BILL ANALYSIS
By: Howard
Committee Report (Substituted)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Smaller growing Texas cities face difficulties when transitioning from volunteer to professional fire departments. Such cities often do not have the demand and cannot afford the full pay and benefits required for full-time firefighters. The current state law that prohibits part-time firefighters from working more than 500 hours a year exacerbates this problem by discouraging otherwise capable firefighters from working for smaller cities.
C.S.H.B. 3057 authorizes part-time fire fighters employed by departments in cities with a population under 30,000, who employee fewer than 10 full-time firefighters to work up to 750 hours a year, excluding training hours.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 3057 amends Section 419.0321(e), Government Code, to authorize a part-time firefighter to work 750 hours a year, excluding training hours, in a municipality employing less than 10 full-time firefighters with a population of less than 30,000 that has not adopted Chapter 143, Local Government Code or is not covered by collective bargaining.
EFFECTIVE DATE
This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.
COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE
The original version of the bill authorized a fire fighter to work no more than 1,000 hours a year in a municipality of less than 30,000 in population.