HBA-KMH H.B. 2402 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2402 By: Salinas Criminal Jurisprudence 4/19/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In 1997, fire departments reported a total of 82,626 fires at a cost of more than $381,700,000 to communities in Texas. According to the Texas State Fire Marshall's Office, over 42,000 fires were suspected to have been set deliberately or maliciously. Cases of arson resulted in 77 deaths and approximately 600 injuries in Texas. In addition, fires resulting from arson cost Texans more than $163,000,000 in lost or damaged property. H.B. 2402 authorizes public fire suppression entities to recover the cost of responding to fires set intentionally or that were the result of arson. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Subtitle C, Title 9, Health and Safety Code, by adding Chapter 796, as follows: CHAPTER 796. FIRE PROTECTION COSTS Sec. 796.001. ACTIONS TO RECOVER COSTS OF FIRE PROTECTION. (a) Authorizes a county, state agency, or other public fire suppression entity to recover from a person the reasonable expense incurred by the fire suppression entity in furnishing fire protection to control or extinguish a fire set intentionally or that were the result of arson. (b) Authorizes a court to impose reparations to the public fire suppression entity which responded to an act described under this section on a defendant if proven in a criminal trial that the defendant caused the response. Provides for enforcement of such a judgment. (c) Provides that such a judgment is a debt of the person to the public fire suppression entity and authorizes the public fire suppression entity to collect the debt in the same manner as an express or implied contractual obligation. Sec. 796.002. AMOUNT AND LIMIT OF LIABILITY. Prohibits a judgment under this chapter from exceeding $5,000 for a particular incident and must be a reasonable expense of a response. Provides that for the purposes of this chapter a reasonable expense for a response includes consequential damages including wages of the fire suppression personnel who participated in the response. Sec. 796.003. STATEMENT OF EXPENSE. Provides that a statement of the expense of a public fire suppression entity must contain an itemized accounting of the components of the total charge. Sec. 796.004. JURISDICTION AND VENUE. Provides that jurisdiction and venue for an action under this chapter is in the district court, county court at law, or justice court of the area where the fire occurred. SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1999. Makes application of this Act prospective. SECTION 3. Emergency clause.