By: Smith (Senate Sponsor - Nichols) H.B. No. 567
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 15, 2013;
April 18, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on
Transportation; May 9, 2013, reported favorably by the following
vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 9, 2013, sent to printer.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the definition of an authorized emergency vehicle.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 541.201(1), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(1) "Authorized emergency vehicle" means:
(A) a fire department or police vehicle;
(B) a public or private ambulance operated by a
person who has been issued a license by the [Texas] Department of
State Health Services;
(C) an emergency medical services vehicle:
(i) authorized under an emergency medical
services provider license issued by the Department of State Health
Services under Chapter 773, Health and Safety Code; and
(ii) operating under a contract with an
emergency services district that requires the emergency medical
services provider to respond to emergency calls with the vehicle;
(D) a municipal department or public service
corporation emergency vehicle that has been designated or
authorized by the governing body of a municipality;
(E) [(D)] a private vehicle of a volunteer
firefighter or a certified emergency medical services employee or
volunteer when responding to a fire alarm or medical emergency;
(F) [(E)] an industrial emergency response
vehicle, including an industrial ambulance, when responding to an
emergency, but only if the vehicle is operated in compliance with
criteria in effect September 1, 1989, and established by the
predecessor of the Texas Industrial Emergency Services Board of the
State Firemen's and Fire Marshals' Association of Texas;
(G) [(F)] a vehicle of a blood bank or tissue
bank, accredited or approved under the laws of this state or the
United States, when making emergency deliveries of blood, drugs,
medicines, or organs; or
(H) [(G)] a vehicle used for law enforcement
purposes that is owned or leased by a federal governmental entity.
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.
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