85R7769 SMT-D
 
  By: Isaac H.B. No. 1510
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the transfer of certain functions related to emergency
  services districts from the Department of Agriculture to the
  Department of State Health Services and the Texas Commission on
  Fire Protection.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         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.
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter B, Chapter 12, Health and Safety
  Code, is amended by adding Section 12.021 to read as follows:
         Sec. 12.021.  EMERGENCY SERVICES DISTRICT PROGRAM. The
  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.
         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.
         SECTION 4.  Section 487.061, Government Code, is repealed.
         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.
         SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.