85R7769 SMT-D     By: Isaac H.B. No. 1510       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to the transfer of certain functions related to emergency   services districts from the Department of Agriculture to the   Department of State Health Services and the Texas Commission on   Fire Protection.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 419.904, Government Code, is amended to   read as follows:          Sec. 419.904.  [TECHNICAL] ASSISTANCE TO EMERGENCY SERVICES   DISTRICTS.  The commission may [on request] provide:                (1)  to emergency services districts technical   assistance on request [to emergency services districts], including   advice on the efficient and effective provision of fire protection   within a district;                (2)  to fire departments in rural areas information   relating to assistance programs offered to rural volunteer   firefighters, including the federal Staffing for Adequate Fire and   Emergency Response grant program to help fire departments increase   staffing and deployment capabilities; and                (3)  to rural homeowners information relating to the   benefits of volunteer fire departments, including a reduction in   homeowners insurance risk ratings, lower homeowners insurance   rates, and better fire protection.          SECTION 2.  Subchapter B, Chapter 12, Health and Safety   Code, is amended by adding Section 12.021 to read as follows:          Sec. 12.021.  EMERGENCY SERVICES DISTRICT PROGRAM. The   department shall serve as a resource to provide interested rural   communities with:                (1)  general information about emergency services   districts; and                (2)  information and training related to the   establishment of an emergency services district.          SECTION 3.  Sections 775.083(a), (b), and (c), Health and   Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:          (a)  On or before January 1 of each year, a district shall   file with the [Texas] Department of State Health Services [Rural   Affairs] an annual report that includes the following:                (1)  the district's name;                (2)  the name of each county in which the district is   located;                (3)  the district's business address;                (4)  the name, mailing address, and term of office of   each commissioner;                (5)  the name, mailing address, and term of office of   the district's general manager, executive director, and fire chief;                (6)  the name of each legal counsel or other consultant   for the district; and                (7)  the district's annual budget and tax rate for the   preceding fiscal year.          (b)  The [Texas] Department of State Health Services [Rural   Affairs] may not charge a fee for filing the report.          (c)  The [Texas] Department of State Health Services [Rural   Affairs] shall develop and maintain an Internet-based system that   enables:                (1)  a district to securely file the report and update   the district's information; and                (2)  the public to view, in a searchable format, the   reports filed by districts under this section.          SECTION 4.  Section 487.061, Government Code, is repealed.          SECTION 5.  The change in law made by this Act to Section   775.083, Health and Safety Code, applies only to an annual report   due on or after January 1, 2019.  An annual report due before   January 1, 2019, is governed by the law as it existed immediately   before the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in   effect for that purpose.          SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.