(a) (1) ?A fire agency, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 1797.230, may enter into a written subcontract with a private ambulance service for the purpose of contracting with a county as described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 1797.230.

(2) This subdivision is declaratory of existing law regarding a fire agency’s powers and authority to subcontract for emergency ambulance services.

(b) On or after January 1, 2022, a county may not enter into or renew a contract for emergency ambulance services with a fire agency, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 1797.230, that includes a written subcontract with a private ambulance service, unless the fire agency adopts a written policy that requires the written subcontract to be awarded pursuant to a competitive bidding process consistent with § 20812 of the Public Contract Code. The written policy shall set forth issues to be considered during the fire agency’s competitive bidding process, which may include, but are not limited to, all of the following:

(1) Whether safeguards are in place to prevent an entity submitting a bid, including an officer, employee, agent, representative, or other official of the entity, from participating in the deliberations of the fire agency in awarding the subcontract.

(2) Whether consideration for awarding the written subcontract is given only to bidders who submit complete applications in response to a written request for proposals, written request for qualifications, or other similar written request for bids. The written request shall not be prepared in whole or in part by any entity submitting a bid in the competitive bidding process, including an entity’s officers, employees, agents, representatives, or officials.

(3) Whether the written request described in paragraph (2) adequately describes criteria to evaluate a bidder’s demonstrated ability and commitment to providing cost-efficient and high-quality services, which may include, but are not limited to, the following:

(A) Experience and history providing emergency ambulance services in a safe and efficient manner.

(B) Managerial experience and qualifications of key personnel.

(C) Effectiveness of operational processes and assets, including quality of ambulance fleet and equipment, dispatch, customer service, and working conditions of ambulance personnel.

(D) Performance monitoring and quality control.

(E) Reasonable service rates and charges.

(F) Financial stability to maintain an uninterrupted and consistent level of service.

(c) (1) A fire agency that enters into a written subcontract with a private ambulance service as described in subdivision (a), shall provide the ambulance service provider with reasonable advance written notice of any operational changes under the written subcontract between the fire agency and the ambulance service provider.

(2) The fire agency shall, in a timely fashion, use best efforts to address concerns raised by the ambulance service provider employees regarding any operational changes under the written subcontract and shall communicate its written responses to those concerns to the ambulance service provider.

(d) A bidding ambulance service participating in a fire agency’s competitive bidding process pursuant to this section shall demonstrate in its response to a written request for proposals, written request for qualifications, or other similar written request for bids that its ambulance service employees are provided with all of the following:

(1) Comparable wages, benefits, and staffing generally consistent with those provided to ambulance service employees in the same geographic region.

(2) Specific mechanisms to ensure adequate and open communication with the contracting fire agency in order to facilitate immediate notice to the recognized employee organization or official representative of the ambulance service provider’s employees whenever operational changes are proposed and noticed by the contracting fire agency, as required by subdivision (c), and are likely to have a material impact on the employees’ wages, hours, or other terms and conditions of employment.

(3) Effective access to the contracting fire agency by the recognized employee organization or official representative of the employees to directly provide input on operational changes, as described in paragraph (2), and, if requested by the recognized employee organization or official representative of the employees, facilitation of immediate access to the fire agency to allow the employees to set forth specific concerns about the operational changes.

(e) This section does not limit a fire agency’s authority to enter into agreements with other public entities, including agreements to provide for ambulance services.

(f) The requirements of this section are within the exclusive jurisdiction of the governing body of the fire agency.

(g) This section does not supersede Section 1797.201 and shall not alter, modify, abridge, diminish, or enlarge the requirements for creating, establishing, or maintaining an exclusive operating area under Section 1797.224.

(Added by Stats. 2021, Ch. 460, Sec. 2. (AB 389) Effective January 1, 2022.)