Authorized emergency vehicles.

Assembly Member Hadwick's proposal to expand California's authorized emergency vehicle definition would enable county and city emergency services offices to deploy their vehicles with full emergency vehicle status during disaster response operations.

The measure modifies the Vehicle Code to classify vehicles owned by local offices of emergency services as authorized emergency vehicles when public employees use them to respond to disasters such as fires, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, or hazardous materials incidents. This classification grants these vehicles the same privileges and exemptions currently afforded to other emergency response vehicles, including those operated by fire departments, law enforcement agencies, and ambulance services.

Under existing law, authorized emergency vehicle status primarily applies to publicly owned ambulances, law enforcement vehicles, fire apparatus, and certain state-owned emergency response vehicles. The proposed addition maintains all current vehicle classifications while extending emergency vehicle authorization to a specific subset of local government vehicles during active disaster response scenarios. This change aligns the legal status of county and city emergency management vehicles with their operational role during crisis situations.

The measure requires no new appropriations and maintains existing enforcement mechanisms and oversight through the California Highway Patrol's emergency vehicle permit system. Local emergency services offices would need to ensure their vehicles and personnel comply with established protocols for authorized emergency vehicle operations when responding to qualifying incidents.