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SECTION 1. Section 419.904,
Government Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 419.904. [TECHNICAL]
ASSISTANCE TO EMERGENCY SERVICES DISTRICTS.
The commission may [on
request] provide:
(1) to emergency services
districts technical assistance on request [to emergency
services districts], including advice on the efficient and effective
provision of fire protection within a district;
(2) to fire departments
in rural areas information relating to assistance programs offered to rural
volunteer firefighters, including the federal Staffing for Adequate Fire
and Emergency Response grant program to help fire departments increase
staffing and deployment capabilities; and
(3) to rural homeowners
information relating to the benefits of volunteer fire departments, including
a reduction in homeowners insurance risk ratings, lower homeowners
insurance rates, and better fire protection.
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No
equivalent provision. (But see SECTION 1 below.)
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No
equivalent provision. (But see SECTION 1 above and SECTION 4
below.)
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SECTION 1. Section 487.061,
Government Code, is transferred to Subchapter C, Chapter 418, Government
Code, redesignated as Section 418.053, Government Code, and amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 418.053 [487.061].
EMERGENCY SERVICES DISTRICT PROGRAM. (a) The division [department]
shall serve as a resource to provide interested rural communities with:
(1) general information
about emergency services districts; and
(2) information and training
related to the establishment of an emergency services district.
(b) The division [department]
may:
(1) provide to fire
departments in rural areas information relating to assistance programs
offered to rural volunteer firefighters, including the federal Staffing for
Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant program to help fire departments
increase staffing and deployment capabilities; and
(2) provide to rural
homeowners information relating to the benefits of volunteer fire
departments, including a reduction in homeowners insurance risk ratings,
lower homeowners insurance rates, and better fire protection.
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SECTION 3. Sections
775.083(a), (b), and (c), Health and Safety Code, are amended to read as
follows:
(a) On or before January 1
of each year, a district shall file with the [Texas]
Department of State Health Services [Rural Affairs] an
annual report that includes the following:
(1) the district's name;
(2) the name of each county
in which the district is located;
(3) the district's business
address;
(4) the name, mailing
address, and term of office of each commissioner;
(5) the name, mailing
address, and term of office of the district's general manager, executive
director, and fire chief;
(6) the name of each legal
counsel or other consultant for the district; and
(7) the district's annual
budget and tax rate for the preceding fiscal year.
(b) The [Texas] Department of State Health Services [Rural
Affairs] may not charge a fee for filing the report.
(c) The [Texas] Department of State Health Services [Rural
Affairs] shall develop and maintain an Internet-based system
that enables:
(1) a district to securely
file the report and update the district's information; and
(2) the public to view, in a
searchable format, the reports filed by districts under this section.
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SECTION 2. Sections
775.083(a), (b), and (c), Health and Safety Code, are amended to read as
follows:
(a) On or before January 1
of each year, a district shall file with the Texas
Division of Emergency Management [Department of Rural Affairs]
an annual report that includes the following:
(1) the district's name;
(2) the name of each county
in which the district is located;
(3) the district's business
address;
(4) the name, mailing
address, and term of office of each commissioner;
(5) the name, mailing
address, and term of office of the district's general manager, executive
director, and fire chief;
(6) the name of each legal
counsel or other consultant for the district; and
(7) the district's annual
budget and tax rate for the preceding fiscal year.
(b) The Texas Division of Emergency Management [Department
of Rural Affairs] may not charge a fee for filing the report.
(c) The Texas Division of Emergency Management [Department
of Rural Affairs] shall develop and maintain an Internet-based
system that enables:
(1) a district to securely
file the report and update the district's information; and
(2) the public to view, in a
searchable format, the reports filed by districts under this section.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 3. Not later than January
1, 2018, the following are transferred from the Department of Agriculture
to the Texas Division of Emergency Management:
(1) the powers, duties,
functions, programs, and activities of the Department of Agriculture
relating to the duties described by Section 418.053, Government Code, as
transferred, redesignated, and amended by this Act;
(2) any obligations and
contracts of the Department of Agriculture that are directly related to
implementing a power, duty, function, program, or activity described by
Subdivision (1) of this section; and
(3) all property and records
in the custody of the Department of Agriculture that are related to a
power, duty, function, program, or activity described by Subdivision (1) of
this section and all funds appropriated by the legislature for that power,
duty, function, program, or activity.
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SECTION 5. The change in law
made by this Act to Section 775.083, Health and Safety Code, applies only
to an annual report due on or after January 1, 2019. An annual report due before
January 1, 2019, is governed by the law as it existed immediately before
the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
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SECTION 4. Same as introduced
version.
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