SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) When rendering lifesaving services to the public, firefighters and emergency medical service (EMS) personnel are subject to numerous job safety procedures and protocols, which, in rare instances, can become compromised or altered in a highly charged atmosphere of critical-incident stressors.
(b) Recognizing that fire service first responders who trust their training and instincts in these volatile emergency situations are deserving of due process rights and protections when these instances arise, the Legislature and Governor appropriately approved the Firefighters Procedural Bill of Rights Act in 2007 (Chapter No. 591, Statutes of 2007).
(c) The Firefighters Procedural Bill of Rights Act ensures that commonsense principles of fairness and professionalism are followed whenever a firefighter, or firefighter-paramedic or emergency medical technician (EMT) is party to an investigation or is questioned for alleged misconduct that may result in punitive action.
(d) When a firefighter is required, as a condition of employment, to maintain a paramedic license or EMT certificate, his or her license or certificate is subject to the state’s Emergency Medical Services System and the Prehospital Emergency Medical Care Personnel Act (EMS).
(e) While being bound by the state’s EMS Act, EMT certifying and paramedic licensing entities are also bound by the provisions of the Firefighters Procedural Bill of Rights Act when a firefighter-EMT or paramedic is faced with licensure or certification action.
(f) To ensure the uniform application of the state’s EMS Act and Firefighters Procedural Bill of Rights Act in these instances, both acts must be harmonized by clarifying that where a firefighter-EMT or paramedic is subject to certification or licensure action, the due process procedures afforded are applicable in any circumstance that may result in a job-related punitive action.