H. Meddybemps, selected by its selectmen;

I. Wesley, selected by its selectmen;

J. Calais, selected by its city council;

K. Cooper, selected by its selectmen;

L. Crawford, selected by its selectmen;

M. Robbinston, selected by its selectmen;

N. Alexander, selected by its selectmen;

O. Danforth, selected by its selectmen; and

P. Baring, selected by its assessors.

The members of the board are appointed for terms of one year and may be reappointed at the pleasure of the appointing authority.

Sec. 3. Powers. The authority may:

1. Employ and compensate personnel, consultants, technical and professional assistants and an emergency medical services medical director;

2. Make and enter into contracts and agreements;

3. Hold public hearings and sponsor public forums;

4. Sue and be sued in its own name;

5. Accept funds, grants and services from federal, state, county and municipal governments or any agency thereof, gifts and stipends from its member towns, private gifts from entities and foundations and stipends and subsidies from Canadian governments for the provision of services to Campobello Island and the Province of New Brunswick; and

6. Allocate and disburse funds received to promote the authority.

Sec. 4. Duties. The authority shall:

1. Prepare an annual budget;

2. Follow uniform standards provided in Maine statutes insofar as they relate to Department of Public Safety rules;

3. Make provisions for emergency medical services in the county on a contract basis where new services are to be provided; however, where emergency medical services are already provided by existing services, they are not abolished by this Act without the express consent of the governing body of the area and vote of the existing medical services' board;

4. Implement a county-wide subscription membership program unless otherwise prohibited by law; and

5. Set and adjust an approved cost-basis schedule that is uniform throughout the county.

Sec. 5. Organization; conduct of business; meetings. The board must be organized and its business must be conducted in accordance with the following:

1. The board shall elect a chair, vice-chair, secretary and treasurer from among its members.

2. The secretary shall keep a record of the board's meetings. These records are public records.

3. The treasurer shall keep records of the board's transactions. These records are public records.

4. The treasurer must be bonded in an amount to be determined by the board.

5. A quorum of the board is 6 members and must include the chair or vice-chair and the secretary or treasurer of the board.

6. The board shall adopt such bylaws and mission statements as are necessary for the legal operation and proper management of the authority.

Sec. 6. Meetings. The bylaws shall establish the annual meeting of the board. Additional meetings may be scheduled at the call of the chair or at the written request of any 5 members of the board.

A member who fails to attend board meetings 5 consecutive times may be replaced by the appointing authority. Notification of such absences from the secretary of the board to the appointing authority is sufficient to trigger the appointment of a replacement board member by the appointing authority.

Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this Act takes effect when approved.

SUMMARY

This bill establishes the Washington County Emergency Medical Services Authority.