HBA-JRA H.B. 2403 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2403 By: Salinas Agriculture & Livestock 3/16/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, Texas has approximately 1,800 volunteer fire departments. Most of these departments lack a permanent, consistent source of funding; their primary sources of support are community fund-raisers and donations. Few volunteer departments have the resources for intensive training or significant equipment purchases. Most incorporated cities have banned the sale and use of fireworks within their city limits, forcing the sale and use of fireworks into unincorporated, largely rural areas of the state. The careless use of fireworks is often cited by fire industry experts as a leading cause of rural brush and grassland fires. This situation is compounded by the fact that the times during which fireworks are typically sold to the public, the weeks before Independence Day, Christmas, and New Year's Day, are traditionally some of the driest times of the year. H.B. 2403 establishes the Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program, to be administered by the Texas Forest Service, to provide financial assistance to volunteer fire departments to buy equipment and train personnel. This bill requires the imposition of a two percent rural fire protection fee on each retail sale of fireworks, to be placed in the Statewide Fire Contingency Account and used only for funding this program. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the Texas Forest Service in SECTION 1 (Section 88.1061, Education Code) of this bill. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter B, Chapter 88, Education Code, as follows: Sec. 88.1061. RURAL VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. (a) Defines "account," "program," "service," and "volunteer fire department" in this section. (b) Requires the Texas Forest Service (service) to administer the volunteer fire department assistance program established under this section to assist rural volunteer fire departments in paying for equipment and training of personnel. Authorizes the service to adopt rules necessary to administer the program. (c) Authorizes the service to employ staff to administer the program. (d) Requires the director of the Texas Forest Service (director), in consultation with the advisory committee, to determine reasonable criteria and qualifications for the distribution of grants from the account, and establish a procedure for reporting and processing requests for assistance from the account. (e) Requires the director to prepare an annual written report on the activity, status, and effectiveness of the fund and to submit the report to the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the Comptroller of Public Accounts (comptroller) by September 1 of each year. (f) Prohibits any assistance or benefits provided under this subchapter to a volunteer fire department or firefighter who is a member of such from being considered compensation and prohibits a firefighter receiving assistance under this subchapter from being considered to be in the paid service of any governing body. (g) Requires the director to establish an advisory committee to advise the director in regard to the administration of the program. Sets forth the composition of the advisory committee. (h) Requires a request for assistance from the fund to be submitted to the director. (i) Requires the director to determine whether to provide a grant and the amount of the grant to be provided, if any, based on the criteria developed in consultation with the advisory committee. Requires a written copy of the decision to be sent to the requestor and each member of the advisory committee. Sec. 88.1062. RURAL FIRE PROTECTION FEE. (a) Defines "fireworks" in this chapter. (b) Provides that a fee of two percent of the sale price is imposed on each sale at retail of fireworks. (c) Provides that this fee is in addition to and is imposed only if the limited sales, excise, and use tax applies to the sale. (d) Sets forth the items to which are not subject to the fireworks fee. (e) Provides that the fireworks fee is administered, imposed, collected, and enforced in the same manner as the limited sales, excise, and use tax and the provisions of Chapter 151 (Limited Sales, Excise, and Use Tax), Tax Code, that are applicable to the sales tax imposed under Subchapter C (Imposition and Collection of Sales Tax), Chapter 151, Tax Code, apply to the fireworks fee. (f) Provides that a change in law relating to the taxation of the sale of fireworks under Chapter 151 also applies to the fireworks fee. (g) Requires the comptroller to allocate the revenue from the fireworks fee, other than penalties and interest, to the statewide fire contingency account. SECTION 2. Amends Section 88.117, Education Code, to specify that revenue from the rural fire protection fee imposed by Section 88.1062 helps fund the statewide fire contingency account and may be used only for the assistance of rural volunteer fire department in paying for equipment and training of personnel. Deletes language relating to an unobligated amount being transferred into the undedicated portion of the general revenue fund. Makes conforming changes. SECTION 3. (a) Provides that this Act takes effect July 1, 1999, if this Act receives the votes required by Section 39 (Time of Taking Effect of Laws; Emergencies; Entry on Journal), Article III, Texas Constitution, for an effective date before the 91st day after the last day of the legislative session. (b) Provides that this Act takes effect October 1, 1999, if this Act does not receive the votes required by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution, for an effective date before the 91st day after the last day of the legislative session. (c) Prohibits the director from granting a request for assistance under Section 88.1061, Education Code, as added by this Act, before September 1, 2000. SECTION 4. Emergency clause.