§ 3010 — Area of operation; transfers

§ 3010. Area of operation; transfers. 1. Every ambulance service\ncertificate or statement of registration issued under this article shall\nspecify the primary territory within which the ambulance service shall\nbe permitted to operate. An ambulance service shall receive patients\nonly within the primary territory specified on its ambulance service\ncertificate or statement of registration, except: (a) when receiving a\npatient which it initially transported to a facility or location outside\nits primary territory; (b) as required for the fulfillment of a mutual\naid agreement authorized by the regional council; (c) upon express\napproval of the department and the appropriate regional emergency\nmedical services council for a maximum of sixty days if necessary to\nmeet an emergency need; provided that in order to continue such\noperation beyond the sixty day maximum period necessary to meet an\nemergency need, the ambulance service must satisfy the requirements of\nthis article, regarding determination of public need and specification\nof the primary territory on the ambulance service certificate or\nstatement of registration; or (d) an ambulance service or advanced life\nsupport first response service organization formed to serve the need for\nthe provision of emergency medical services in accordance with the\nreligious convictions of a religious denomination may serve such needs\nin an area adjacent to such primary territory and, while responding to a\ncall for such service, the needs of other residents of such area at the\nemergency scene. Any ambulance service seeking to operate in more than\none region shall make application to each appropriate regional council.\nWhenever an application is made simultaneously to more than one regional\ncouncil, the applications submitted to the regional councils shall be\nidentical, or copies of each application shall be submitted to all the\nregional councils involved.\n 2. No ambulance service certificate shall be transferable unless the\nregional council and the department reviews and approves the transfer as\nfollows:\n a. Any change in the individual who is the sole proprietor of an\nambulance service shall only be approved upon a determination that the\nproposed new operator is competent and fit to operate the service.\n b. Any change in a partnership which is the owner of an ambulance\nservice shall be approved based upon a determination that the new\npartner or partners are competent and fit to operate the service. The\nremaining partners shall not be subject to a character and fitness\nreview.\n c. Any transfer, assignment or other disposition of ten percent or\nmore of the stock or voting rights thereunder of a corporation which is\nthe owner of an ambulance service, or any transfer, assignment or other\ndisposition of the stock or voting rights thereunder of such a\ncorporation which results in the ownership or control of ten percent or\nmore of the stock or voting rights thereunder by any person, shall be\napproved based upon a determination that the new stockholder or\nstockholder proposing to obtain ten percent or more of the stock or\nvoting rights thereunder of such corporation is competent and fit to\noperate the service. The remaining stockholders shall not be subject to\na character and fitness review.\n d. Any transfer of all or substantially all of the assets of a\ncorporation which owns or operates a certified ambulance service shall\nbe approved based upon a determination that the individual, partnership,\nor corporation proposing to obtain all or substantially all of the\nassets of the corporation is competent and fit to operate the service.\n e. Any transfer affected in the absence of the review and approval\nrequired by this section shall be null and void and the certificate of\nsuch ambulance service shall be subject to revocation or suspension.\n 3. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prohibit\nany voluntary ambulance service authorized by its governing authority to\ndo so from transporting any sick or injured resident of its primary\nterritory from any general hospital or other health care facility\nlicensed by the department, whether or not such general hospital or\nhealth care facility is within the service's primary territory, to any\nother general hospital or health care facility licensed by the\ndepartment for further care, or to such resident's home. Nothing\ncontained in this section shall be construed to prohibit any proprietary\nambulance service authorized by its governing body to do so from\ntransporting any sick or injured patient from any general hospital or\nother health care facility licensed by the department whether or not\nsuch general hospital or health care facility is within the service's\nprimary territory, to any other general hospital or health care facility\nlicensed by the department within the service's primary territory for\nfurther care, or to such patient's home, if such patient's home is\nwithin its primary territory. Any ambulance service owned by or under\ncontract to a general hospital licensed by the department may transport\nany specialty patient from any other general hospital or health care\nfacility licensed by the department to the hospital owning such\nambulance service, or with which it has a contract. Categories of\nspecialty patients shall be defined by rule by the state emergency\nmedical services council, subject to the approval of the commissioner.\n 4. No ambulance service certificate of an ambulance service which has\ndiscontinued operations for a continuous period in excess of thirty days\nshall be transferable without the approval of the appropriate regional\ncouncil.\n