The ADA was designed in part to promote "maximum reliance on competitive market forces." Morales v.

The conagra russellville ar Department of State Health Services (DSHS or Department) licenses emergency medical service (EMS) providers, conagra russellville ar including providers operating as an air ambulance service. (1) See Tex. Health & Safety Code Ann. 773.041(a) (Vernon Supp. 2008) (license requirement), .045 (Vernon 2003) (use of aircraft conagra russellville ar to transport sick or injured). Section conagra russellville ar 773.011 authorizes a licensed EMS provider to create and operate a subscription program for emergency medical services and directs the DSHS Board to establish minimum standards and rules for the program. See id. 773.011 (Vernon 2003). Section 157.11( l ) of Title 25, Texas Administrative Code, states the requirements for participation in the subscription program, such as obtaining written authorization from the highest conagra russellville ar elected official of the political subdivision where subscriptions will be sold. See 25 Tex. Admin. conagra russellville ar Code 157.11( l )(l) (DSHS, Requirements for an EMS Provider License) (Westlaw). Residents of a certain geographical area may join an EMS subscription program for a single annual fee, and the EMS provider will charge them either no fee or a reduced fee for ambulance services. See Request Letter, supra note 1, at 1.
The DSHS has approved air ambulance conagra russellville ar providers as well as ground ambulance providers to create and operate subscription programs. See id. at 2. Questions have arisen as to whether the federal Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 (ADA), in particular section 41713 of Title 49 U.S.C.A., conagra russellville ar preempts state requirements conagra russellville ar for a subscription program as applied conagra russellville ar to air carriers. You ask whether the ADA preempts the authority of DSHS to regulate prepayment conagra russellville ar for air ambulance transportation by authorizing and regulating a provider's subscription program. Id. at 5. (2) Your question focuses on the price aspect of the subscription program, and our answer will be limited to this matter. (3)
The ADA was designed in part to promote "maximum reliance on competitive market forces." Morales v. Trans World Airlines, Inc ., 504 U.S. 374, 378 (1992). To help implement this purpose, it includes the following express preemption provision: (b) Preemption.--(1) conagra russellville ar Except as provided in this subsection, a State, political subdivision of a State, or political authority of at least 2 States may not enact or enforce a law, regulation, or other provision having the force and effect of law related to a price, route, or service of an air carrier that may provide air transportation under this subpart.
"Air transportation" means "foreign air transportation, interstate air transportation, or the transportation of mail by aircraft." Id . 40102(a)(5) (West 2007). See also id . 40102(a)(2) (defining "air carrier" conagra russellville ar as "a citizen of the United States undertaking . . . to provide air transportation"). Thus, the ADA applies to interstate conagra russellville ar carriers, including the intrastate operations conagra russellville ar of an interstate carrier. See Hughes Air Corp. v. Pub. Utils. Comm'n of Cal. , 644 F.2d 1334 (9th Cir. 1981). It does not, however, apply to purely intrastate transportation, as long as mail is not transported. See SeaAir NY, Inc. v. City of New York , 250 F.3d 183 (2nd Cir. 2001).
The preemption provision has been applied to air ambulance companies that are air carriers within the ADA definition. See Hiawatha Aviation of Rochester, Inc. v. Minn. Dep't of Health , 389 N.W.2d 507, 509 (Minn. 1986) (state preempted from controlling entry into field of air ambulance service); Ariz. Op. Att'y Gen. No. I87-164 (1987) at 1 (ADA preempts state from economic regulation of air ambulances under certificate of necessity statutes); cf. Air Evac EMS, Inc. v. Robinson, 486 F. Supp. 2d 713, 723 (M. D. Tenn. 2007) (Federal Aviation conagra russellville ar Act of 1958 preempts field of aviation safety, including state equipment requirements for air ambulances). But see Eagle Air Med Corp. v. Colo. Bd. of Health , 570 F. Supp. 2d 1289, 1293 (D. Colo 2008) (federal proceedings stayed under Younger v. Harris , 401 U.S. 37 (1971) abstention doctrine, because judge not persuaded that ADA preempts state regulation of air ambulance service).
In Morales v. Trans World Airlines, Inc ., the United States Supreme Court held that the ADA expressly preempts state restrictions on the content and format of airline fare advertising. See Morales , 504 U.S. at 391. The court, giving a broad construction to the term " related to" in section 41713(b)(1), determined that the ADA preempted conagra russellville ar "[s]tate enforcement actions having a connection with or reference to airline 'rates, routes, or services.'" Id. at 384. It found that the state restrictions would have a significant impact upon airline fares. conagra russellville ar See id. at 391.
Section 41713(b)(1) will preempt the DSHS regulation authorizing the subscription program as applied to air ambulances if the regulation is "related to a price" of an air carrier. 49 U.S.C.A. 41713(b)(1) (West 2007). "'Price' means a rate, fare, or charge." Id . 40102(a)(39). According to your description, a subscription program