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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