(A) No person, either as owner, agent, or otherwise, shall furnish, operate, conduct, maintain, advertise, or otherwise be engaged in the business or service of emergency and/or non-emergency ambulance services, convalescent ambulant service, or specialty care transport service within the geographic boundaries of the county unless the person holds a valid permit for each ambulance used in such business or service issued by the Office of Emergency Medical Services of the State Department of Human Resources and has been granted a franchise for the operation of such business or service by the county pursuant to this chapter or has been exempted from a franchise pursuant to this chapter.
(B) No franchise shall be required for:
(1) Any entity operated from a location or headquarters outside of the county in order to transport patients who are picked up beyond the limits of the county, to facilities located within the county, or to pick up patients within the county for transporting to locations outside the county; but no such entity shall be used to pick up patients within the county for transporting to locations within the county or other locations unless it is rendering assistance to a franchised ambulance service in the case of a major catastrophe, mutual aid, or emergency with which the services franchised by the county are insufficient or unable to cope as referred to in this division (B)(1);
(2) An ambulance owned and operated by the state, county, or an agency of the United States government;
(3) A contracted EMS agency;
(4) An entity rendering assistance to the system at the request of the Harnett County Emergency Services Director during a major emergency or when system resources are insufficient resources to meet the needs of the community for emergency or non-emergency ambulance services; or
(5) Provision of ambulance transportation by a specialist care transport program operated by a hospital that is physically located within the geographic limits of the county.
(Ord. passed 7-6-1999; Ord. 2022-16, passed 6-20-2022)