BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

                                                                                                                                            S.B. 1440

                                                                                                                                            By: Hegar

                                                                                                                                    County Affairs

                                                                                                       Committee Report (Unamended)

 

 

 

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

 

Recruitment and retention of individuals for volunteer fire departments is an ongoing challenge that poses a public safety issue in areas all across rural Texas. 

 

S.B. 1440 requires the Office of Rural Community Affairs (office) to work with interested persons to assist volunteer fire departments by providing information and identifying practices and techniques that have been proven successful in other departments.  The bill also authorizes the office to provide rural homeowners with information relating to the benefits of volunteer fire departments, including a reduction in homeowner insurance risk ratings, lower homeowners  insurance rates, and better fire protection. 

 

 

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

 

SECTION 1.  Amend Section 487.051, Government Code, as follows:

 

Sec.  487.051.  POWERS AND DUTIES.  Requires the Office of Rural Community Affairs to work with interested persons to assist volunteer fire departments and emergency services districts in rural areas.

 

SECTION 2.  Amends Section 487.060, Government Code, as added by Chapter 634, Acts of the 79th Legislature, Regular Session, 2005, as follows:

 

Sec.  487.060.  EMERGENCY SERVICES DISTRICT PROGRAM.  (a) Creates this subsection from existing text.

 

(b) Authorizes the program under this section to assist fire departments in rural areas with the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters, provide to fire departments in rural areas information relating to assistance programs offered to rural volunteer firefighters, including the federal Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant program to help fire departments increase staffing and deployment capabilities, and provide to rural homeowners information relating to the benefits of volunteer fire departments, including a reduction in homeowners insurance risk ratings, lower homeowners insurance rates, and better fire protection.

 

SECTION 3.  Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2007

 

 

EFFECTIVE DATE

 

Upon passage, or, if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2007.