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.