BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	H.B. 5424
	By: Bonnen; Leo Wilson (Middleton)
	Local Government
	5/14/2025
	Engrossed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

Volunteer fire departments are essential to many communities across our state. Eighty-two percent of the fire departments in Texas are either fully or mostly volunteer. This means a significant number of Texas citizens are being served by volunteer firefighters.

H.B. 5424 will amend current law to allow volunteer firefighters to be paid up to 20 percent of what full-time firefighters in adjacent areas are paid.

H.B. 5424 amends current law relating to volunteer firefighter compensation limits.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Section 419.0322(c), Government Code, as follows:

(c) Prohibits a fire department, in a calendar year, from compensating, reimbursing, or providing benefits to an individual designated as a volunteer or auxiliary firefighter that exceeds 20 percent of the highest total compensation paid to full-time fire protection personnel by a local government in the county in which the department is located or if the county does not have a local government that pays compensation to full-time fire protection personnel, in an adjacent county to the county in which the department is located.

Deletes existing text prohibiting a fire department from compensating, reimbursing, or providing benefits to a person the department has designated as a volunteer or other auxiliary fire fighter to the extent that the person would be considered fully paid fire protection personnel.

SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 2026.