BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

Senate Research Center                                                                                               C.S.S.B. 1948

80R19598 EJI-F                                                                                                                    By: Ellis

                                                                                                               Intergovernmental Relations

                                                                                                                                            5/15/2007

                                                                                                        Committee Report (Substituted)

 

 

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.

 

C.S.S.B. 1948 authorizes a fire department to compensate, reimburse, or provide benefits in a calendar year to a person who has been designated as an auxiliary fire fighter under Section 419.0322(b) in an amount not to exceed twice the amount received by a person whose salary is equal to the federal minimum wage and who works 2,080 hours in the calendar year if the fire department has fewer than five full-time fire fighters and is located in a certain municipality.

 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

 

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

 

SECTION 1.  Amends Subchapter B, Chapter 419, Government Code, by adding Section 419.0323, as follows:

 

Sec. 419.0323.  COMPENSATION OF AUXILIARY FIRE FIGHTERS IN CERTAIN DEPARTMENTS.  Authorizes a fire department to compensate, reimburse, or provide benefits in a calendar year to a person who has been designated as an auxiliary fire fighter under Section 419.0322(b) in an amount not to exceed twice the amount received by a person whose salary is equal to the federal minimum wage and who works 2,080 hours in the calendar year if the fire department has fewer than five full-time fire fighters and is located in a certain municipality, notwithstanding Section 419.0322(c) or any other law.

 

SECTION 2.  Effective date: September 1, 2007.