HBA-TYH S.B. 1806 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 1806
By: Bernsen
Urban Affairs
5/18/1999
Engrossed



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, municipalities are not required to provide counseling services
to public safety employees who have been exposed to an emergency scene or
incident involving the death or serious injury of another person to whom
the public employee is providing service in the performance of the
employee's official duties.  S.B. 1806 establishes provisions regarding
critical incident stress debriefings of public safety employees. 

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 Chapter 180, Local Government Code, by adding Subsection
180.004, as follows: 

Sec. 180.004.  CRITICAL INCIDENT COUNSELING FOR PUBLIC SAFETY EMPLOYEES.
Defines "public safety employee" and "critical incident stress management."
Requires a municipality, upon request by an affected public safety
employee, to provide counseling services by trained critical incident
stress personnel to an employee if the employee is exposed to an emergency
scene or incident involving the death or serious injury of another person
to whom the public safety employee is providing service in the performance
of the employee's official duties. 

SECTION 2.  Emergency clause.
            Effective date: 90 days after adjournment.