] [REGISTRATION FOR FIRST RESPONDERS.] 
  1.24     Subdivision 1.  [RULEMAKING.] The board shall adopt rules 
  1.25  to establish a registration program for first responders. 
  1.26     Subd. 2.  [INTERIM TRAINING PROGRAMS.] Until rules are 
  1.27  adopted by the board, curriculum for the initial and refresher 
  2.1   training programs must meet the current standards of the United 
  2.2   States Department of Transportation first responder curriculum 
  2.3   or its equivalent as determined by the board. 
  2.4      Subd. 3.  [INTERIM REGISTRATION PROCESS.] Until rules are 
  2.5   adopted by the board, the board shall register the following 
  2.6   persons as first responders: 
  2.7      (1) a person who successfully completes a board-approved 
  2.8   initial or refresher first-responder training program.  This 
  2.9   registration is valid for two years and expires at the end of 
  2.10  the month in which the registration was issued; or 
  2.11     (2) a person who is credentialed as a first responder by 
  2.12  the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians.  This 
  2.13  registration expires the same day as the National Registry 
  2.14  credential. 
  2.15     Subd. 4.  [RENEWAL OF INTERIM REGISTRATIONS.] (a) Until 
  2.16  rules are adopted by the board, the board may renew 
  2.17  first-responder registrations upon the successful completion of 
  2.18  a board-approved refresher course and the submission of a 
  2.19  completed renewal application to the board before the expiration 
  2.20  date of the current registration. 
  2.21     (b) Until rules are adopted by the board, the board may 
  2.22  renew a lapsed first-responder registration upon the successful 
  2.23  completion of a board-approved refresher course and the 
  2.24  submission to the board of a completed renewal application 
  2.25  within 12 months of the registration expiration date. 
  2.26     Subd. 5.  [EXPIRATION.] A first-responder registration 
  2.27  issued by the board or the commissioner of health before August 
  2.28  1, 1997, expires in 1999 at the end of the month in which it was 
  2.29  issued.