Alabama Advisory Opinions April 26, 1995: AGO 95-00195 (April 26, 1995)

Advisory Opinion Text

Honorable William E. Bright, Jr.

Attorney, Center Point Fire Board

The Cole Center

Suite 409

1100 East Park Drive

Birmingham, AL 35235

Fire Districts - Emergency Medical Services -Transportation Services -Transportation Charges

Upon complying with the provisions of Amendment No. 369, the Center Point Fire District may provide medical rescue service to individuals and levy a service charge therefor.

Dear Mr. Bright:

This opinion is issued in response to your request for an opinion from the Attorney General.

QUESTION

Can the Center Point Fire District provide emergency transport service for injured individuals for reasonable compensation?

FACTS, LAW AND ANALYSIS

You informed me that the Center Point Fire District was established pursuant to Act No. 79, 1966 Special Session. This act was enacted pursuant to Amendment No. 239 to the Constitution of Alabama, 1901 which authorized the Legislature to provide for the formation of districts in Jefferson County for fighting and preventing fires and for the collection and disposal of garbage and trash. Amendment No. 239 was amended in 1977 by Amendment No. 369 which authorized such districts to furnish medical rescue services and to levy service charges upon the occurrence of certain conditions. Act No. 678, Acts of Alabama 1977, p. 1173 was enacted to authorize districts to provide medical service rescue services.

In order to provide medical rescue services, the district must be recreated as a district that provides fire protection and firefighting services and medical rescue services. Paragraph 2 of Amendment No. 369 provides:

"A district may be established for any one or more of the foregoing purposes. The county governing body shall provide by ordinance for submitting to the qualified electors within the proposed district the question of whether the district shall be created for one or more of such purposes."

Paragraph 7 of Amendment No. 369 states the county governing body shall adopt ordinances providing for elections on the question of the establishment of districts and governing such elections and whether service charges shall be levied.

According to Paragraph 4 of Amendment No. 369, the governing body of the district may by resolution levy a service charge subject to the conditions stated in Paragraph 6 . Paragraph 6 states:

"6. No service charge or tax provided for by this amendment shall become effective unless before the creation of the district involved such service charge or tax shall have been approved at an election in the territory proposed to be established as a district held at the time of the election on establishing the proposed district or unless after the establishment of the district the following shall have occurred:

"(1) The governing body adopting the resolution or ordinance shall have published the same in a newspaper of general circulation in the district involved;

"(2) Thirty (30) days shall have elapsed since the publication of such resolution or ordinance; and

"(3) One of these two events, called Event A and Event B, shall have occurred: Event A: Thirty days following the said publication shall have passed without any petition for an election being filed under the ordinance paragraph 7, below, requires; Event B: At an election called under said ordinance the proposed service charge or tax shall have been approved."

CONCLUSION

Upon complying with the provisions of Amendment No. 369, the Center Point Fire District may provide medical rescue service to individuals and levy a service charge therefor.

I hope this sufficiently answers your question. If our office can be of further assistance, please contact James R. Solomon, Jr., of my staff.

Sincerely,

JEFF SESSIONS Attorney General.

JAMES R. SOLOMON, JR., Chief.