LRBs0353/1
TJD&EVM:jld&cjs:ph
2009 - 2010 LEGISLATURE
ASSEMBLY SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT 1,
TO 2009 ASSEMBLY BILL 724
April 7, 2010 - Offered by Representative Hixson.
AB724-ASA1,1,4 1An Act to amend 346.03 (1); and to create 20.435 (1) (cj), 20.435 (1) (gk), 256.20
2and 346.03 (7) of the statutes; relating to: creating an ambulance operator
3safety program, rules of the road applicable to the operation of ambulances,
4requiring the exercise of rule-making authority, and making appropriations.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Under current law, authorized emergency vehicles include police vehicles, fire
department vehicles, and ambulances. When the operator of an authorized
emergency vehicle is responding to an emergency call or in pursuit of an actual or
suspected violator of the law, the operator is exempt from traffic restrictions relating
to speed, traffic signals, and direction of travel if the operator activates the vehicle's
warning lights and siren, but he or she must drive with due regard under the
circumstances for the safety of all persons. The operator is also exempt from traffic
restrictions relating to parking if the operator activates the vehicle's warning lights.
Also under current law, ambulance operators are not required to participate in
or complete any specialized driver training program.
This bill requires the Department of Health Services (DHS) to establish and
administer an ambulance operator safety program for operators of ambulances that
are either publicly owned or are privately owned and authorized by the sheriff or
county board as emergency vehicles. DHS must provide a safety course to operators
of ambulances and must certify a person who successfully completes an ambulance

operator safety course. By rule, DHS, in consultation with an advisory committee,
must establish safety standards for ambulance operators, establish certification and
recertification periods for ambulance operators, establish a curriculum for
ambulance operator safety courses that includes classroom instruction and actual
practice driving an ambulance accompanied by an instructor, and set other
requirements. DHS must inform ambulance owners of the certification
requirements, certification process, and safety standards.
DHS may certify a driver school or a technical college to conduct the ambulance
operator safety course and may enter into a contract with a certified driver school or
certified technical college to administer the course to ambulance operators. DHS
may inspect the certified driver school or certified technical college to determine
compliance with the contract and may terminate the ambulance operator safety
course or recover damages if the driver school or technical college is not complying
with the law or the contract.
Also under this bill, for the authorized emergency vehicle exemption from
traffic restrictions to apply, the operator of an ambulance must be currently certified
by the Department of Transportation.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
AB724-ASA1, s. 1 1Section 1. 20.435 (1) (cj) of the statutes is created to read:
AB724-ASA1,2,42 20.435 (1) (cj) Ambulance operator safety program. The amounts in the
3schedule for administration of the ambulance operator safety program under s.
4256.20 and for certifying ambulance operators under s. 256.20 (3).
AB724-ASA1, s. 2 5Section 2. 20.435 (1) (gk) of the statutes is created to read:
AB724-ASA1,2,86 20.435 (1) (gk) Ambulance operator safety course administrator certification.
7All moneys received from fees under s. 256.20 (5) (b), for the purpose of certifying
8ambulance operator safety course administrators under s. 256.20 (5) (a).
AB724-ASA1, s. 3 9Section 3. 256.20 of the statutes is created to read:
AB724-ASA1,2,12 10256.20 Ambulance operator safety. (1) Definition. Notwithstanding s.
11256.01 (1), in this section, "ambulance" means a vehicle described under s. 340.01 (3)
12(g) or (i).
AB724-ASA1,3,3
1(2) Safety program; course. The department shall establish and administer
2an ambulance operator safety program to promote the safe operation of ambulances,
3including providing a safety course to operators of ambulances.
AB724-ASA1,3,6 4(3) Operator certification. The department shall certify as an ambulance
5operator each person who successfully completes an ambulance operator safety
6course under sub. (2) or (5).
AB724-ASA1,3,9 7(4) Notification. The department shall notify ambulance owners of the process
8for certification of ambulance operators and any safety standards for ambulance
9operation.
AB724-ASA1,3,16 10(5) Course administrator certification; contracts. (a) The department may
11certify as a course administrator a driver school licensed under s. 343.61 or a
12technical college that offers a training course in emergency vehicle operation. The
13department may contract with a driver school or technical college that is certified
14under this subsection to administer an ambulance operator safety course and to
15conduct written examinations for certification or recertification. The department
16shall include all of the following provisions in a contract with a course administrator:
AB724-ASA1,3,1917 1. All instruction given and examinations conducted by the course
18administrator shall comply with the rules and any standards established by the
19department.
AB724-ASA1,3,2220 2. Within 5 days after an applicant completes the course or examination, the
21course administrator shall notify the department if the applicant has successfully
22completed the ambulance operator safety course or the written examination.
AB724-ASA1,4,223 (b) A driver school or technical college applying for certification as a course
24administrator shall pay an application fee to the department in an amount

1established by the department. The application fee under this paragraph may not
2exceed the actual cost of reviewing and processing the application for certification.
AB724-ASA1,4,53 (c) The department may conduct inspections of the course administrator to
4determine compliance with the contract and with department certification
5requirements for course administrators.
AB724-ASA1,4,146 (d) The department shall take prompt and appropriate remedial action against
7a course administrator if the course administrator fails to comply with department
8standards for course administrators or any provision of the contract under this
9subsection or unreasonably interferes with a department inspection under par. (c).
10Remedial action may include immediate termination of any ambulance operator
11safety courses administered by the course administrator and recovery of damages
12incurred by the department as a result of the course administrator's failure to comply
13with standards under this subsection or provisions of the contract under this
14subsection.
AB724-ASA1,4,17 15(6) Rules. The department, in consultation with the advisory committee
16established under 2009 Wisconsin Act .... (this act), section 6 (1 ), shall promulgate
17rules that do all of the following:
AB724-ASA1,4,1818 (a) Establish safety standards for ambulance operators.
AB724-ASA1,4,1919 (b) Establish certification and recertification periods for ambulance operators.
AB724-ASA1,4,2220 (c) Establish a curriculum for ambulance operator safety courses that includes
21classroom instruction and actual practice driving an ambulance accompanied by an
22instructor.
AB724-ASA1,4,2523 (d) Allow technical colleges and driver schools to apply for certification and
24provide a safety course for the certification and recertification of ambulance
25operators.
AB724-ASA1,4,26
1(e) Implement and administer this section.
AB724-ASA1, s. 4 2Section 4. 346.03 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB724-ASA1,5,93 346.03 (1) The operator of an authorized emergency vehicle, when responding
4to an emergency call or when in the pursuit of an actual or suspected violator of the
5law, when responding to but not upon returning from a fire alarm, when transporting
6an organ for human transplantation, or when transporting medical personnel for the
7purpose of performing human organ harvesting or transplantation immediately
8after the transportation, may exercise the privileges set forth in this section, but
9subject to the conditions stated in subs. (2) to (5m) and (7).
AB724-ASA1, s. 5 10Section 5. 346.03 (7) of the statutes is created to read:
AB724-ASA1,5,1311 346.03 (7) The privileges granted under this section apply to the operator of an
12ambulance under s. 340.01 (3) (g) or (i) only if the operator holds a current
13certification under s. 256.20 (3).
AB724-ASA1, s. 6 14Section 6 . Nonstatutory provisions.
AB724-ASA1,5,1515 (1) Advisory committee creation.
AB724-ASA1,5,1816 (a) The department of health services shall appoint an ambulance operator
17safety course committee that consists of at least one representative from each of the
18following groups, within 30 days after the effective date of this paragraph:
AB724-ASA1,5,21 191. Organizations that represent emergency response personnel, such as the
20Wisconsin EMS Association, Professional Ambulance Association of Wisconsin, and
21Wisconsin State Firefighters' Association.
AB724-ASA1,5,22 222. The public.
AB724-ASA1,5,23 233. Employees of the department of health services.
AB724-ASA1,5,25 244. Entities that provide an ambulance operator safety course on the effective
25date of this paragraph.
AB724-ASA1,6,8
1(b) The committee under paragraph (a) shall review existing ambulance
2operator safety courses, shall develop safety standards for ambulance operators and
3an ambulance operator safety course curriculum by integrating policies and
4procedures from existing courses, and shall submit the safety standards and safety
5course curricula to the department of health services. The advisory committee under
6paragraph (a) shall make recommendations to the department for amendments to
7the rules, and the committee shall terminate on the first day of the 12th month after
8the department promulgates the rules.
AB724-ASA1,6,129 (2) Proposed rules. No later than the first day of the 7th month beginning after
10the effective date of this subsection, the department of health services shall submit
11in proposed form the rules required under section 256.20 of the statutes, as created
12by this act, to the legislative council staff under section 227.15 (1) of the statutes.
AB724-ASA1, s. 7 13Section 7. Effective dates. This act takes effect on July 1, 2011, except as
14follows:
AB724-ASA1,6,1615 (1) The treatment of section 346.03 (1) and (7) of the statutes takes effect on
16January 1, 2013.
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