By Hamric H.B. No. 2980
76R7193 MXM-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to rural fire prevention districts.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 794.012(b), Health and Safety Code, is
1-5 amended to read as follows:
1-6 (b) The name of the district proposed by the petition must
1-7 be "____________ Rural Fire Prevention District No. _______." The
1-8 name of each county must be inserted in the first blank, and the
1-9 next available district number must be inserted into the second
1-10 blank.
1-11 SECTION 2. Section 794.014, Health and Safety Code, is
1-12 amended by adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
1-13 (g) This section does not apply if the proposed district
1-14 contains territory in the unincorporated area of a county with a
1-15 population of 2.4 million or more.
1-16 SECTION 3. Section 794.031, Health and Safety Code, is
1-17 amended to read as follows:
1-18 Sec. 794.031. DISTRICT POWERS. A district is a political
1-19 subdivision of the state. To perform the functions of the
1-20 district, a district may:
1-21 (1) acquire, purchase, hold, lease, manage, occupy,
1-22 and sell real and personal property or an interest in property;
1-23 (2) enter into and perform necessary contracts;
1-24 (3) appoint and employ necessary officers, agents, and
2-1 employees;
2-2 (4) sue and be sued;
2-3 (5) levy and enforce the collection of taxes as
2-4 prescribed by this chapter;
2-5 (6) accept and receive donations;
2-6 (7) lease, own, maintain, operate, and provide fire
2-7 engines and other necessary or proper fire protection equipment and
2-8 machinery to prevent and extinguish fires in the district;
2-9 (8) lease, own, and maintain real property,
2-10 improvements, and fixtures necessary to house, repair, and maintain
2-11 fire protection equipment;
2-12 (9) contract with other entities, including other
2-13 districts or municipalities, to make fire-fighting facilities, fire
2-14 extinguishment services, and emergency rescue and ambulance
2-15 services available to the district;
2-16 (10) contract with other entities, including other
2-17 districts or municipalities, for reciprocal operation of services
2-18 and facilities if the contracting parties find that reciprocal
2-19 operation would be mutually beneficial and not detrimental to the
2-20 district;
2-21 (11) lease, own, maintain, operate, and provide
2-22 emergency rescue equipment, and emergency ambulance service, and
2-23 other necessary and proper equipment to prevent loss of life or
2-24 serious personal injury from fire or other hazards;
2-25 (12) borrow money; and
2-26 (13) [(12)] perform other acts necessary to carry out
2-27 the intent of this chapter.
3-1 SECTION 4. Section 794.034(b), Health and Safety Code, is
3-2 amended to read as follows:
3-3 (b) After a district located in more than one county is
3-4 created, the county judges of each county in the district shall
3-5 mutually establish a convenient day provided by Section 41.001,
3-6 Election Code [in November, other than the date of the general
3-7 election for state and county officers], to conduct an election to
3-8 elect the initial fire commissioners.
3-9 SECTION 5. Section 794.035, Health and Safety Code, is
3-10 amended by adding Subsections (e) and (f) to read as follows:
3-11 (e) Chapter 551, Government Code, does not apply to a
3-12 meeting of a committee:
3-13 (1) of the board if less than a board quorum attends;
3-14 or
3-15 (2) composed of representatives of more than one
3-16 board, if less than a quorum of any of the boards attends.
3-17 (f) Each January, the board shall publish the street address
3-18 of the district's administrative office in eight-point type in the
3-19 legal notices section of a newspaper of general circulation in the
3-20 district. In a district's first year of operation, the board shall
3-21 publish the notice not later than 60 days after the initial board
3-22 is appointed.
3-23 SECTION 6. Subchapter C, Chapter 794, Health and Safety
3-24 Code, is amended by adding Section 794.038 to read as follows:
3-25 Sec. 794.038. REMOVAL OF BOARD MEMBER. (a) A board may
3-26 remove a member if:
3-27 (1) the member is absent from more than half of the
4-1 regularly scheduled board meetings that the member is eligible to
4-2 attend during a calendar year without an excuse approved by a
4-3 majority vote of the board; and
4-4 (2) the other members of the board unanimously vote to
4-5 remove that member.
4-6 (b) Not later than 30 days after a vote to remove a member
4-7 under Subsection (a), that member may file a written appeal for
4-8 reinstatement to the commissioners court of the county in which a
4-9 single-county district is located or, if the district is located in
4-10 more than one county, the commissioners court of the county where
4-11 the member resides. The court may reinstate the member if it finds
4-12 the removal unwarranted after considering:
4-13 (1) a reason for an absence;
4-14 (2) the time and place of a missed meeting;
4-15 (3) the business conducted at a missed meeting; and
4-16 (4) any other factors or circumstances the court
4-17 considers relevant.
4-18 (c) The validity of a board action is not affected because
4-19 it is taken when a ground for removal of a board member exists.
4-20 SECTION 7. Section 794.071, Health and Safety Code, is
4-21 amended to read as follows:
4-22 Sec. 794.071. LIMITATION ON INDEBTEDNESS. Except as
4-23 provided by Sections 794.072, 794.076-794.081, and 794.083, a
4-24 district may not contract for an amount of indebtedness in any one
4-25 year that is in excess of the funds then on hand and [or] that may
4-26 be paid from current revenues for the year.
4-27 SECTION 8. Section 794.074(i), Health and Safety Code, is
5-1 amended to read as follows:
5-2 (i) This section does not apply to:
5-3 (1) [to] the purchase or lease of real property;
5-4 (2) [to] an item or service that the board determines
5-5 can be obtained from only one source; [or]
5-6 (3) a contract for fire extinguishment and suppression
5-7 service, emergency rescue service, or ambulance service; or
5-8 (4) an emergency expenditure.
5-9 SECTION 9. (a) The changes in law made by this Act apply
5-10 only to a request for competitive bids made by a board of fire
5-11 commissioners on or after the effective date of this Act.
5-12 (b) A request for competitive bids by a board made before
5-13 the effective date of this Act is covered by the law in effect when
5-14 the board submitted the request for competitive bids, and the
5-15 former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
5-16 SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
5-17 SECTION 11. The importance of this legislation and the
5-18 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-19 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-20 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-21 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.