BILL ANALYSIS |
C.S.H.B. 2516 |
By: Springer |
County Affairs |
Committee Report (Substituted) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Current law does not prescribe the distribution and use of revenue from fines collected for violations of outdoor burning regulations in counties with a volunteer fire department. Interested parties contend that, because these fines were collected with the purpose of preventing fire outbreaks, it is appropriate that the funds be allocated for the use of the volunteer fire department. C.S.H.B. 2516 seeks to make it easier for such counties to fund volunteer fire departments using fine revenue from violations relating to outdoor burning violations.
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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. 2516 amends the Local Government Code to authorize the commissioners court of a county that has one or more fire departments located within the county by order to authorize a fine collected by the county under statutory provisions regulating outdoor burning to be deposited to the credit of an account in the county's general fund to be distributed only to the volunteer fire departments. The bill requires the commissioners court's order to regulate the distribution to and use of the funds by a volunteer fire department and requires funds distributed under the bill's provisions to be used for a public purpose.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2013.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 2516 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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