Bill would help first responders access emergency contact information

When seconds count, first responders to an emergency situation often have difficulty finding the right person or persons to contact about those injured in the incident.

HF932 would permit an individual to optionally identify up to three emergency contacts when applying for or renewing a driver’s license or Minnesota identification card as part of the person’s record.

The information would be accessible to “peace officers, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, and authorized emergency department staff to notify the emergency contacts regarding an emergency.”

The House Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Division approved the measure Wednesday and referred it to the House Ways and Means Committee. The companion, SF746, is sponsored by Sen. Jason Isaacson (DFL-Shoreview) and is awaiting action by the Senate Transportation Finance and Policy Committee.

A person’s contact information would not be printed on the card, said Rep. Kelly Moller (DFL-Shoreview), the bill sponsor. Rather, the contact information would be in a database maintained by Driver and Vehicle Services that could be accessed by authorized personnel.

Moller said she was motivated to sponsor the proposal when she heard from a constituent who suffered a severe brain injury in a car crash. He was in a life-or-death situation, she said, and it took more than eight hours for his parents to be notified.

Rep. Brian Johnson (R-Cambridge), a former law enforcement officer, said he has responded to many emergency situations when having emergency contact information at hand would have been extremely helpful.

He said emergency responders often have a very difficult time locating the right people to contact, “especially when there are young children involved.”

He described one incident where it took him and his colleagues 14 hours to contact the parents of a child severely injured in a car crash.

“We have to have a better way to get these people the help they need,” he said. “This is a good bill.”