BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1294

By: Davis, Sarah

County Affairs

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

It has been suggested that emergency management training should be made mandatory for a broader population of public employees and volunteers to increase overall disaster preparedness at the state and local levels. C.S.H.B. 1294 seeks to provide for this training requirement expansion.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

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.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1294 amends the Government Code to subject each officer, employee, or paid volunteer of the state or of a county or incorporated city who has management or supervisory responsibilities and whose position description, job duties, or assignment includes emergency management responsibilities or who plays a role in emergency preparedness, response, or recovery to certain emergency management training requirements under the Texas Disaster Act of 1975. The bill establishes that a person is considered a paid volunteer for such purposes only if the person performs duties at an executive or high-ranking management level. The bill requires each person required to complete the training to do so not later than March 1, 2020.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2019.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 1294 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute limits the volunteers to whom the bill's provisions apply to paid volunteers and includes a provision establishing that a person is considered a paid volunteer only if the person performs duties at an executive or high-ranking management level.