By: Nichols, Hegar	S.B. No. 646
	(In the Senate - Filed February 16, 2011; February 28, 2011,
	read first time and referred to Committee on Government
	Organization; March 28, 2011, reported adversely, with favorable
	Committee Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 6, Nays 0;
	March 28, 2011, sent to printer.)
	COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 646	By:  Hegar

	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.  Subdivision (2), Section 88.1015, 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.  Subsections (b) and (c), Section 88.118,
	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.  Subsections (a), (c), and (d), Section 88.119,
	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:
	(1)  compensate a volunteer firefighter or a volunteer
	fire department for labor and expenses related to the assistance
	provided by the firefighter or department under Subsection (b); and
	(2)  reimburse a volunteer fire department for
	equipment provided by the department under Subsection (b).
	(d)  The director shall determine:
	(1)  the rate at which a volunteer firefighter or a
	volunteer fire department may be compensated or reimbursed under
	this section;
	(2)  the types of labor and expenses for which a
	volunteer firefighter or a volunteer fire department may be
	compensated under this section;
	(3)  the types of equipment for which a volunteer fire
	department may be reimbursed under this section; and
	(4)  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.
	(e)  A volunteer firefighter who receives compensation under
	this section is not subject to the certification requirements of
	Subchapter B, Chapter 419, Government Code.
	(f)  The Texas Forest Service may request reimbursement from
	the legislature for a payment made to a volunteer firefighter or a
	volunteer fire department under this section.
	(g)  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) and (c-2) 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.
	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.
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