BILL ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 530 By: Van de Putte 3-28-95 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND Texas Law requires that, for the safety of the tenants of an apartment complex, a smoke alarm will be installed at the expense of the apartment complex owner. It is important that all citizens in such complexes be protected, therefore those tenants who are hearing impaired have a right to the same protection as the hearing tenants. PURPOSE To eliminate the discrimination against hearing impaired tenants in apartment complexes which requires such tenants to either provide their own fire protection or to do with no protection at all. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS. Amends Sec. 92.251 of the Property Code by adding the following definitions of "dwelling" as a rental unit including apartment complexes, as well as the previous definition in Sec. 92.001. Also defined are "hearing-impaired tenant", "smoke detector" and "visual alarm smoke detector." SECTION 2. APPLICATION OF OTHER LAW; MUNICIPAL REGULATION. Sec. 92.252(a) of the Property Code. (a) Specifies the furnishing of visual smoke detectors in a dwelling unit without affecting common law, other statutory laws, and local ordinance safety. SECTION 3. VISUAL ALARM SMOKE DETECTOR. Amends Subchapter F, Chapter 92, of the Property Code by adding Sec. 92.2545 (a) Requires a landlord to install, at the request of a hearing impaired tenant, that at least one visual smoke alarm be installed in each bedroom of each hearing impaired person. This section requires the hard-wiring of the alarm to a smoke detector installed in accordance with Section 92.256. (b) Requires the visual smoke alarm to meet the following requirements; Sec. 92.254 (a)(1), (3), (4), and (5), a strobe light with a 177 candela intensity, operate on a 120-volt alternating current, and otherwise be the equivalent or superior of the BRK model 100s, and hard-wired to a BRK model 4914, as produced by the BRK Electronics Company. (c) Allows the installation of the visual smoke alarm to be used as an affirmative defense in a civil action arising from the personal injury, death or property damage of a hearing impaired tenant as a result of fire alleging that the landlord failed to provide adequate fire safety measures if the installation is in the bedroom of the hearing impaired tenant and that proper inspection and maintenance are followed. SECTION 4. INSTALLATION PROCEDURE. Sec. 92.257 of the Property Code is amended to add visual smoke alarms to the installation procedures previously enumerated for smoke detectors. SECTION 5. Adds new section; Sec. 92.2581(a),(b),(c),(d),(e),(f), and (g), by adding visual smoke alarms to the inspection and maintenance procedures previously enumerated for smoke detectors. SECTION 6. Amends Sec. 92.259(a) of the Property Code by adding visual smoke alarms to the liability of a landlord after the requested visual smoke alarms as previously enumerated for smoke detectors. SECTION 7. States the legislature does not intend to impose any duty on a landlord to meet special needs of a tenant with a disability or impairment, other than the specific duties with respect to the installation of a visual alarm smoke detector imposed by Subchapter F, Chapter 92, Property Code, as amended by this Act. SECTION 8. EFFECTIVE DATE: September 1, 1995. SECTION 9. EMERGENCY CLAUSE. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE Adds definition of "hearing-impaired tenant" which is the same as the definition which is recognized by the Texas Commission on the Deaf and Hearing-Impaired. Clarifies that the landlord must install one visual alarm smoke detector in each bedroom occupied by a hearing-impaired tenant or occupant, within a reasonable time after receiving a request. States that the smoke detector may be either battery operated or run on alternating current. Removes the requirement for a certain standard of visual alarm smoke detector. Requires the tenant to purchase and provide the visual alarm smoke detector at the tenant's expense. Allows the landlord, at their option and with the prior approval of the tenant, to purchase the visual alarm smoke detector at the landlord's expense or allow the tenant to reimburse the landlord for the cost of the detector. Requires the landlord to pay the cost of installing the visual alarm smoke detector. Allows the tenant to require the landlord to install additional visual alarm smoke detectors if the tenant pays for the purchase of the detector and reasonable installation costs. Adds a requirement that upon vacating the dwelling, a hearing-impaired tenant may require the landlord to disconnect and remove the visual alarm smoke detector purchased by the tenant and allow the tenant to take the detector with them. The cost of disconnecting and removing the detector will be paid for by the landlord. States that for the purposes of the bill, a hearing impaired person is considered to occupy only one bedroom. Adds a subsection which states that a landlord is not required to pay the purchase price or installation costs of visual alarm smoke detectors in addition to the one visual smoke alarm in each bedroom occupied by a hearing-impaired tenant or occupant. States that the landlord is not required to install a visual alarm smoke detector for guests of a tenant. Adds a section regarding the landlord's duty to inspect and repair a visual alarm smoke detector. Makes a landlord liable if they did not install a visual alarm smoke detector at the initial occupancy by the tenant or within a reasonable time after receiving a request from the tenant to install a visual alarm smoke detector. SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE ACTION H.B. 530 was considered by the Business and Industry Committee in a public hearing on March 14, 1995. The committee considered 1 (one) amendment to the bill. Amendment #1 was adopted without objection. The following persons testified for H.B. 530: Fran Herrington-Borre, representing Symposium on Deaf and Hard of Hearing Texans; Martha Tomerlin, representing herself; Beth Fisher, representing herself; Tim Rarus, representing Texas Symposium for Deaf and Hard of Hearing. The following persons testified against H.B. 530: David Guin, representing Texas Apartment Association; Larry Niemann, representing Texas Apartment Association. The bill was referred to subcommittee on smoke detectors; a subcommittee consisting of Representatives Giddings-chair, Brady, Corte, Janek, Solomons. H.B. 530, as amended, was considered by the subcommittee in a formal meeting on March 28, 1995. The subcommittee considered a complete committee substitute for H.B. 530. The substitute was adopted without objection. H.B. 530, as substituted, was reported favorably to the full committee by a record vote of 3 (three) ayes, 0 (zero) nays, 1 (one) present-not-voting, 1 (one) absent. Pursuant to suspension of the 48-hour rule, C.S.H.B. 530 was considered on subcommittee report by the committee in a public hearing on March 28, 1995. The bill was reported favorably, as substituted, with the recommendation that it do pass and be printed, by a record vote of 8 (eight) ayes, 0 (zero) nays, 1 (one) present-not-voting, 0 (zero) absent.