Ohio House Bill 52 (H.B. 52) passed with flying colors in the House on March 1 with little resistance. In fact, the Yeas carried the day, 95-0.
Yes, no dissenting votes. That rarely happens. So what brought about the lockstep agreement from both sides of the political aisle in Columbus?
Unintended consequences. Unintended consequences you say? Yes, exactly. And those unintended consequences could have major detrimental effects on fire departments and emergency medical services across the Buckeye state.
“We’re hopeful that (H.B. 52) will pass because 509 really ties our hands in so many ways,” said Jack Regis Jr. with the Martins Ferry Fire Department and EMS squad. “Our budgets are tight now. We rely a lot on property tax levies and a little bit of general fund money now and that barely gets us by.
“We can’t do everything we want to do now with our budget, but if these requirements stay in place, it will take money from our budget we use for equipment and supplies and require us to move that money to training and that’s money that we really don’t have.”
What mandates might those be? That will be detailed shortly but consider this.
The short title of H.B. 52 tells you all you need to know. It’s the “Reverse H.B. 509/134th GA changes to EMS training, continuing ed”.
This bill is designed to fix some major issues that originated when H.B. 509 passed during the 134th General Assembly and was signed into law by Governor Mike DeWine on January 5.
The short title of 509 is “Revise and streamline occupational regulations.” It has its merits, which is why between both the Ohio House and Senate only four elected officials total voted Nay.
State representatives Don Jones (95th District), Ron Ferguson (96th), and Adam Holmes (97th) all voted yes on the bill. They are also co-sponsors on H.B. 52.
But why? To answer that question, one must take a look a closer look at some of the changes outlined in the bill and the real-world consequences they might cause if allowed to stand.
Keep in mind, while H.B. 52 passed the House with zero issues, it’s currently in committee in the Ohio Senate. If it fails to pass and reach DeWine’s desk, the provisions in H.B. 509 remain in effect.
EMS Certification Troubles
On one hand, parts of H.B. 509 make certification easier. Continuing education hours required by, say, a paramedic, were reduced from 86 hours to 75 hours for every three-year certification cycle. For firefighters, that number is reduced from 54 hours to 36 hours for the same time period.
However, it also eliminates two key certifications—the EMS Assistant Instructor Certification and the Assistant Fire Instructor Certification.
The bill also merged continuing education programs and accredited EMS training centers under one banner. What that means for the numerous fire departments and EMS squads across the state is their certified instructors can no-longer offer in-house CE training courses for their members.
The closest accredited training center in Belmont County is Belmont College, followed by Eastern Gateway Community College in Steubenville. Those CE courses are not going to be free.
“We can do the training now because we have certified assistant instructors that can do the training,” Regis said. “It might cost us some time and materials costs, but that’s it.
“If we have to go to one of these institutions, it will cost us time, especially on the EMS side, but also training costs. That’s funding that we just don’t have.”
Keep in mind, a lot of the departments, especially locally, are volunteer. The departments are going to pass the cost onto its members who are risking their lives and saving the lives of others on a volunteer basis. But you can’t have an EMS squad or fire department without members and those members need training and continuing education.
If departments are forced to fit the bill, the training allotments may need to be reduced.
“It would restrict training too,” Regis said. “I can foresee us only paying for the minimum required level of training. Right now, it’s only 54 hours minimum for fire training. We’d only be able to pay for those 54 hours, so if someone wanted to get technical training, like high-angle rescue or rope rescue, we wouldn’t have it in the budget to send them.
“It would be impossible without asking for more tax levies to generate more revenue. If we have to start paying for training, it will cut other things, whether that’s equipment we need, supplies—something has to give somewhere.”
Regis noted the two main ways for the department to generate revenue are to bill for its services or raise or increase the number of tax levies.
The number of homeowners who have quality insurance dictates that option one isn’t a viable solution. Regis noted that, in Martins Ferry, the citizens “have been supportive of public services to the point of beyond reason,” in passing levies.
But even Ferry residents, he noted, will eventually get taxed out and he’d rather not propose an increase to the citizenry unless it’s for something essential.
“There comes a point in time where you get taxed out and asking for another tax levy can just turn public favor against you,” Regis said.
Waiting Game
Given the overwhelming support of H.B. 52 in the house, it’s hard to imagine the state senate voting it down once it makes its way out of committee.
But if and until H.B. 52 is signed into law to counteract portions of H.B. 509, the new regulations on training and certification will take effect as planned.
All assistant-certified instructors whose certifications expire after April 6, 2023, will still remain certified until the expiration date upon their certification. After that, it will not be renewed under the current law.
So if H.B. 52 doesn’t pass and to is signed by DeWine, then departments across Ohio will need to find a way to pay for continuing education training that in all likelihood was being taken care of in-house for little to no cost.
Regis noted no one from the MFVFD or EMS squad has talked directly with Ferguson, but others in the county have and have expressed their feelings on H.B. 509 and their desire to see H.B. 52 pass and rectify this situation.
Regis plans to talk with Martins Ferry City Council to propose the council draft a resolution against 509 and in support of the bill that overturns the negative consequences on Fire and EMS.
