Emergency Medical Services
Association of Texas
 

EMSAT Position Statements

EMSAT Opposes Proposals to Cap Appraisals, Revenue and Thereby Emergency Services.

WHEREAS local property taxpayers are struggling with the effect of continuous imposition of state unfunded mandates on local governments; and

WHEREAS school districts’ share of the property tax load has risen to 60 percent of the average Texan’s total property tax bill (while the county portion only accounts for 14 percent of the tax burden, cities 15 percent and special districts 10.5 percent); and

WHEREAS the Governor of the State of Texas has expressed the concern that if school finance reform results in lower local school taxes, then, “it will be very tempting for other entities to fill the void;” and

WHEREAS local governments have an excellent track record as good stewards of local tax dollars, despite the ongoing pressure of unfunded state mandates; and

WHEREAS there are proposals in the Legislature that the Constitution of our State be amended to require that future revenues of local governments be severely limited, with all increases beyond very minimal growth placed before the voters for approval,

WHEREAS ongoing unfunded mandates, as well as unforeseen local circumstances, would cause constant financial instability for local governments, whose duly elected leaders have been entrusted by the voters with making fiscally conservative budgetary decisions;

WHEREAS these proposals state that the potential increase in the valuation of residential homesteads be limited to three to five percent annually; and

WHEREAS such an artificial “cap” would grossly distort the current system of 100 percent valuations, shifting the property tax burden to business properties and further harming the state’s economic development; and

WHEREAS the only proposed shelter against continued delegation of unfunded state mandates on local governments in these proposals has been a vaguely worded “assurance” against future mandates, with no offer of a permanent, fail-proof section of the State Constitution that protects the local taxpayer; and

WHEREAS these proposals would result in radical cutbacks in services that local taxpayers have requested and expressed a willingness to pay for;

WHEREAS such cutbacks to EMS, fire protection, law enforcement and other emergency services would endanger public safety;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES ASSOCIATION OF TEXAS does hereby resolve and express its firm and absolute opposition to the proposals to cap appraisals, revenue and thereby emergency services.

APPROVED THIS 5TH DAY OF May, 2004.

Paul Smith, President
Emergency Medical Services Association of Texas

EMSAT POSITION ON TEXAS EMS COMMISSION OR BOARD
August 11, 2004

It is the position of the Emergency Medical Services Association of Texas that the needs of the Emergency Medical Services community will be inadequately served by the newly structured Texas Department of State Health Services. Because of the vital importance of EMS to the people of the State of Texas, the complexity of EMS systems, the many differing models for providing EMS, and the unique requirements for regulation of education, the disciplinary process, and certification/licensing, it is essential that Emergency Medical Services in Texas be governed by a regulatory body made up of persons with knowledge and experience in EMS and dedicated solely to EMS regulation and affairs.

EMSAT supports the legislative creation of an EMS Commission or Board, the members of which should be appointed by the Governor. Passed by the Board of Directors of the Emergency Medical Services Association of Texas on August 11, 2004 at a regularly called meeting.

 

 

EMSAT POSITION ON NATIONAL EMS SCOPE OF PRACTICE MODEL
August 11, 2004

It is the position of the Emergency Medical Services Association of Texas that the National EMS Scope of Practice Model, as presently constructed, is unacceptable and would, if implemented, cause an immediately detrimental effect upon the delivery of EMS in Texas. EMSAT opposes any EMS Scope of Practice which would limit the ability of individual EMS Medical Directors to determine the skills to be performed by any level of EMS certificant/licensee practicing under their supervision.

EMSAT opposes changing the levels of certification/licensure of EMS personnel in Texas, and EMSAT further opposes the elimination of the EMT-Intermediate certification. EMSAT opposes any change in statute or regulation which would set the minimum requirement for ambulance staffing in Texas at two Emergency Medical Technicians due to the severe hardship that such a change would cause in rural and frontier areas.

EMSAT opposes the imposition of any requirement that limits advanced paramedic practice to those persons with a college degree in EMS.

EMSAT supports minimum levels of practice for each certification/license level but opposes any maximum level of practice for any level of practice, if such practice is permitted by an EMS provider's Medical Director.

Passed by the Board of Directors of the Emergency Medical Services Association of Texas on August 11, 2004 at a regularly called meeting.

 

 

Emergency Medical Services Association of Texas position on the proposed consolidation of the Texas Department of Health Bureau of Emergency Management into the Department of State Health Services

The Bureau of Emergency Management (BEM) currently serves over 50,000 dedicated EMS personnel and over 800 licensed EMS providers. The proposed realignment would fragment existing programs and processes which have already been diminished by budget and staffing cuts.

The Emergency Medical Services Association of Texas (EMSAT) believes that EMS is of such a specialized and essential nature that oversight of EMS on the state level should be accomplished by qualified individuals, experienced and knowledgeable in EMS. It is the position of EMSAT that the realignment of EMS services currently provided by the BEM would have a negative impact on EMS personnel and providers, and further believes that at this time, the BEM should be left intact.

 

 

EMSAT Testimony regarding the Developments in the Bureau of Emergency Management
January 30, 2004

Hello, my name is Paul Smith, and I’m the President of the Emergency Medical Services Association of Texas, which functionally represents over 50000 emergency medical providers in the state of Texas.

It is The Emergency Medical Services Association of Texas’ position that the provision of pre-hospital emergency care is of such a specialized and essential nature that splintering the current Bureau of Emergency Management into several new units will decrease the efficiency of these functions to the point that it will jeopardize the public’s health and safety.

Impact:

The break-up of essential EMS services would cause potential loss of quality prehospital care.

    1. The decreased efficiency will make it more difficult to certify/license personnel; 
    2. This will exacerbate the existing EMS personnel shortage;
    3. It will be more difficult to set up and maintain education, thus weakening the profession 
    4. The current and future staffing shortage will directly impact the number of ambulances and medics on the streets. 
      Decreased Texas Department of Health staff experienced in EMS has already impacted services.
    5. The certification/licensure process has already been lengthened due to previous staff reductions;
  • There are already over 50 counties in Texas without their own EMS service.
  • Making the certification and licensure process more difficult will only worsen the situation.
  • Communities will lose volunteers due to the burdensome process.
  • Homeland security would be compromised due to the loss of resources and services in a time where security is a major national issue.

These changes will effect fire departments statewide due to the ripple effect to the other state agencies not mentioned in the plan, as the vast majority of Firefighters in Texas are dually certified as EMTs or Paramedics. The proposed organizational chart needs to be altered so that functional aspects of Emergency Medical Services and Trauma Services remain intact… unfragmented…under one umbrella.

Thank you for your time, and if our association may be of further assistance to you, please feel free to contact us.

Sincerely,
Paul Smith, EMT-P,
President,
Emergency Medical Services Association of Texas
(817) 599-1197
spstx@ev1.net

William E. Gandy, JD, LP
Vice President Emergency Medical Services Association of Texas
(903) 530-9826
wegandy@aol.com
     
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