AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 20, 2026

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 18, 2026

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 16, 2026

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 16, 2026

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

95

Introduced by Assembly Member Carrillo

February 17, 2026

An act to amend Section 1797.161 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to emergency medical services.

Vote: majority   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: yes   Local program: no

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

Existing law, the Warren-911-Emergency Assistance Act, requires every local public agency to establish within its jurisdiction a basic emergency telephone system that includes, at a minimum, police, firefighting, and emergency medical and ambulance services. Existing law establishes the Office of Emergency Services within the office of the Governor and requires the office to be responsible for the state’s emergency and disaster response services, as specified. Existing law requires the office, at specified intervals, to consult with, among others, the State Fire Marshal and the State Department of Public Health in order to review and update technical and operational standards for public agency systems.

Existing law requires a public safety agency that provides “911” call processing services for emergency medical response to, by January 1, 2027, provide prearrival medical instructions to “911” callers requiring medical assistance, as specified.

This bill would require a public safety agency described above that was not providing prearrival instructions to the “911” callers described above on or before January 1, 2026, 2027, to report to their local emergency medical services agency the status of their compliance with the above-described requirement on or before January 31, 2027.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 1797.161 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:

1797.161.

(a) By January 1, 2027, a public safety agency that provides “911” call processing services for emergency medical response shall provide prearrival medical instructions to “911” callers requiring medical assistance, including, at a minimum, all of the following:

(1) Airway and choking medical instructions for infants, children, and adults.

(2) Automatic external defibrillator (AED) and CPR instructions for children and adults.

(3) Childbirth.

(4) Bleeding control and hemorrhage.

(5) Administration of epinephrine by auto-injector for suspected anaphylaxis.

(6) Administration of naloxone for suspected narcotics overdoses.

(b) A public safety agency may satisfy the requirements of subdivision (a) by contracting with another public safety agency that provides prearrival medical instructions.

(c) Prearrival medical instructions developed pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) shall be approved by the local EMS agency medical director pursuant to subdivisions (c) and (d) of Section 1797.223 and implemented consistent with the medical protocols and procedures adopted by the public safety agency.

(d) On or before January 31, 2027, a public safety agency that provides “911” call processing services for emergency medical response that was not providing prearrival instructions to “911” callers requiring medical assistance on or before January 1, 2026, 2027, shall report to their local EMS agency the status of their compliance with this section.

(e) This section does not require a public safety agency to update its policies and procedures if the public safety agency already provides prearrival medical instructions through emergency medical dispatch or other means and those instructions have been approved by the local EMS agency medical director.

(f) A public safety agency dispatching peace officers to the scene of an emergency shall not constitute call processing services for emergency medical response for purposes of this section, even though the peace officers may administer first aid and CPR pursuant to Section 1797.183.

(g) This section shall not be construed to alter, modify, abridge, diminish, enlarge, or constrain the authority’s ability to adopt guidelines or regulations for emergency medical dispatch, including dispatcher training, under existing law, including, but not limited to, Sections 1797.103 and 1797.107.

(h) This section does not supersede Section 1797.201, 1797.223, 1798.6, or 1798.8, or Section 53110 of the Government Code.