H.B. No. 1510         AN ACT   relating to the transfer of certain functions related to emergency   services districts from the Department of Agriculture to the Texas   Division of Emergency Management.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 487.061, Government Code, is transferred   to Subchapter C, Chapter 418, Government Code, redesignated as   Section 418.053, Government Code, and amended to read as follows:          Sec. 418.053 [487.061].  EMERGENCY SERVICES DISTRICT   PROGRAM. (a)  The division [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.          (b)  The division [department] may:                (1)  provide 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                (2)  provide 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.  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 Division of Emergency Management [Department of   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 Division of Emergency Management [Department   of Rural Affairs] may not charge a fee for filing the report.          (c)  The Texas Division of Emergency Management [Department   of 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 3.  Not later than January 1, 2018, the following are   transferred from the Department of Agriculture to the Texas   Division of Emergency Management:                (1)  the powers, duties, functions, programs, and   activities of the Department of Agriculture relating to the duties   described by Section 418.053, Government Code, as transferred,   redesignated, and amended by this Act;                (2)  any obligations and contracts of the Department of   Agriculture that are directly related to implementing a power,   duty, function, program, or activity described by Subdivision (1)   of this section; and                (3)  all property and records in the custody of the   Department of Agriculture that are related to a power, duty,   function, program, or activity described by Subdivision (1) of this   section and all funds appropriated by the legislature for that   power, duty, function, program, or activity.          SECTION 4.  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 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.       ______________________________ ______________________________      President of the Senate Speaker of the House                   I certify that H.B. No. 1510 was passed by the House on May 4,   2017, by the following vote:  Yeas 143, Nays 0, 2 present, not   voting.     ______________________________   Chief Clerk of the House                 I certify that H.B. No. 1510 was passed by the Senate on May   24, 2017, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.     ______________________________   Secretary of the Senate       APPROVED:  _____________________                      Date                           _____________________                    Governor