Committee backs $12 million lottery allocation to EMS, creates county-targeted and all-county funds

The Senate Committee on Government Organization adopted a striking-insert to House Bill 51-68 to establish a $12 million funding stream from state lottery net profits for emergency medical services providers and voted to report the bill to the full Senate with a recommendation that it pass as amended and first be referred to the Finance Committee (double reference).

Counsel said the striking-insert repurposes and renames the existing EMS salary enhancement fund to the Emergency Medical Services Salary Enhancement, Crisis Response and Mental Health Treatment Fund, assigns $6 million to that fund and requires that the first $1 million be used for mental-health treatment for EMS personnel with county matches. The amendment creates two additional funds, each to receive $3 million: a County Emergency Medical Services Fund limited to counties with an excess levy or EMS fee, and an All‑County Emergency Medical Services Fund for counties with EMS providers; distributions are proportional to county populations. The striking-in-insert reduced a proposed 100% local-match requirement to 30%.

Counsel said the structure mirrors prior lottery allocations used for fire protection funds in 2023 and 2024. The committee adopted the strike-and-insert, voted to report HB 51-68 as amended, and referred it first to the Finance Committee per the original double reference. Voice votes were recorded in the transcript; no roll‑call tallies were provided.

The changes create three separate allocation mechanisms and come with a fiscal note of $12,000,000 (the lottery allocation). The committee’s action moves the bill to finance for further review of fiscal impacts.