Bill Text: TX SB646 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Enrolled

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

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 3)

Status: (Passed) 2011-05-12 - Effective on 9/1/11 [SB646 Detail]

Download: Texas-2011-SB646-Enrolled.html

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S.B. No. 646

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. Section 88.103, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 88.103. ENFORCEMENT; APPOINTMENT OF PEACE OFFICERS.
The director may appoint not to exceed 25 employees of the Texas
Forest Service who are certified by the Commission on Law
Enforcement Officer Standards and Education as qualified to be
peace officers to serve as peace officers under the [his] direction
of the director in executing the enforcement duties of that agency.
The appointments must be approved by the board which shall
commission the appointees as peace officers. Any officer
commissioned under this section is vested with all the powers,
privileges, and immunities of peace officers in the performance of
the officer's [his] duties. The officer shall take the oath
required of peace officers.
SECTION 5. Section 88.105, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 88.105. COOPERATION WITH PERSONS AND AGENCIES. On
request, under the sanction of the board, and whenever the director
[he] deems it essential to the best interests of the people of the
state, the director shall cooperate with counties, towns,
corporations, or individuals in preparing plans for the protection,
management, and replacement of trees, woodlots, and timber tracts,
under an agreement that the parties obtaining the assistance pay at
least the field expenses of the persons [men] employed in preparing
the plans. The board may cooperate with the National Forest Service
under terms it deems desirable.
SECTION 6. Subsection (a), Section 88.106, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) The director, under the supervision of the board, may
cooperate on forestry projects with the National Forest Service and
other federal agencies. Subject[; and, subject] to the
authorization of the board, the director [he] may execute
agreements relating to forest protection projects in cooperation
with federal agencies and timberland owners and may also execute
agreements with timberland owners involving supervision of forest
protection and forest development projects when the projects are
developed with the aid of loans from a federal agency and when the
supervision by the state is required by federal statute or is deemed
necessary by the federal agency.
SECTION 7. 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 8. 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 9. 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 10. 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 11. 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 12. 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 13. 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 14. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 646 passed the Senate on
March 30, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0; and that
the Senate concurred in House amendment on May 2, 2011, by the
following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 646 passed the House, with
amendment, on April 27, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 140,
Nays 0, one present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor