(a) There shall be a special commission established to study and guide the implementation of emergency medical services as an essential service in the commonwealth.

(b) The commission shall consist of the following members: (i) the secretary of health and human services or their designee, who shall serve as chair; (ii) the director of the Massachusetts office of emergency medical services or their designee; (iii) 1 member appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives from an urban emergency medical service agency; (iv) 1 member appointed by the president of the senate from a rural emergency medical service agency; (v) 6 members appointed by the Governor, 2 of whom shall be from regional emergency medical services councils, 2 of whom shall be public health experts with experience in emergency medical services, 1 of whom shall be representative from a hospital-based emergency medical services provider and 1 of whom shall be of the public with lived experience as a recipient of emergency medical services; (vi) 1 member from the Massachusetts Municipal Association, Inc; (vii) 1 member appointed by the Fire Chiefs’ Association of Massachusetts, Inc. to represent municipal-based emergency medical services; (viii) 2 members appointed by the director of the Massachusetts office of emergency medical services who shall be emergency medical services professionals, 1 of whom shall be emergency medical technician and 1 of whom shall be a paramedic; and (ix) 1 member from the Massachusetts Ambulance Association, Incorporated.

(c) The commission’s appointments and first meeting shall take place not later than July 1, 2026 and shall convene at least quarterly thereafter.

(d) The commission shall hold at least 2 public hearings to gather input from emergency medical service providers, municipal leaders and residents.

(e) The work of the commission shall: (i) assess the current state of emergency medical service coverage, funding and workforce capacity across the commonwealth; (ii) identify and address disparities in emergency medical services availability and response times in underserved communities; (iii) develop recommendations for sustainable funding models, including potential uses of the fair share amendment revenue, federal grants, public-private partnerships and other funding streams; (iv) evaluate and propose strategies for regionalization and shared services to improve efficiency and resource utilization, in collaboration with existing regional emergency medical services councils; (v) recommend measures to address emergency medical services workforce shortages, including incentives for recruitment, training and retention of emergency medical services personnel and instructors; and (vi) develop a framework for performance metrics and accountability standards for emergency medical service agencies statewide.

(f) The Massachusetts office of emergency medical services shall provide administrative and technical support to the commission.

(g) The commission may request data, reports or other information from state agencies, regional emergency medical services councils and municipal governments as necessary to fulfill its duties.

(h) The commission shall submit a final report detailing the results of the study, along with any recommendations and any proposed standards and legislation necessary to carry out its recommendations, to the: (i) secretary of health and human services; (ii) joint committee on public health; (iii) the house and senate committees on ways and means; and (iv) clerks of the house of representatives and senate not later than 15 months after the effective date of this act; provided, however, that the commission may make a draft of the report available to the public for comment before filing its final report.