A Senate committee recommended a do‑pass on House Bill 54 after testimony and questions about costs, training, maintenance and liability for installing automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in New Mexico public schools.

The House Education Committee substitute for House Bill 54 would add a definition of automated external defibrillator to the Emergency Medication in Schools Act and require public schools to install AEDs and adopt a cardiac emergency response plan within existing school safety plans. The bill also requires routine maintenance of devices, including battery and pad replacement.

Representative Herndon introduced the bill and cited previous measures that required coaches to be trained and sought to expand training and equipment more broadly across schools. An expert introduced as Mohesh Sipa of the American Heart Association told the committee AEDs are FDA‑approved devices that assess heart rhythm and advise whether a shock is needed; when used properly, they increase survival after sudden cardiac arrest.

Committee members focused on implementation details: how many staff must be trained, how devices will be purchased and maintained, and liability protection for staff who use AEDs. The committee heard cost estimates included in fiscal materials: training costs estimated at $780,000 and equipment costs estimated at $262,000 for an initial implementation phase; another witness said an individual AED can cost in the $1,200–$2,400 range depending on make and purchase method. Sponsors said implementation would be staged: initial funding and deployment focused on public high schools in the first implementation year, with expansion to other school levels in subsequent years tied to available appropriations and related legislation.

On liability, sponsors and counsel referenced New Mexico’s Good Samaritan protections and the New Mexico cardiac arrest response statute; witnesses said having a formal school safety and cardiac emergency response plan reduces liability exposure for staff and schools, though insurers and legal counsel will make final determinations.

Committee members recommended do‑pass; the committee recorded the recommendation on the bill with a recorded tally of 9 in favor and 0 opposed.