BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Research Center S.B. 1948
By: Ellis
AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
Under current law, a part-time fire protection employee is prohibited from working more than 500 hours a year for an employing fire department in duties related to fire suppression. However, this ceiling is too restrictive to meet the fire protection needs in some home-rule cities. The City of Stafford is a small home-rule city in Fort Bend County, adjacent to the border of Harris County, and within Senate District 13. As a small city, Stafford depends on part-time fire protection employees, but has relatively large fire protection needs for a small city due to being a densely developed area. In order meet its fire protection needs, Stafford needs more flexibility in how it handles the schedules of its part-time fire protection employees.
As proposed, S.B. 1948 prohibits a part-time fire protection employee from working in duties related to fire suppression more than 1,000 scheduled hours a year for an employing fire department with fewer than five full-time firefighters in a municipality that assesses no city property tax.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Section 419.0321(e), Government Code, to prohibit a part-time fire protection employee from working in duties related to fire suppression more than 1,000 scheduled hours a year for an employing fire department with fewer than five full-time firefighters in a municipality that assesses no city property tax. Makes conforming and nonsubstantive changes.
SECTION 2. Effective date: September 14, 2007.