20250AB__160798AMD INTRODUCED 2026-01-20 AMENDED_ASSEMBLY 2026-03-26 2025 AB AMD Introduced by Assembly Member Mark González (Coauthors: Assembly Members Alanis, Hadwick, Krell, Patterson, Soria, and Wallis) LEAD_AUTHOR ASSEMBLY Mark González COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Alanis COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Hadwick COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Krell COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Patterson COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Soria COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Wallis

An act to amend

Section 76000.5 of the Government Code, and to amend

Section 1797.98a of the Health and Safety Code, relating to emergency medical services. emergency medical services Emergency medical services. Existing law establishes the Maddy Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Fund and authorizes each county to establish an emergency medical services fund for reimbursement of costs related to emergency medical services.

Existing law, until January 1, 2027, requires 15% of the fund to be used to, among other things, improve access to, and coordination of, pediatric trauma and emergency services, with specified preferences, and requires the cost of administering money deposited into the EMS Fund to be reimbursed from the money collected, as specified. Existing law, until January 1, 2027, authorizes county boards of supervisors to elect to levy an additional penalty, for deposit into the EMS Fund, in the amount of $2 for every $10 upon fines, penalties, and forfeitures collected for criminal offenses.

Existing law, until January 1, 2027, requires 15% of the funds collected pursuant to that provision to be used to provide funding for pediatric trauma centers. This bill would extend the operative date of these provisions until January 1, 2037. MAJORITY NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION

Section 76000.5 of the Government Code is amended to read: 76000.5. (a)

(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, for purposes of supporting emergency medical services pursuant to

Chapter 2.5 (commencing with

Section 1797.98a) of Division 2.5 of the Health and Safety Code, in addition to the penalties set forth in

Section 76000, the county board of supervisors may elect to levy an additional penalty in the amount of two dollars ($2) for every ten dollars ($10), or part of ten dollars ($10), upon every fine, penalty, or forfeiture imposed and collected by the courts for all criminal offenses, including violations of Division 9 (commencing with

Section 23000) of the Business and Professions Code relating to the control of alcoholic beverages, and all offenses involving a violation of the Vehicle Code or a local ordinance adopted pursuant to the Vehicle Code. This penalty shall be collected together with and in the same manner as the amounts established by

Section of the Penal Code.

(2) This additional penalty does not apply to the following: (

A) A restitution fine. (

B) A penalty authorized by

Section of the Penal Code or this chapter. (

C) A parking offense subject to

Article 3 (commencing with

Section 40200) of

Chapter of Division of the Vehicle Code. (

D) The state surcharge authorized by

Section 1465.7 of the Penal Code. (

b) Funds shall be collected pursuant to subdivision (

a) only if the county board of supervisors provides that the increased penalties do not offset or reduce the funding of other programs from other sources, but that these additional revenues result in increased funding to those programs. (

c) Moneys collected pursuant to subdivision (

a) shall be taken from fines and forfeitures deposited with the county treasurer prior to any division pursuant to

Section of the Penal Code. (

d) Funds collected pursuant to this

section shall be deposited into the Maddy Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Fund established pursuant to

Section 1797.98a of the Health and Safety Code. (

e) This

section shall remain in effect until January 1, 2037.

SEC.

Section 1797.98a of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read: 1797.98a. (

a) The fund provided for in this

chapter shall be known as the Maddy Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Fund. (b)

(1) Each county may establish an emergency medical services fund, upon the adoption of a resolution by the board of supervisors. The moneys in the fund shall be available for the reimbursements required by this chapter. The fund shall be administered by each county, except that a county electing to have the state administer its medically indigent services program may also elect to have its emergency medical services fund administered by the state.

(2) Costs of administering the fund shall be reimbursed by the fund in an amount that does not exceed the actual administrative costs or percent of the amount of the fund, whichever amount is lower.

(3) All interest earned on moneys in the fund shall be deposited in the fund for disbursement as specified in this section.

(4) Each administering agency may maintain a reserve of up to percent of the amount in the portions of the fund reimbursable to physicians and surgeons, pursuant to subparagraph (

A) of, and to hospitals, pursuant to subparagraph (

B) of, paragraph (5). Each administering agency may maintain a reserve of any amount in the portion of the fund that is distributed for other emergency medical services purposes as determined by each county, pursuant to subparagraph (

C) of paragraph (5).

(5) The amount in the fund, reduced by the amount for administration and the reserve, shall be utilized to reimburse physicians and surgeons and hospitals for patients who do not make payment for emergency medical services and for other emergency medical services purposes as determined by each county according to the following schedule: (

A) Fifty-eight percent of the balance of the fund shall be distributed to physicians and surgeons for emergency services provided by all physicians and surgeons, except those physicians and surgeons employed by county hospitals, in general acute care hospitals that provide basic, comprehensive, or standby emergency services pursuant to paragraph (3) or (5) of subdivision (

f) of

Section 1797.98e up to the time the patient is stabilized. (

B) Twenty-five percent of the fund shall be distributed only to hospitals providing disproportionate trauma and emergency medical care services. (

C) Seventeen percent of the fund shall be distributed for other emergency medical services purposes as determined by each county, including, but not limited to, the funding of regional poison control centers. Funding may be used for purchasing equipment and for capital projects only to the extent that these expenditures support the provision of emergency services and are consistent with the intent of this chapter. (

c) The source of the moneys in the fund shall be the penalty assessment made for this purpose, as provided in

Section of the Government Code. (

d) A physician and surgeon may be reimbursed for up to percent of the amount claimed pursuant to subdivision (

a) of

Section 1797.98c for the initial cycle of reimbursements made by the administering agency in a given year pursuant to

Section 1797.98e. All funds remaining at the end of the fiscal year in excess of any reserve held and rolled over to the next year pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (

b) shall be distributed proportionally based on the dollar amount of claims submitted and paid to all physicians and surgeons who submitted qualifying claims during that year. (

e) Of the money deposited into the fund pursuant to

Section 76000.5 of the Government Code, 15 percent shall be utilized to provide funding for all pediatric trauma centers throughout the county, both publicly and privately owned and operated.

The expenditure of money shall be limited to reimbursement to physicians and surgeons, and to hospitals for patients who do not make payment for emergency care services in hospitals up to the point of stabilization, or to hospitals for expanding the services provided to pediatric trauma patients at trauma centers and other hospitals providing care to pediatric trauma patients, or at pediatric trauma centers, including the purchase of equipment. Local emergency medical services (EMS) agencies may conduct a needs assessment of pediatric trauma services in the county to allocate these expenditures.

Counties that do not maintain a pediatric trauma center shall utilize the money deposited into the fund pursuant to

Section 76000.5 of the Government Code to improve access to, and coordination of, pediatric trauma and emergency services in the county, with preference for funding given to hospitals that specialize in services to children, and physicians and surgeons who provide emergency care for children. Funds spent for the purposes of this

section shall be known as Richie’s Fund. This subdivision shall remain operative until January 1, 2037. (

f) Costs of administering money deposited into the fund pursuant to

Section 76000.5 of the Government Code shall be reimbursed from the money collected in an amount that does not exceed the actual administrative costs or percent of the money collected, whichever amount is lower. This subdivision shall remain operative until January 1, 2037.