By: Birdwell S.B. No. 1917
(In the Senate - Filed April 29, 2013; April 29, 2013, read
first time and referred to Committee on Intergovernmental
Relations; May 10, 2013, reported favorably by the following vote:
Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 10, 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. Subdivision (1), Section 541.201,
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) a municipal department or public service
corporation emergency vehicle that has been designated or
authorized by the governing body of a municipality;
(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;
(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;
(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]
(G) a vehicle used for law enforcement purposes
that is owned or leased by a federal governmental entity; or
(H) a private vehicle of an employee or volunteer
of a county emergency management division in a county with a
population of more than 46,500 and less than 48,000 that is
designated as an authorized emergency vehicle by the commissioners
court of that county.
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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