By: Coleman (Senate Sponsor - Miles) H.B. No. 1240
         (In the Senate - Received from the House April 26, 2021;
  May 6, 2021, read first time and referred to Committee on Local
  Government; May 19, 2021, reported adversely, with favorable
  Committee Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 9, Nays 0;
  May 19, 2021, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
  COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 1240 By:  Eckhardt
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the offense of failure to comply with an order from a
  fire marshal and the authority of certain county employees to issue
  citations for certain violations; changing a criminal penalty.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 352.022, Local Government Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 352.022.  PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH ORDER. (a)
  A person [An owner or occupant] who is subject to an order issued
  under Section 352.016 commits an offense if that person fails to
  comply with the order. Each refusal to comply is a separate
  offense.
         (b)  Except as provided by Subsection (c), (d), or (e), an
  [The] offense under this section is a Class C [B] misdemeanor.
         (c)  An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor
  if the commission of the offense results in bodily injury or death.
         (d)  Unless Subsection (c) applies, if it is shown on the
  trial of the offense that the defendant has been previously
  convicted under this section, the offense is a Class B misdemeanor.
         (e)  If [unless] it is shown on the trial of the offense that
  the defendant has been previously convicted two or more times under
  this section, [in which event] the offense is a state jail felony.
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter B, Chapter 352, Local Government
  Code, is amended by adding Section 352.0221 to read as follows:
         Sec. 352.0221.  AUTHORITY OF CERTAIN COUNTY EMPLOYEES TO
  ISSUE CITATION. (a)  This section applies only to:
               (1)  a county with a population of 3.3 million or more;
  and
               (2)  a county with a population of 550,000 or more
  adjacent to a county with a population of 3.3 million or more.
         (b)  The commissioners court of a county to which this
  section applies may grant the authority to issue a citation under
  this section to a county employee who:
               (1)  is certified by the Texas Commission on Fire
  Protection as a fire inspector;
               (2)  conducts fire or life safety inspections under
  Section 352.016; and
               (3)  is not a peace officer.
         (c)  The employee may issue a citation in the unincorporated
  area of the county only for:
               (1)  an offense under Section 352.022; or
               (2)  a violation of an order relating to fire or life
  safety issued by the commissioners court that is reasonably
  necessary to protect public safety and welfare.
         (d)  A citation issued under this section must state: 
               (1)  the name of the person cited;
               (2)  the violation charged; and
               (3)  the time and place the person is required to appear
  in court.
         (e)  This section does not authorize the employee to arrest a
  person.
         (f)  If a person who receives a citation under this section
  fails to appear in court on the return date of the citation, the
  court may issue a warrant for the person's arrest for the violation
  described in the citation.
         SECTION 3.  Section 352.022, Local Government Code, as
  amended by this Act, applies only to an offense committed on or
  after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed before
  the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on
  the date the offense was committed, and the former law is continued
  in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an
  offense was committed before the effective date of this Act if any
  element of the offense was committed before that date.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
 
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