Bill Text: TX HB2308 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to the continuation and functions of the Texas Forest Service.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-03-22 - Left pending in committee [HB2308 Detail]

Download: Texas-2011-HB2308-Introduced.html

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82R4356 TRH-D
By: Cook H.B. No. 2308

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the continuation and functions of the Texas Forest
Service.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 88.1015(2), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(2) "Wildfire" means any fire occurring on wildland or
in a place where urban areas and rural areas meet. The term does not
include [except] a fire that constitutes controlled burning within
the meaning of Section 28.01, Penal Code.
SECTION 2. Section 88.1016, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 88.1016. SUNSET PROVISION. The Texas Forest Service
is subject to Chapter 325, Government Code (Texas Sunset
Act). Unless continued in existence as provided by that chapter,
the Texas Forest Service is abolished September 1, 2023 [2011].
SECTION 3. Section 88.102, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 88.102. GENERAL DUTIES. Under the general supervision
of the board, the director shall:
(1) assume direction of all forest interests and all
matters pertaining to forestry within the jurisdiction of this
state;
(2) subject to the approval and confirmation of the
board, appoint the assistants and employees necessary in executing
the director's duties [of his office] and the purposes of the board,
their compensation to be fixed by the board;
(3) take any action deemed necessary by the board to
prevent and extinguish wildfires [forest fires];
(4) enforce all laws pertaining to the protection of
forests and woodlands and prosecute violations of those laws;
(5) collect data relating to forest conditions; and
(6) prepare for the board an annual report stating the
progress and condition of state forestry work and recommending
plans for improving the state system of forest protection,
management, and replacement.
SECTION 4. Sections 88.118(b) and (c), Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(b) The center may [shall] provide continuous dispatching
services for wildfire [wildland fire] control [in the six Texas
Forest Service dispatch areas in eastern Texas].
(c) The center shall provide a central location for
statewide:
(1) wildfire monitoring;
(2) coordination of the response to each major or
potentially major wildfire [wildland fire] in the state, [including
fires in places where urban areas and rural areas meet,] with the
coordination function including a direct liaison with the state
emergency operating center; and
(3) assistance to fire-fighting forces in obtaining
the transfer of needed and available resources.
SECTION 5. Sections 88.119(a), (c), and (d), Education
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The director shall divide the state into six wildfire
control regions to coordinate wildfire [fire] control [in rural
areas and in places where rural areas and urban areas meet]. The
boundaries of the regions must be the same as existing Department of
Public Safety regions that include state disaster district
boundaries to the extent that the director determines that the same
boundaries are practical.
(c) Each regional wildfire coordinator shall, with respect
to the coordinator's region:
(1) train, prepare, and coordinate fire fighters to
respond to wildfire incidents locally, regionally, and statewide;
(2) inform the statewide coordination center of
regional wildfire loads and of additional resources that may be
required to handle a fire load;
(3) communicate as necessary with appropriate federal
officials;
(4) assist and promote the development of mutual aid
agreements among fire-fighting forces;
(5) develop wildfire strike teams and overhead strike
teams;
(6) coordinate and assess the need for wildfire
[wildland fire] training;
(7) coordinate the rural community fire protection
program;
(8) coordinate response activities through the
appropriate state disaster district; and
(9) evaluate and acquire excess federal equipment and
other property for use in the region.
(d) The director shall acquire and assign to each wildfire
control region a regional command post that has the capability to
assist in the management of wildfires [wildland fires] and other
disasters, including disasters not related to fire. The director
and the director's designees shall determine when the regional
command post may be used by personnel under the control of the
director and when the regional command post may be used by local
fire-fighting forces or other emergency response personnel. Each
regional command post shall include mobile communications
equipment, including a radio repeater and a supply of other
necessary radio equipment.
SECTION 6. Section 88.120, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 88.120. WILDFIRE TRAINING. The Texas Forest Service
is the lead agency of the state for providing and coordinating
training in fighting wildfires [wildland and forest fires].
SECTION 7. Subchapter B, Chapter 88, Education Code, is
amended by adding Sections 88.122, 88.123, 88.124, and 88.125 to
read as follows:
Sec. 88.122. INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAMS. (a) The Texas
Forest Service may support the state's all-hazard response
operations by:
(1) providing incident management training to Texas
Forest Service personnel and other state, local, and volunteer
responders to develop and enhance the all-hazard response
capability of this state; and
(2) maintaining incident management teams to respond
to all-hazard events, including natural, man-made, and planned
events.
(b) An incident management team maintained under this
section may consist of Texas Forest Service employees and other
state, local, and volunteer responders.
(c) The Texas Forest Service may mobilize an incident
management team for a wildfire response operation.
(d) Under the direction of the Texas Division of Emergency
Management, the Texas Forest Service may mobilize an incident
management team to provide incident support for state, disaster
district, or local jurisdiction operations.
Sec. 88.123. VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT ASSISTANCE. (a) In
this section:
(1) "Partially paid fire department" means a fire
department operated by its members, some of whom are volunteers and
some of whom are paid.
(2) "Volunteer fire department" means a fire
department operated by its members, including a partially paid fire
department, that is operated on a not-for-profit basis.
(3) "Volunteer firefighter" means a member of a
volunteer fire department.
(b) The director may establish guidelines within which
local volunteer fire departments may assist the Texas Forest
Service in responding to a wildfire after other local firefighting
resources have been exhausted.
(c) To the extent that resources are available, the Texas
Forest Service may compensate a volunteer firefighter for labor,
equipment, and expenses related to the firefighter's assistance
provided under Subsection (b). The director shall determine:
(1) the rate at which a volunteer firefighter may be
compensated under this section;
(2) the types of labor, equipment, and expenses for
which a volunteer firefighter may be compensated under this
section; and
(3) the minimum qualifications a volunteer
firefighter must meet in order to be compensated under this
section, which may include certification under a program
administered by:
(A) the State Firemen's and Fire Marshals'
Association of Texas; or
(B) the Texas Forest Service according to
standards determined by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group.
(d) A volunteer firefighter who receives compensation under
this section is not subject to the certification requirements of
Subchapter B, Chapter 419, Government Code.
(e) The Texas Forest Service may request reimbursement from
the legislature for compensation paid to a volunteer firefighter
under this section.
(f) The Texas Forest Service may issue National Wildfire
Coordinating Group certification to a volunteer firefighter under
terms determined by the director.
Sec. 88.124. WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN. (a) The Texas
Forest Service shall hold public meetings to develop and regularly
update a wildfire protection plan. At a minimum, the plan must:
(1) define the Texas Forest Service's role in managing
wildfires and supporting local fire department responses, and the
manner in which a community may engage the Texas Forest Service on
issues related to wildfires;
(2) describe in detail the role of volunteer fire
departments in wildfire response, including any role relating to
guidelines established by the director under Section 88.123;
(3) describe the expected revenue, expenditures,
staffing, and future funding necessary to implement and sustain the
plan;
(4) estimate the expected savings resulting from the
plan's implementation;
(5) provide performance measures by which the plan's
success may be evaluated;
(6) describe the Texas Forest Service's role in
conducting prescribed burns and assess statewide efforts to conduct
those burns;
(7) identify, analyze, and make recommendations
regarding wildfire trends and issues; and
(8) address any other matter determined to be relevant
by the director.
(b) The Texas Forest Service shall submit its most recent
wildfire protection plan together with the service's legislative
appropriations request to:
(1) the lieutenant governor;
(2) the speaker of the house of representatives; and
(3) the appropriate standing legislative committees
having jurisdiction over wildfire issues.
Sec. 88.125. COST-EFFECTIVE USE OF RESOURCES. In
determining the appropriate wildfire response, the Texas Forest
Service shall use the most cost-effective combination of volunteer
firefighters, temporary employees of the Texas Forest Service, and
out-of-state personnel and equipment available.
SECTION 8. Section 614.102, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsections (c-1), (c-2), and
(c-3) to read as follows:
(c) The director shall:
(1) determine reasonable criteria and qualifications
for the distribution of money from the volunteer fire department
assistance fund, including:
(A) the frequency, size, and severity of past
wildfires in a volunteer fire department's jurisdiction; and
(B) the potential for loss or damage to property
resulting from future wildfires in the department's jurisdiction;
and
(2) establish a procedure for reporting and processing
requests for money from the fund.
(c-1) In determining criteria and qualifications for the
distribution of money under Subsection (c), the director shall
consider the state's most recent Southern Wildfire Risk Assessment
issued by the Southern Group of State Foresters and other
applicable information.
(c-2) The service may designate a portion of the fund to be
used to assist volunteer fire departments in meeting cost share
requirements for federal grants for which the departments qualify.
The director shall determine a set of needs-based criteria for
determining a department's eligibility to apply for a grant under
this subsection. The criteria must include:
(1) the size of the department;
(2) the department's annual budget and source of
revenue; and
(3) the amount by which the department would benefit
from the grant.
(c-3) The service is not required to take public testimony
at a meeting in which the service makes a decision regarding the
award of individual grants under this subchapter.
SECTION 9. Subchapter G, Chapter 614, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 614.106 to read as follows:
Sec. 614.106. RULES; APPLICABILITY OF ADMINISTRATIVE
PROCEDURE ACT. The director shall adopt rules for the
administration of the program authorized by this chapter in
accordance with Chapter 2001. The rules must ensure public
participation, transparency, and accountability in administration
of the program.
SECTION 10. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act, the director of the Texas Forest Service shall adopt
rules as necessary to implement this Act.
SECTION 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.