AB-2041 Emergency medical services
Sep 27, 2026 edition · GC-2026-0072 · Published 2026-09-27 · Version 2 · Final
AB 2041 adds a January 31, 2027 compliance-status report for covered 911 agencies lacking the required prearrival instructions on January 1.
What happened
AB 2041 was enacted September 18. It adds a report to the local EMS agency by January 31, 2027 for a public safety agency processing emergency-medical 911 calls that was not providing required prearrival instructions on or before January 1, 2027. The underlying readiness requirement includes airway and choking, CPR/AED, childbirth, bleeding control, epinephrine for suspected anaphylaxis and naloxone for suspected narcotics overdose. The report is a status obligation for the specified noncompliant agencies, not an extension of the January 1 readiness requirement.
A public safety agency may meet the instruction requirement through a contract with another qualifying agency. Instructions must be approved by the local EMS agency medical director and implemented consistently with adopted protocols. Existing policies need not be updated merely for this section when approved prearrival instructions are already provided through emergency medical dispatch or other means. Dispatching peace officers to an emergency does not by itself constitute emergency-medical call processing, even if officers provide first aid or CPR. These boundaries matter when identifying which dispatch operations must assess readiness and potentially file the January 31 report.
Scope and timing
- Authority status
- Final
- Applicability
- Potentially applicable
- Audience
- Health systems, Provider networks
- Jurisdiction
- California
Why it matters
The readiness date, the conditional status report and the scope of covered call processing are separate compliance questions.
Recommended action
Assess the enacted rule with dispatch and EMS owners, verify instruction approval and any contracted service, and prepare a January 31, 2027 status report if the agency is not providing the required instructions by January 1.
Sources
- AB-2041 Emergency medical services, bill historyOfficial · California Legislature · 2026-09-03 · Source review 2026-09-20
- AB-2041 Emergency medical services, chaptered bill text (09/18/26 - Chaptered)Official · California Legislature · 2026-09-21 · Source review 2026-10-15
- Official retained source documentOfficial · Official issuing agency · Source review 2026-10-16
- Official retained source documentOfficial · Official issuing agency · Source review 2026-10-16
Complete edition and supplemental material
This finding in the complete approved report →Regulatory horizons, CIA trends and implementation trackers remain in the full report.
Read the entire Compliance Sweep report →