HBA-JEK H.B. 1508 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1508
By: Yarbrough
Urban Affairs
3/5/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current law, a firefighter in a city with a population of at least
1.5 million that has adopted the provisions for municipal civil service
may be entitled to educational incentive pay for completing a degree in
fire science or credit toward such a degree.  House Bill 1508 requires the
governing body of such a municipality to authorize educational incentive
pay in specified amounts only to firefighters who have undergraduate or
graduate college degrees in any field. 

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. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 1508 amends the Local Government Code to require the governing
body of a municipality of 1.5 million or more to authorize educational
incentive pay to each firefighter who has been or is awarded one of the
following degrees by an accredited college or university: 

 _$100 biweekly for a bachelor's degree;

 _$200 biweekly for a master's degree; and

 _$300 biweekly for a doctorate or doctor of jurisprudence degree.

The bill removes the provision authorizing the governing body of a
municipality to authorize educational incentive pay for each firefighter
within each classification who has successfully completed courses at an
accredited college or university that are applicable toward a degree in
fire science. 

House Bill 1508 removes the limitation on the definition of an "accredited
college or university" that specifies that the college or university must
be approved or certified by the Texas Commission on Fire Protection
Personnel Standards and Education or the Texas Commission on Law
Enforcement Officer Standards and Education. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.