By: Howard H.B. No. 3813
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to wildfire prevention in certain urban areas.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 342, Local Government Code, is amended
by adding a new subsection (c) to read as follows:
Sec. 342.003. FIRE REGULATIONS. (a) The governing body of
the municipality may:
(1) prohibit dangerous chimneys, flues, fireplaces,
stovepipes, ovens, and other apparatus used in or about any
building, and require the apparatus to be removed or placed in a
safe condition;
(2) prohibit the unsafe deposit of ashes;
(3) appoint officers who may enter any building or enclosure
to examine and determine whether it is in a dangerous condition and,
if the building or enclosure is in a dangerous condition, require
that it be put in a safe condition;
(4) require the inhabitant of a building to maintain as many
fire buckets and means of access to the roof as prescribed by the
governing body, and regulate the use of those items in the event of
a fire;
(5) require the owner or occupant of a building to maintain
access to the roof and to stairs or ladders that lead to the roof;
(6) prohibit or otherwise regulate factories and other
works that pose a danger of promoting or causing fires;
(7) prohibit or otherwise regulate the erection of cotton
presses and sheds;
(8) prohibit or otherwise regulate the use of fireworks and
firearms;
(9) prohibit, direct, or otherwise regulate the keeping and
management of buildings within the municipality that are used to
store gunpowder or other combustible, explosive, or dangerous
materials, and regulate the keeping and conveying of those
materials;
(10) regulate the building of parapet or party walls;
(11) authorize the mayor or other municipal officers,
including the officers of fire companies, to keep away from the
vicinity of any fire all idle, disorderly, or suspicious persons,
and to arrest and confine those persons;
(12) compel municipal officers and all other persons to aid
in extinguishing fires, preserving property exposed to the danger
of fire, and preventing theft; and
(13) adopt other rules or ordinances for the prevention and
extinguishment of fires as the governing body considers necessary.
(b) Subsection (a)(8) or (9) does not authorize a
municipality to adopt any prohibition or other regulation in
violation of Section 229.001.
(c) This subsection applies to a general law municipality
with a population of less than 4,000 located in a county with a
population of more than 1 million that is adjacent to a county with
a population of more than 450,000 and that is served by a district
created under Chapter 51 of the Water Code. The governing body of a
municipality may by ordinance require a district created pursuant
to Chapter 51, Water Code, that is
located in the municipality to
conform to fireflow and water pressure standards established by the
ordinance.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2013.