Pennsylvania SB 1328: An Act requiring automated external defibrillators at utility or electrical worksites; imposing duties on the Department of Labor and Industry; and imposing penalties.

Bill Text

PRINTER'S NO. 1720
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No. 1328
Session of
2026
INTRODUCED BY BARTOLOTTA, PISCIOTTANO, KANE, TARTAGLIONE,
CAPPELLETTI, HAYWOOD, ROBINSON, COSTA, VOGEL, SCHWANK,
L. WILLIAMS AND PICOZZI, MAY 20, 2026
REFERRED TO LABOR AND INDUSTRY, MAY 20, 2026
AN ACT
Requiring automated external defibrillators at utility or
electrical worksites; imposing duties on the Department of
Labor and Industry; and imposing penalties.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Utility
Worksite Automated External Defibrillator Safety Act.
Section 2. Legislative findings and purpose.
(a) Findings.--The General Assembly finds and declares as
follows:
(1) Pennsylvania lineworkers perform some of the most
important and dangerous work in this Commonwealth, as they
routinely work on energized electrical systems, at
significant heights, in confined spaces and in all weather
conditions, often during storms and disasters.
(2) Sudden cardiac arrest is a constant risk to these
workers due to electrical shock, extreme exertion or trauma.
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(3) In sudden cardiac arrest, survival is measured in
seconds, and the chance of survival decreases by about 10%
for every minute that passes without defibrillation.
(4) AEDs are simple, portable devices designed so that
anyone can use them with minimal training, and they can mean
the difference between life and death.
(5) The risk of death from sudden cardiac arrest is
elevated in rural communities, where the nearest hospital or
emergency medical services station may be 20 to 40 minutes
away.
(6) Pennsylvania law already mandates AEDs in schools,
hotels, health clubs and coal mines, yet there is currently
no requirement that electric utilities or their contractors
provide AEDs at worksites where linework and electrical work
are performed.
(7) This lack of a requirement leaves a critical gap in
protection for workers whose jobs are both inherently
hazardous and essential to public safety and the reliability
of the electric grid.
(8) AEDs are inexpensive, easy to use and require
minimal training, and for large utilities, the cost of
purchasing and maintaining AEDs and providing basic training
is small when compared to the human and financial cost of a
preventable death and the loss of a skilled, experienced
lineworker.
(9) Experienced lineworkers are essential to maintaining
and restoring our electric grid.
(10) Pennsylvania already protects students, health club
members, hotel guests and miners with AED mandates, and the
lineworkers who power our homes, businesses and hospitals
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deserve the same protection.
(11) The United States Occupational Safety and Health
Administration does not maintain a specific standard or
policy governing the placement or maintenance of AEDs at
worksites.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this act are to:
(1) Ensure the availability and operability of AEDs at
each utility or electrical worksite, including a temporary,
mobile or field worksite.
(2) Require basic AED and CPR training for lineworkers
and line crew leaders and establish reasonable maintenance
and inspection standards.
(3) Extend and clarify Good Samaritan protections so
that individuals who use AEDs in good faith are shielded from
unnecessary liability, consistent with existing protections
in schools, health clubs, hotels and coal mines.
Section 3. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Automated external defibrillator" or "AED." A portable
medical device that:
(1) Is approved by the United States Food and Drug
Administration.
(2) Is designed to be operated by a layperson.
(3) Is capable of recognizing the presence or absence of
ventricular fibrillation or rapid ventricular tachycardia and
determining, without intervention by the user, whether
defibrillation should be performed.
(4) Upon determining that defibrillation should be
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performed, automatically charges and requests delivery of an
electrical impulse to an individual's heart.
"Cardiopulmonary resuscitation" or "CPR." A first aid
technique utilizing hands-only compressions of the chest used to
revive an individual whose heart has stopped beating.
"Department." The Department of Labor and Industry of the
Commonwealth.
"Lineworker." An employee or contractor who performs or
supervises construction, maintenance, repair or operation of
overhead or underground electric utility lines or related
electrical equipment.
"Utility."
(1) Any of the following employers of lineworkers:
(i) A public utility as defined in 66 Pa.C.S. § 102
(relating to d