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House Bill 1973 |
House Author: Lucio III et al. |
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Effective: 9-1-13 |
Senate Sponsor: Hegar |
House Bill 1973 amends the Health and Safety Code to authorize the governing body of a municipality to adopt standards set by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) requiring a utility to maintain a minimum sufficient water flow and pressure to fire hydrants in a residential area located in the municipality or the municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction. The bill requires TCEQ to establish such standards and sets out requirements and prohibitions regarding the standards. The bill requires a municipality with a population of less than 1.9 million that adopts standards or that seeks to use a utility's water for fire suppression to enter into a written memorandum of understanding with the utility regarding the use of the water. The bill sets out provisions relating to a utility's failure to comply with an adopted standard and provisions relating to the liability of a utility or municipality for a hydrant's or metal flush valve's inability to provide adequate water supply in a fire emergency.