Bill Summary for Bill Number SB05-170

Final
BILL SUMMARY for SB05-170

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Votes:

Action Taken:

Move to refer Senate Bill 05-170 to the Committee

PASS

02:05 PM -- Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by the chairman, Representative Merrifield.

02:06 PM -- Senate Bill 05-170

Representative Paccione reviewed the provisions of Senate Bill 05-170, concerning automated external defibrillators, and, in connection therewith, requiring the acceptance of donations by school districts to acquire automated external debrillators (AEDs). She said that the legislation is being referred to as "David's Law," in memory of seven-year-old David Brooks, who died of cardiac arrest at school. Two hand-outs were distributed (Attachments A and B).

02:09 PM

The following persons testified:

02:09 PM -- David Fending, representing the American Heart Association and a parent, testified in support of the bill. He said that about 250,000 persons in the United States succumb to cardiac arrest each year, and that about 7,000 children die of cardiac arrest. He said that the debrillators can be life-saving in many of these situations. He discussed statistics regarding how quickly the survival rate decreases with each minute following cardiac arrest. He discussed the fact that the bill requires a public school to accept a donation of a working debrillator. He also discussed an effort to increase Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) training within the schools.

02:15 PM

Mr. Fending responded to questions regarding whether acceptance of debrillators impact a school's liability and immunity. Representative Paccione made further comments.

02:17 PM -- Guy Bull, representing Littleton Fire Department and professional emergency responders, testified in support of the bill. He said that a great deal of progress has been made, but what makes a real difference is training the general public. He discussed the impact of having debrillators in airplanes.

02:23 PM -- Ashton Narva, representing Medtronic, testified in support of the bill and made an demonstration of an AED. He said that public schools are some of the few remaining public buildings that do not have AEDs. He provided information on common public places that have AEDs. He reviewed the maintenance required, which he described as minimal.

02:30 PM

Mr. Narva responded to questions regarding the demonstration. An additional hand-out was distributed by Representative Paccione (Attachment C). Mr. Narva said that the device may be used on any child of at least one year of age.

02:32 PM -- Sharon and Dale Schmidt, parents of a son, Cody, testified in support of the bill and spoke about the death of their son. Ms. Schmidt described how pleased her son had been to be on his school's football team. She provided a timeline of the events and responses to her son's collapse at school.

02:40 PM -- Dale Schmidt discussed trying to be proactive in the schools to prevent deaths by cardiac arrests. He discussed the number of persons who are in schools and the variety of events that occur in schools.

02:45 PM -- Laurie and Paul Brooks, parents of a son, David, and founders of the David Brooks Foundation and Memorial Fund, testified in support of the bill. He said that a fund from the foundation would be able to provide access to about 1 percent of Colorado's public school children. He discussed the responses they have received since the goals of their foundation became public.

02:53 PM

Mr. and Mrs. Brooks responded to questions about the concerns that have been raised by school districts. He said that the Fund has provided seven units so far.

03:00 PM -- Charlie Hebeler, representing the Colorado Nurses' Association, testified in support of the bill. She said that some nurses have expressed concerns about their workload, but that the Association is supportive of the bill. She said she that believes four levels of immunity may apply in the case of AED use in a school.

03:08 PM

Jane Ritter, Office of Legislative Legal Services, responded to issues raised about different levels of liability. She said that she does not believe there is any statutory conflict if the new provisions are placed in statute. Representative Paccione made further comments.


BILL:	SB05-170
TIME:	03:11:19 PM
MOVED:	Paccione
MOTION:	Move to refer Senate Bill 05-170 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a 13-0 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Balmer
		VOTE
	Balmer	Yes
	Benefield	Yes
	King	Yes
	Larson	Yes
	McKinley	Yes
	Penry	Yes
	Pommer	Yes
	Rose	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Todd	Yes
	White	Yes
	Paccione	Yes
	Merrifield	Yes
Final YES: 13 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS