BILL ANALYSIS |
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C.S.S.B. 766 |
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By: Hegar |
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Licensing & Administrative Procedures |
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Committee Report (Substituted) |
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BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Interested parties contend that there is no greater, longer-running expression of volunteerism in United States history than that of the volunteer fire service, which still saves taxpayers billions of dollars in avoided losses each year. Recent reports indicate that almost three-fourths of the nation's firefighters are volunteers and that two-thirds of all fire departments are volunteer. In Texas, there are over 800 volunteer fire departments and nearly 200 departments that combine volunteer and professional firefighters. Moreover, volunteers comprise approximately 75 percent of the state's overall fire service.
The parties contend that, as the population of the state continues to grow, along with the threat of wildfires, the need for volunteer firefighters also grows. However, there are concerns that, despite this increasing demand, funding for emergency services continues to decline while the threat of increased governmental regulation continues to rise and that this trend is particularly burdensome for volunteers. C.S.S.B. 766 seeks to slow the decline in the number of volunteer firefighters willing to serve Texas by prohibiting certain governmental regulation of volunteer firefighters and members of industrial emergency response teams.
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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.S.B. 766 amends the Government Code to prohibit a state agency from requiring a volunteer firefighter to obtain a license or certification in order to be a volunteer firefighter or requiring a member of an industrial emergency response team to obtain a license or certification in order to be a member of an industrial emergency response team.
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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.S.B. 766 may differ from the engrossed version in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and highlighted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the engrossed and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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