Contact: Jeff Barbosa
(916) 319-2020

SACRAMENTO –A bill by Assembly Majority Leader Alberto Torrico (D-Newark) to create a statewide standard for background checks for emergency medical technicians and establish a central EMT and paramedic registry was approved by the state Senate Appropriations Committee this afternoon.  The bill now moves to the Senate floor. 

By setting up a central registry, AB 2917 enables employers to determine whether a prospect has had a background check or past action against their certification or license.  It would also require EMTs to be certified within the county they work to prevent “county hopping” by EMTs.

“The vast majority of emergency medical technicians are responsible, hard-working people who provide critical services to Californians,” Torrico said.  “We depend on them to respond to life-threatening situations such as heart attacks, gunshot wounds and car accidents.  But right now, there is no statewide standard for background checks and before they are sent into public service we should review their history more closely given the reports of criminal history and unqualified EMTs who fell through the cracks.”

AB 2917 would empower the state to develop a single set of statewide standards for certification, disciplinary orders and conditions of probation for EMTs.

The bill passed the Assembly earlier this year by a vote of 68-7 with strong bipartisan support.  It is supported by the California Health and Human Services Agency, California State Firefighters Association and the Emergency Medical Services Administrators Association of California.