Sources of Revenue:

Special Fund

Legislation creates:

Neither Program nor Fund

Fiscal Note Summary

Effect this measure will have on costs and revenues of state government.

The purpose of the amended HB2759 is to establish that no fee be charged for the certification or recertification of Emergency Medical Technician - Miner. Additionally, the amended legislation requires that of the two emergency medical service personnel operating an ambulance, that one shall be certified as an Emergency Medical Vehicle Operator. The Department of Health and Human Resources estimates the fiscal impact of the amended legislation to be a loss of revenue in the amount of approximately $125,000 annually to the Office of Emergency Medical Services (OEMS) through the elimination of certification and recertification fees of the Emergency Medical Technicians - Miners. Currently, OEMS certifies approximately 5,000 EMT-Miners generating nearly half of the revenue that state personnel OEMS certifies. The revenue generated by this fee helps maintain the development of skills evaluations and provides for the inclusion of subject matter experts from the mining community to participate in skills validation instruments. The amended bill also eliminates the requirement for emergency medical service (EMS) personnel that possess a National Registry certification at the appropriate level or that has continuously maintained a West Virginia certification for five consecutive years to complete a state cognitive and skills examination, provided they meet all other requirements for renewal. Additionally, any EMS personnel whose certification has lapsed for greater than six months may be required by the commissioner to complete a state cognitive and skills examination prior to renewal of their certificate. If the cognitive skills examinations are eliminated for certain EMS personnel, OEMS will still be required to maintain current skills evaluation tools for those individuals who fall outside the proposed time frame or let their certifications lapse.

Fiscal Note Detail

Effect of Proposal	Fiscal Year
Effect of Proposal	2013 Increase/Decrease (use"-")	2014 Increase/Decrease (use"-")	Fiscal Year (Upon Full Implementation)
1. Estmated Total Cost	0	0	0
Personal Services	0	0	0
Current Expenses	0	0	0
Repairs and Alterations	0	0	0
Assets	0	0	0
Other	0	0	0
2. Estimated Total Revenues	0	-125,000	-125,000

Explanation of above estimates (including long-range effect):

The above estimates are based upon the continual need to maintain a valid exam to test the levels of cognition, after receiving instruction, of the EMT-Miner applying for certification and or recertification. OEMS must also continue to process and issue certification cards and grade exams. There will always be costs associated with the upgrade of computer equipment necessary to provide this service. As OEMS is now beginning to collect the fees, staff hours have been dedicated to developing the process of collecting and updating the credentialing database to accept the fees. The estimated loss in revenue for 2014 and thereafter is based on the estimated number of EMT-Miner certification/recertification (5,000) multiplied by the fee of $25.

Memorandum

The amended legislation creates an inequality in the EMS community as some certificate holders will be charged a fee (some of which are volunteer and not paid to provide a service), and employed EMT-Miner will not.

Person submitting Fiscal Note: Rocco S. Fucillo
Email Address: dhhrbudgetoffice@wv.gov