An Act to provide automated external defibrillators in all public safety vehicles
Generates a plain-language summary of the bill text and history.
| Date | Branch | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 1/22/2026 | Senate | Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on Senate Ways and Means |
| 5/2/2025 | Joint | Hearing scheduled for 05/07/2025 from 01:00 PM-05:00 PM in A-2 |
| 2/27/2025 | House | House concurred |
| 2/27/2025 | Senate | Referred to the committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security |
| Committee | Recommendation | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| J22 | Favorable | 1 entries |
Chapter 29 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 2AAAAAA the following section:-
BBBBB. (a) There shall be established and set upon the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Automatic External Defibrillator Trust Fund. The secretary of public safety and security shall administer the fund and make expenditures from the fund in the form of grants to municipalities, public colleges and universities, and corporations for charitable purposes as defined by section 2 of chapter 180 of the general laws, for the purchase of automated external defibrillators for public safety and first responder vehicles. The fund shall be credited with: (i) any revenue from appropriations or other monies authorized by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund; (ii) any gifts, grants, private contributions or investment income earned on the assets of the fund; and (iii) revenues, not more than $1,000,000 in a calendar year. Any money in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund but shall remain available for expenditure in subsequent fiscal years. The secretary shall annually, not later than December 31, report on the activity of the fund to the clerks of the senate and house of representatives and the senate and house committees on ways and means. (b) There shall be a public safety vehicle equipment surcharge of $0.50 imposed upon each vehicular rental transaction in the commonwealth. The surcharge shall be deposited in the Automatic External Defibrillator Trust Fund established in this section; provided, however, that not more than $1,000,000 collected from the surcharge in a calendar year be deposited into the fund; and provided further, that any amount collected from the surcharge above $1,000,000 in a calendar year shall be deposited into the General Fund. The surcharge shall not apply to transportation network companies or to rental periods of less than 24 hours that are charged on an hourly basis.
This act shall take effect on January 1, 2026.
SECTION 1. Chapter 29 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 2AAAAAA the following section:- Section 2BBBBBB. (a) There shall be established and set upon the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Automatic External Defibrillator Trust Fund. The secretary of public safety and security shall administer the fund and make expenditures from the fund in the form of grants to municipalities, public colleges and universities, and corporations for charitable purposes as defined by section 2 of chapter 180 of the general laws, for the purchase of automated external defibrillators for public safety and first responder vehicles. The fund shall be credited with: (i) any revenue from appropriations or other monies authorized by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund; (ii) any gifts, grants, private contributions or investment income earned on the assets of the fund; and (iii) revenues, not more than $1,000,000 in a calendar year. Any money in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund but shall remain available for expenditure in subsequent fiscal years. The secretary shall annually, not later than December 31, report on the activity of the fund to the clerks of the senate and house of representatives and the senate and house committees on ways and means. (b) There shall be a public safety vehicle equipment surcharge of $0.50 imposed upon each vehicular rental transaction in the commonwealth. The surcharge shall be deposited in the Automatic External Defibrillator Trust Fund established in this section; provided, however, that not more than $1,000,000 collected from the surcharge in a calendar year be deposited into the fund; and provided further, that any amount collected from the surcharge above $1,000,000 in a calendar year shall be deposited into the General Fund. The surcharge shall not apply to transportation network companies or to rental periods of less than 24 hours that are charged on an hourly basis. SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2026.