BILL REQ. #:  H-3870.1 

Read first time 01/10/2006.   Referred to Committee on Health Care.

     AN ACT Relating to disaster medical assistance teams; adding a new section to chapter 38.08 RCW; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 38.08 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) In the event of a public health disaster or if there is reasonable cause to believe that a public health disaster is imminent, the governor may call a Washington disaster medical assistance team into state service. The state shall pay for supplies and equipment used in conjunction with a call for state service.
     (2) "Disaster medical assistance team" means a volunteer team of professional and paraprofessional medical personnel and logistical and administration personnel designed to provide medical care during a disaster or other event and who have formed a response team under the guidance of the national disaster medical system.
     (3) A member of a disaster medical assistance team called into state service shall be afforded all the protections as an employee of the state and shall be considered an employee of the state for purposes of workers' compensation and death benefits, if the member:
     (a) Registers with and receives approval to serve on a disaster medical assistance team from the military department; and
     (b) Provides direct medical care to a victim of a disaster or provides other support services during a disaster.
     (4) The governor, through the adjutant general, shall adopt rules necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.
     (5) In the event of a federal disaster occurring concurrently with a state disaster, the federal government shall have the first right to call the disaster medical assistance team into service.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   Funding for the purposes of this act shall be from the disaster response account.