HBA-NIK C.S.H.B. 2445 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 2445
By: Kuempel
Civil Practices
4/20/1999
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Current law does not expressly provide that governmental entities are not
liable for damages arising from their warnings or failures to warn of flood
events or flood conditions, or from failures to develop and disseminate
information concerning flood events or flood conditions.  C.S.H.B. 2455
specifies that a governmental entity is not liable for any property damage
or damages arising from personal injury or death due to specified
flood-related conditions. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Chapter 16, Water Code, by adding Subchapter K, as
follows: 

SUBCHAPTER K.  FLOOD WARNINGS BY GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES

Sec. 16.401.  FINDINGS; PURPOSE.  Sets forth findings relating to warning
the public of flood events and flood conditions.  Specifies the purpose of
this subchapter.   

Sec. 16.402.  DEFINITION.  Defines "governmental entity."

Sec. 16.403.  NO LIABILITY.  Provides that a governmental entity is not
liable for any property damage or damages arising from personal injury or
death due to specified conditions. 

Sec. 16.404.  APPLICATION AND EFFECT OF SUBCHAPTER. Provides that this
subchapter does not create any liability nor waive sovereign immunity.
Establishes that this subchapter controls  to the extent that this
subchapter provides that a governmental entity is not liable under
circumstances in which the governmental entity would be liable under
Chapter 101 (Tort Claims), Civil Practice and Remedies Code. 

SECTION 2.  Amends Subchapter C, Chapter 101, Civil Practice and Remedies
Code, by adding Section 101.066, to provide that to the extent that
Subchapter K, Chapter 16, Water Code, limits the liability of a
governmental unit under circumstances in which the governmental unit would
be liable under this chapter, Subchapter K, Chapter 16, Water Code,
controls. 

SECTION 3.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.
                       Makes application of this Act prospective.

SECTION 4.  Emergency clause.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 2445 modifies the original bill in SECTION 1, by removing proposed
Section 16.404(a), which provides that this subchapter does not relieve any
governmental entity from liability that  would otherwise exist for
deliberate, wilful, or malicious injury to a person or property.  The
substitute redesignates proposed Subsections (b)-(d) to (a)-(c) in the
substitute.