Turlock Municipal Code Art. 3 Ambulances: Regulations

For the purposes of this chapter, "ambulance" shall mean any privately-owned vehicle equipped or used for transporting those who are wounded, injured, or sick and shall include, but shall not be restricted to, emergency vehicles used for such purposes.

No person shall engage in the business of operating an ambulance upon the streets of the City without first obtaining a license as provided in this article and paying the business license taxes provided in Article 2 of this chapter.

An applicant for an ambulance operator's license shall file his application with the Finance Director. Such application shall be signed and verified by the applicant, shall be accompanied by the fee required, and shall set forth the following information:

(a) The name and business and residence address of the applicant;

(b) The fictitious name, if any, under which the applicant does business and proposes to do business;

(c) The number, type, age, condition, and patient capacity of each ambulance proposed to be operated by the applicant, stating the make, year of manufacture, and special equipment installed, or proposed to be installed, in each such ambulance, and whether such ambulances are or will be operated as authorized emergency vehicles;

(d) The color scheme, insignia, name, monogram, or other distinguishing characteristics to be used to designate the private ambulances of the applicant;

(e) The schedule of rates proposed to be charged for ambulance service;

(f) The experience of the applicant in the transportation and care of wounded, injured, and sick persons;

(g) The financial status of the applicant, including the amounts of unpaid judgments against the applicant and the nature of the transaction or acts giving rise to such judgments;

(h) Any facts which the applicant believes tend to prove that the public convenience and necessity require the granting of a license; and

(i) Such other information as the Council may require.

The application shall be accompanied by a filing fee established by resolution of the City Council.

(903-CS, Amended, 06/27/1996)

(a) Hearing. Upon the filing of a fully completed application for the license to engage in the business of operating an ambulance, the City Clerk shall fix a time for a public hearing thereon before the Council for the purpose of determining whether the public convenience and necessity require the proposed service. In determining whether the public convenience and necessity require the operation of an ambulance service for which application is made, the Council shall hold such public hearing as may be necessary to determine that fact.

(b) Hearing: Notice. Written notices of such hearing shall be given to all persons to whom licenses for the operation of ambulances have been theretofore issued. A notice of the time and place of the public hearing before the Council shall also be given to the general public by causing a notice of such hearing to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the City at least ten (10) days before the hearing.

(c) Granting. No certificate shall be granted until the Council shall, after hearing, declare by resolution that the public convenience and necessity require the proposed ambulance service.

Before any such application is acted upon by the Council, the City Manager shall cause the Police Chief to make an investigation, and he shall report his findings in writing to the Council on the matters set forth in Section 3-1-307 of this article.

No license shall be granted until the Council shall, after investigation and hearing, declare by resolution that the public convenience and necessity require the proposed service and that the same will promote the convenience, safety, and welfare of the general public. Upon completing its investigation and hearing, the Council shall grant the applicant a license if it finds as follows:

(a) That the vehicles described in the application and proposed to be used are adequate and safe for the purpose of carrying or transporting wounded, injured, or sick persons;

(b) That the color scheme, insignia, name, monogram, or other distinguishing characteristics proposed to be used upon such ambulances are not in conflict with and do not imitate any color scheme, insignia, name, monogram, or other distinguishing characteristics used by any other person in such a manner as to mislead or tend to mislead, deceive, or defraud the public;

(c) That further ambulance service in the City is required by the public convenience and necessity; and

(d) That the applicant is fit, willing, and able to perform ambulance service and to conform to the provisions of this article and such rules and regulations as may be promulgated by the Council.

In making such findings, the Council shall take into consideration the number of ambulances already in operation, whether the existing ambulance service is adequate to meet the public need, the probable effect of increased ambulance service on local traffic conditions, and the character, experience, and responsibility of the applicant.

If the Council, by resolution, shall find and declare that the public convenience and necessity require the proposed ambulance service or will admit additional ambulance service, a license to that effect shall be issued to the person entitled thereto by having complied with all the requirements of this article. The Council, in its discretion, shall determine the total number of ambulances which may be operated under such license.

The license, when issued, shall state the name and address of the applicant, the number of ambulances which may be operated under such license, and the date of the issuance thereof. No license authorized by the provisions of this article shall be issued to any person who shall not have fully complied with all the requirements of this article.

No license for the operation of an ambulance may be sold, assigned, mortgaged, or otherwise transferred without the consent of the Council. An application for the transfer of any license for an ambulance shall be subject to the same terms, conditions, and requirements as is the application for an original license.

(a) Council authority. The Council may at any time revoke, suspend, or change a license granted the ambulance operator, after proper notice and opportunity of hearing given to the owner thereof, if he fails to operate an ambulance authorized by the provisions of this article in accordance with the provisions of this article.

(b) Surrender of suspended or revoked licenses. All licenses which have been suspended or revoked by the Council shall be surrendered to the City Clerk, and the operation of all ambulances covered by such licenses shall cease. The continued operation of such ambulances shall thereafter constitute a violation of the provisions of this article.

Any person holding a license to operate one or more ambulances, as provided in this article, who desires to add to the number of such vehicles shall do so only by obtaining a license therefor from the Council. Such license shall be granted only upon an application made in the same manner and under the same proceedings as are required in the instance of obtaining the original license.

Any person holding a license to operate one or more ambulances, as provided in this article, who desires to substitute a different vehicle for a vehicle operated under such license shall do so only upon obtaining from the Police Chief permission therefor. Such license shall be granted only upon a written application setting forth the particulars of such proposed substitution and upon otherwise complying with the requirements of this article.

Each ambulance operator to whom the Council has issued a certificate of public convenience and necessity shall cause an authenticated copy of the certificate to be posted on the dashboard of the ambulance in a position clearly visible or in some other area approved by the Council.

Each person operating a licensed ambulance business in the City on March 1, 1962, shall automatically be granted a certificate of public convenience and necessity to operate an ambulance business within the City for the number of ambulances then being operated within the City.

No license for the operation of an ambulance shall be issued, nor shall such license be valid after issuance, nor shall any ambulance be operated unless there is at all times in force and effect, to provide adequate protection against liability for damages which may be or have been imposed for each negligent operation of each such ambulance, its driver, or attendant, a liability insurance policy or policies approved by the Finance Director and issued by an insurance company authorized to do business in the State.

Such policy or policies shall provide protection against liability of the licensee of an ambulance for the payment of damages in the minimum amounts as follows:

(a) In the amount of One Hundred Thousand and no/100ths ($100,000.00) Dollars on account of bodily injuries to, or the death of, one person;

(b) In the amount of Two Hundred Thousand and no/100ths ($200,000.00) Dollars against the total liability of the licensee on account of bodily injuries to, or the death of, more than one person as a result of any one accident; and

(c) In the amount of Ten Thousand and no/100ths ($10,000.00) Dollars for one accident resulting in damage or destruction of property, whether the property of one or more than one claimant.

(a) Initial inspections. Prior to the initial use and operation of any vehicle as an ambulance, such vehicle and the premises from which it is to be operated shall be thoroughly examined and inspected by the Health Officer for safety and sanitation, and thereafter the licensee shall be required to comply with such reasonable rules and regulations relating to safety and sanitation as may be prescribed by the Health Officer. Such rules and regulations shall specify, among other things, such safety and sanitary equipment and regulatory devices as the Health Officer shall deem necessary.

(b) Periodic inspections. Every ambulance, as well as the premises from which such ambulance is operated, shall be periodically inspected by the Health Officer at such times as shall be designated by him.

(c) Unsafe ambulances. No ambulance which is unsafe or in any way unsuitable for ambulance service shall be operated.

No person shall drive or serve as an attendant of an ambulance licensed pursuant to the provisions of this article without first obtaining a permit in writing to do so from the Police Chief.

Applications for drivers' and attendants' permits required by the provisions of Section 3-1-318 of this article shall be made upon blank forms furnished by the City and shall contain the following information concerning the applicant:

(a) His full name;

(b) His present residence address and any other residence address during the past year;

(c) His age, sex, marital status, weight, height, and color of eyes and hair;

(d) Whether or not he has ever been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor, giving the particulars of each such conviction;

(e) Whether he has previously been licensed as a driver, chauffeur, or attendant and, if so, when and where; and

(f) Whether his license has ever been revoked or suspended and for what cause.

Applicants for drivers' and attendants' permits shall pay to the Police Department a fee established by resolution of the City Council in accordance with the Fingerprint Fee Schedule for each application. A copy of the receipt for the fees paid shall be filed with the Police Chief.

(903-CS, Amended, 06/27/1996)

The Police Department shall conduct an investigation of each applicant for a driver's and attendant's permit, and a report of such investigation and a copy of the traffic and police record of the applicant, if any, shall be attached to the application.

The Police Chief shall, upon consideration of the application and the reports and certificate required to be attached thereto, approve or reject the application in accordance with the provisions of Section 3-1-323 of this article. If the application is rejected, the applicant may request a personal appearance before the Council to offer evidence why his application should be reconsidered.

(a) The Police Chief shall issue a permit when he finds that the applicant meets the following requirements:

(1) For a driver's permit, is of the age of twenty-one (21) years or over;

(2) For an attendant's permit, is of the age of eighteen (18) years or over;

(3) Is morally fit for the position;

(4) Is able to speak, read, and write the English language;

(5) Has an adequate knowledge of first aid; and

(6) Has complied with the requirements of this article and all other governing laws and regulations.

(b) No permit shall be issued to any of the following:

(1) Any person who has been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude, the use or possession of narcotics, or the operation of a vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor within the five (5) years immediately preceding the application for a permit; or

(2) Any individual, corporation, association, or group of individuals who own, operate, or are employed by a funeral home.