81R8037 KJM-F

By: Patrick, Dan S.B. No. 1839

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the definition of an authorized emergency vehicle.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 541.201(1), Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

(1) "Authorized emergency vehicle" means:

(A) a fire department or police vehicle;

(B) a public or private ambulance operated by a person who has been issued a license by the Texas Department of Health;

(C) a municipal department or public service corporation emergency vehicle that has been designated or authorized by the governing body of a municipality;

(D) a private vehicle of a volunteer firefighter or a certified emergency medical services employee or volunteer when responding to a fire alarm or medical emergency;

(E) an industrial emergency response vehicle, including an industrial ambulance, when responding to an emergency, but only if the vehicle is operated in compliance with criteria in effect September 1, 1989, and established by the predecessor of the Texas Industrial Emergency Services Board of the State Firemen's and Fire Marshals' Association of Texas; [or]

(F) a vehicle of a blood bank or tissue bank, accredited or approved under the laws of this state or the United States, when making emergency deliveries of blood, drugs, medicines, or organs; or

(G) a private vehicle of a person employed by a district attorney's office, county attorney's office, or medical examiner's office, for which the person has received written authority from that office to use to respond to an emergency related to that office.

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2009.