By: West, Van de Putte S.B. No. 1715
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the requirements for a smoke detector in a multifamily
residential unit.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. This bill is enacted to honor the memory of
Sephra Burks.
SECTION 2. Section 92.254, Property Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
follows:
(a) A smoke detector must be:
(1) designed to detect both the visible and invisible
products of combustion;
(2) designed with an alarm audible to a person in the
bedrooms it serves;
(3) powered by battery, alternating current, or other
power source as required by local ordinance;
(4) tested and listed for use as a smoke detector by
Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., Factory Mutual Research
Corporation, or United States Testing Company, Inc.; and
(5) in good working order.
(a-1) If requested by a tenant as an accommodation for a
person with a hearing-impairment disability or as required by law
as a reasonable accommodation for a person with a
hearing-impairment disability, a smoke detector must, in addition
to complying with Subsection (a), be capable of alerting a
hearing-impaired person in the bedrooms it serves.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.