November 3, 2010 – The State of Oregon has recently passed legislation that will help improve the safety of both students and the general public, mandating the placement of automated external defibrillators (AED) in both schools and places of public assembly.

Oregon AED School Legislation

Recently the Oregon legislature adopted Senate Bill 1033 (SB1033), which mandates that “each school campus in a school district, private school campus and public charter school campus shall have on the premises at least one automated external defibrillator.” The bill was effective starting January, 2010; however schools have until January, 2015, to buy AEDs and implement AED programs. To assist schools in implementation, the Oregon Department of Education has set up an informational website on AEDs in schools.

Oregon “Public Places” AED Legislation

Oregon just signed into law Senate Bill 1006, revisions to a previous bill which required organizations to obtain AEDs. The revisions specify that organizations with a single building with 50,000 square feet of indoor floor space where business activities are conducted that have at least 50 or more persons in the building a day, are required to have an AED. The bill also includes health clubs as required organizations that will need to have AEDs if the organization falls under the guidelines of the bill.