January 7, 2004—Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn has signed into law State Assembly Bill 441, a homeland security related legislation, which requires, among other things, the deployment of AEDs in Nevada high schools, colleges, county and state government offices, sporting arenas and airports.
Clark County, Nevadas largest school district, plans for each high school to have an AED coordinator and at least 10 employees trained in both cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and AED use. The Assembly bill requires the AED devices to be deployed by July 1, 2004.
Nevada officials have followed the lead of other federal and state legislators who have called for the deployment of AEDs in public and government workplaces as well as schools. School-related legislation has been enacted in New York, Pennsylvania, and recently in Illinois.
Federal laws that have been enacted include the Federal Community Access to Emergency Defibrillation Act, which earmarked $55 million a year for five years for communities to purchase and place AEDs in public places; the Federal Teaching Children to Save Lives Act, which authorized $30 million over three years to allow local school districts to apply for federal grants to implement CPR and AED training programs; and the Federal Rural Access to Emergency Care Act, which authorized the federal government to expand access to AEDs in rural areas.
