By Raymond H.B. No. 2401 75R8206 ESH-D A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to the ability of a public fire suppression entity to 1-3 recover the cost of controlling or extinguishing a fire that is 1-4 intentionally set. 1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-6 SECTION 1. Subtitle C, Title 9, Health and Safety Code, is 1-7 amended by adding Chapter 796 to read as follows: 1-8 CHAPTER 796. FIRE PROTECTION COSTS 1-9 Sec. 796.001. ACTIONS TO RECOVER COSTS OF FIRE PROTECTION. 1-10 (a) A county, state agency, or other public fire suppression entity 1-11 may recover from a person the reasonable costs incurred by the fire 1-12 suppression entity in furnishing fire protection to control or 1-13 extinguish a fire that: 1-14 (1) is intentionally set by the person; or 1-15 (2) is the result of conduct for which the person is 1-16 adjudged guilty of an offense under Section 28.02, Penal Code. 1-17 (b) If a determination is made during a criminal trial that 1-18 a person committed an offense under Section 28.02, Penal Code, and 1-19 as a result of the offense the person caused an incident resulting 1-20 in a fire suppression response by a county, state agency, or other 1-21 public fire suppression entity, the court may include the 1-22 obligation for the liability as part of the judgment. A judgment 1-23 that includes such an obligation is enforceable as any other 1-24 judgment. 2-1 (c) The liability is a debt of the person to the county, 2-2 state agency, or other public fire suppression entity, and the debt 2-3 may be collected in the same manner as a public agency collects an 2-4 express or implied contractual obligation. 2-5 Sec. 796.002. LIMIT OF LIABILITY. A person's liability 2-6 under Section 796.001 for the reasonable expense of a response may 2-7 not exceed $5,000 for a particular incident. For the purposes of 2-8 this section, a reasonable expense for a response includes only 2-9 those costs directly arising from the response to a particular 2-10 incident, including the costs of any salary of the fire suppression 2-11 personnel who participated in the response to the incident. 2-12 Sec. 796.003. STATEMENT OF EXPENSE. A statement of the 2-13 expense of a county, state agency, or other public fire suppression 2-14 entity for the provision of fire protection for an incident must 2-15 contain an itemized accounting of the components of the total 2-16 charge. 2-17 Sec. 796.004. JURISDICTION AND VENUE. Jurisdiction and 2-18 venue of an action under Section 796.001 are in the district court, 2-19 county court at law, or justice court of the area where the fire 2-20 occurred. 2-21 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997, and 2-22 applies only to a cause of action that accrues on or after that 2-23 date. An action that accrued before the effective date of this Act 2-24 is governed by the law applicable to the action as it existed 2-25 immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is 2-26 continued in effect for that purpose. 2-27 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the 3-1 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 3-2 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 3-3 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 3-4 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.