HBA-CMT H.B. 785 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 785 By: Isett Civil Practices 3/19/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The Government Code allows political units to enter into interlocal agreements. These types of agreements include garbage collection, right of way maintenance, library support and use, and mutual aid agreements. Currently, the Government Code provides that if a governmental unit contracts to furnish or obtain fire protection, the governmental unit that would be responsible for furnishing these services in the absence of a contract is responsible for any civil liability that arises. This means that even if a contract is present, the requester bears liability. House Bill 785 sets forth that if a governmental unit enters into an interlocal cooperation contract to furnish or obtain police protection services, the governmental unit that would have been responsible for furnishing the services in the absence of the contract is responsible for any civil liability that arises. 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. ANALYSIS House Bill 785 amends the Government Code to set forth that if governmental units enter into an interlocal cooperation contract to furnish or obtain police protection services, the governmental unit that would have been responsible for furnishing the services in the absence of the contract is responsible for any civil liability that arises from the furnishing of those services. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.