The Justin Kropp Safety Act: electrical utilities: AED availability at worksites.

Assembly Member Schiavo's Justin Kropp Safety Act mandates automated external defibrillator (AED) availability at electrical utility worksites where two or more workers handle transmission or distribution lines exceeding 600 volts. The measure applies to electrical corporations, cooperatives, local publicly owned utilities, and their contractors and subcontractors.

Under the bill's provisions, covered entities must establish written emergency response protocols and train all personnel in AED use. These protocols must include activating emergency medical services and reporting AED deployments to local EMS agencies. The legislation also requires compliance with existing state regulations on AED placement, maintenance, testing, and recordkeeping.

The act extends civil liability protections to individuals who provide emergency AED care without compensation, as well as to utilities and contractors that maintain AEDs according to the specified requirements. These protections do not apply in cases of gross negligence or willful misconduct. While the measure creates new obligations for local publicly owned utilities, it stipulates that associated costs must be covered through existing fee mechanisms rather than state reimbursement.