Senate committee advances Mason Sells AED Coordination Act after family testimony

Sen. Harbin introduced Senate Bill 399, the Mason Sells AED Coordination Act, to ensure 9‑1‑1 dispatchers can identify the nearest automated external defibrillator (AED) and direct callers to it.

The bill would require a formal process to map AED locations and share that information with public safety answering points so dispatchers can help bystanders locate and use the devices. Sen. Harbin said the measure grew from a constituent’s experience and from work with Georgia Emergency Management and the Homeland Security Agency to train dispatchers on AED use as well as CPR.

The bill’s key benefit, Harbin said, is faster access: "when you call 911, they will know where the closest AED is," which he said could change outcomes in sudden cardiac arrest.

Scott Sales, who identified himself as a constituent and the father of Mason, gave emotional testimony describing his son’s collapse during an intramural soccer match and the delay before a shock was delivered. "I can't save Mason. I can't help him anymore, but I don't want any more Mason stories," Sales said, recounting that an AED was located nearby but locked inside an office and unavailable when his son needed it.

Sales told the committee that the bill would start by giving 9‑1‑1 rudimentary maps of AED locations and could spur manufacturers and facilities to adopt trackable devices and outside mounting to reduce theft and increase accessibility. He cited survival statistics he said informed the effort: a roughly 90 percent survival rate if an AED is used within 1 minute and a substantial drop each minute thereafter, and urged broader coverage for intramural and college settings.

Members raised practical questions about liability, Good Samaritan protections and theft. An emergency physician on the panel said he had asked where AEDs were located on his first day at the Capitol and supported the bill’s mapping and training approach. Committee members discussed maintenance responsibilities and existing Georgia codes that require entities that own AEDs to keep them operable.

After brief discussion and public testimony, a member moved that the bill be recommended "due pass." The committee voice‑voted in favor, and the clerk recorded the bill as recommended to pass. The transcript lists House sponsor Josh Bonner for the companion measure.

The committee’s action sends SB399 to the next committee or floor stage; no floor vote tally was recorded in the hearing transcript.