BILL ANALYSIS |
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C.S.H.B. 1768 |
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By: Canales |
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International Trade & Intergovernmental Affairs |
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Committee Report (Substituted) |
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BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Interested parties note that, in recent years, fire fighters in rural areas of the state have faced increasing problems with broken fire hydrants, resulting in significant property loss and a potential risk to human life. Recent legislation was enacted to help fire fighters identify nonfunctioning hydrants by requiring the owners of hydrants to paint the hydrants black if they are nonfunctioning or otherwise unavailable for fire suppression services. It is reported that after passage of this legislation some water utilities began painting all of their hydrants black out of concern that the statute might subject them to lawsuits. C.S.H.B. 1768 seeks to address this problem in certain counties and municipalities by setting out the conditions under which a hydrant is considered unavailable, exempting a water utility from liability for a hydrant's inability to provide adequate water supply in a fire emergency, and implementing a color coding system for hydrants that are used only to fill the tanks of fire trucks.
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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.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 1768 amends the Health and Safety Code to revise provisions relating to an identification requirement for a device with the appearance of a fire hydrant that is nonfunctioning or unavailable for use in a fire emergency to make such requirement applicable only to a hydrant in a county, or a municipality in a county, that borders the United Mexican States or is adjacent to a county that borders the United Mexican States; has a population of at least 400,000 or has a population of at least 20,000 and is adjacent to a county that has a population of at least 400,000; and is within 200 miles of the Gulf of Mexico. The bill defines "hydrant" as a fire hydrant or as a metal flush valve that has the appearance of a fire hydrant and is located in a place that an entity responsible for providing fire suppression services in a fire emergency would expect a fire hydrant to typically be located.
C.S.H.B. 1768 replaces a requirement that the owner of an applicable device paint the device black with a requirement that each water utility responsible for a hydrant paint all or the cap of the hydrant white if the hydrant is available to be used only to fill a water tank on a fire truck used for fire suppression services and black if the hydrant is unavailable for use by the entity providing fire suppression services in a fire emergency. The bill establishes the conditions under which a hydrant is unavailable for such use as it relates to painting the hydrant black. The bill replaces a provision authorizing the owner of a temporarily nonfunctioning or unavailable device to place a black tarp over the device instead of painting it black for a period not to exceed seven days with a provision authorizing a water utility to place a black tarp over a hydrant or use another means to conceal the hydrant instead of painting all or the cap of the hydrant black as required if the hydrant is temporarily unavailable for use in a fire emergency for a period not to exceed 45 days. The bill specifies the actions to be taken by the water utility after such period. The bill authorizes a water utility that paints all or the cap of a hydrant black to also ensure by any reasonable means that the hydrant is identifiable in low-light conditions, including by installing reflectors.
C.S.H.B. 1768 establishes that a hydrant is considered unavailable for use by an entity responsible for providing fire suppression services in a fire emergency if the water utility is not obligated by ordinance, regulation, or contract to provide water for fire suppression services and elects not to provide water for those services. The bill removes language considering an applicable device to be nonfunctioning if the device pumps less than 250 gallons of water per minute.
C.S.H.B. 1768 revises the exemption from the identification requirement for certain hydrants to include an area within the jurisdiction of a governmental entity that maintains its own system for color coding, in addition to labeling, its hydrants and any water utility that has entered into a contract with a municipality or volunteer fire department to provide a water supply for fire suppression services if the contract specifies a different system for labeling or color coding hydrants. The bill sets out an example of such a system. The bill establishes that the fact that all or the cap of a hydrant for which a water utility is responsible is not painted black or concealed as described by the bill does not constitute a guarantee by the water utility that the hydrant will deliver a certain amount of water flow at all times. The bill exempts a water utility from liability for a hydrant's inability to provide adequate water supply in a fire emergency.
C.S.H.B. 1768 requires each water utility responsible for hydrants under the bill's provisions to ensure that its hydrants comply with the requirements imposed by such provisions not later than January 1, 2014.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2013.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 1768 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and highlighted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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