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Minutes for SB379 - Committee on Utilities
Short Title
Authorizing the state 911 board to establish a statewide program for emergency medical dispatch and telecommunicator cardiopulmonary resuscitation, medical direction and quality assurance services.
Minutes Content for Thu, Jan 29, 2026
The chair opened the hearing on SB 379.
Nick Myers, Office of Revisor of Statutes provided an overview of the bill and stood for questions (Attachment 1).
Ed Klumpp, SB 11 Study Group Chair, spoke in support of the bill, provided an overview on the purpose of the bill, and discussed that it will be implemented in two phases. He also explained why they were opposed to a mandate for services and stood for questions (Attachment 2).
Sherry Massey, State 911 Board, spoke in support of the bill and shared that the State 911 Board has not met yet to approve the funds for this bill. She discussed how the funds were expected to be used and explained that the funding is only for the first year. The intention of the organization is to evaluate the program after one year and determine what the next steps might look like and if it is worth continuing to fund this direction. She stood for questions (Attachment 3).
Jacob Welsch, Kansas Sheriffs' Association, spoke in support of the bill and stated that the KSA supported a state-supported, voluntary process and not the mandate the AHA demanded. He stood for questions (Attachment 4).
Dan Cooper, Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police, spoke in support of the bill and the phase-in process. He also emphasized the importance of having local-based dispatchers who know the geographical area. He stood for questions (Attachment 5).
Kari Rinker, American Heart Association, spoke in opposition to the bill due to the voluntary nature that leaves rural Kansans with the same lack of telecommunicator cardiopulmonary resuscitation services. She said that roughly half of Kansas counties do not have T-CPR, and CPR can triple survival rates. Emergency Medical Services wait time can exceed more than 30 minutes.She believes the legislature's job is to establish a basic, minimum standard for health and safety. She stood for questions (Attachment 6).
The committee asked for clarification from Sherry Massey on Senator Warren's question regarding how a single-seat dispatcher responds when a second call comes in. Sherry Massey will send a response.
The chair closed the hearing on SB 379.
Meeting adjourned at 2:29 p.m.
At a time outside of the meeting, Sherry Massey shared the following information as requested (Attachment 7).
