During our meetings, 17-member commission He became concerned about the process Maine EMS, a bureau within the Department of Public Safety, would follow to distribute these funds. Our concerns focused on the rulemaking process the agency would go through and the time it would take before funds were distributed.

Under the initial legislation establishing the funding, approximately $12 million of the program funding was supposed to be distributed as direct financial assistance to distressed EMS agencies. Although the law does not require rules to be established to effect this payment, Maine EMS created those rules anyway.

This situation was alarming for the commission. advised passing legislation that would remove the rule-making process completely from the equation. We wanted to ensure that these funds flowed as quickly as possible to the state’s emergency services agencies without too much red tape.

The remaining $19 million would be used to fund Maine. EMS training centers ($1 million) and sustainability grants ($17.1 million) that meet the long-term needs of these institutions. The remaining approximately $850,000 would go to four temporary positions at Maine EMS to manage the program. The agency is charged with establishing rules for doing this under this portion of the program.

Unfortunately, a recent news Internal conflicts at Maine EMS The fact that it prevents these funds from being disbursed to our EMS providers underscores the Commission’s concerns. And now, new rules The report, released by the agency in August, shows that the funds will be spent in a completely different way than originally proposed in the legislation.

In fact, we were right on many fronts. First of all, these funds should have already been delivered. Second, these new rules were developed amid bureaucratic infighting without any legislative or public input. During public hearings were held I don’t think the public even knew about it after the proposed rules were published earlier this month.

That’s not the way this is supposed to work; and it’s terrifying.

when we pass LD 1859 In the 130th Legislature, it established the Maine Emergency Medical Services Community Grant Program, with initial funding of $200,000. Routine technical rules had to be developed by Maine EMS to manage this. However, when we learned during the Commission meetings that the organization had failed to achieve this, we panicked.

Across multiple meetings, many commissioners, including myself, expressed frustration that this important program and its associated funding have not been made available to EMS agencies despite being signed into law by the Legislature more than two years ago. This also gives us Maine EMS and Maine EMS Board He was capable of performing his duties under Maine law. This failure certainly put both bodies in a bad position.

When the commission is over and We published our report in JanuaryWe were waiting for Maine EMS and the board to right the ship. Fast forward to today and it seems they have failed again.

Accordingly media reports76 agencies missed funding entirely burdensome grant process. Another $19 million remained idle for another year due to inactivity caused by disagreement over what to do with the remaining funds. While some members want all of this money to be distributed to agencies, others want $9 million to be invested in training centers.

This is perhaps the most confusing one. Part A, section A-29 It was called for 1 million dollars to be allocated so that 100 percent of the biennial budget would be spent on education. This is it.

And since our commission ended, we’ve also learned that Occupational Safety and Health Management wants to add a new set of professional operating rules for emergency responders. Not only does this endanger many volunteer departments, but it also undoubtedly requires additional investment in equipment and training.

But until these rules are adopted, Maine EMS needs to get its incompetent bureaucracy out of the way and do its job now. Those who need EMS services depend on it.

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