89R11676 SCL-D
By: Ashby H.B. No. 2563
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to establishment of the temporary prescribed burn manager
self-insurance pool; authorizing a fee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle G, Title 10, Insurance Code, is amended
by adding Chapter 2155 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 2155. TEMPORARY PRESCRIBED BURN MANAGER SELF-INSURANCE
POOL
Sec. 2155.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Fund" means the prescribed burn manager
self-insurance fund established under Section 2155.006.
(2) "Prescribed burn manager" means a person who is a
certified and insured prescribed burn manager under Section
153.048, Natural Resources Code.
(3) "Program" means the prescribed burn manager
self-insurance program administered under this chapter.
(4) "Service" means the Texas A&M Forest Service.
Sec. 2155.002. PRESCRIBED BURN MANAGER SELF-INSURANCE
PROGRAM. (a) The service shall administer a prescribed burn
manager self-insurance program that:
(1) identifies and evaluates risks arising from
prescribed burns conducted under Chapter 153, Natural Resources
Code;
(2) maintains a loss-prevention and loss-control
program to reduce risks arising from prescribed burns;
(3) consolidates and administers prescribed burn risk
management and self-insurance programs; and
(4) provides prescribed burn self-insurance coverage
in accordance with Section 2155.003.
(b) The service may employ staff to administer the program.
(c) The director of the service may adopt rules to implement
and administer the program.
Sec. 2155.003. SELF-INSURANCE POOL; COVERAGE. (a) The
program shall administer a self-insurance pool to provide general
liability coverage for prescribed burns a prescribed burn manager
conducts.
(b) The coverage may indemnify a participating prescribed
burn manager for liability arising from a prescribed burn conducted
by the manager. The coverage limits provided must be the minimum
amounts required for purposes of Section 153.082, Natural Resources
Code, or a lesser amount determined necessary based on the
liquidity of the fund after deducting the cost of administering
this chapter.
(c) The self-insurance pool may not provide coverage for a
risk other than a prescribed burn conducted by a participating
prescribed burn manager. Prohibited coverage includes:
(1) workers' compensation;
(2) automobile liability; and
(3) errors and omissions or professional liability.
(d) Self-insurance coverage provided under this section may
be funded only from money available from the fund.
(e) The director of the service may establish:
(1) eligibility requirements for participation in
coverage under this section; and
(2) equipment and safety standards for the prescribed
burns to be covered under this section.
Sec. 2155.004. PARTICIPATION IN SELF-INSURANCE POOL. (a)
To participate in coverage provided under Section 2155.003, a
prescribed burn manager must submit a written request to the
program in the form and manner prescribed by the service.
(b) The director of the service shall approve the request
for participation if each proposed prescribed burn to be covered
meets the eligibility requirements and equipment and safety
standards established under Section 2155.003(e).
Sec. 2155.005. TRAINING REQUIREMENTS. (a) As a condition
for continuing participation in coverage provided under Section
2155.003, a participating prescribed burn manager shall complete a
wildfire suppression course administered by the service that trains
the manager on:
(1) proper coordination with this state or local fire
departments in the event that a prescribed burn escapes its
predetermined boundaries; and
(2) proper assistance in the suppression of a
naturally occurring wildfire.
(b) The service shall:
(1) develop the course described by Subsection (a) in
compliance with National Wildfire Coordinating Group standards;
and
(2) maintain records of a participating prescribed
burn manager's completion of the course.
Sec. 2155.006. PRESCRIBED BURN MANAGER SELF-INSURANCE
FUND. (a) The fund is an account in a depository selected by the
board of regents of The Texas A&M University System in the manner
provided by Section 51.003, Education Code, for funds subject to
the control of institutions of higher education under Section
51.002, Education Code.
(b) The fund is composed of:
(1) an amount not to exceed $25 million appropriated
by the legislature;
(2) money collected under Section 2155.008; and
(3) interest accruing on money in the fund.
(c) Money in the fund may be spent only for:
(1) funding self-insurance under the program; or
(2) administering this chapter, including paying the
salaries and expenses of staff for the program and the fund.
Sec. 2155.007. LIMITATION ON STATE'S LIABILITY. The
state's liability for a loss covered by self-insurance provided
under this chapter is limited to the assets of the fund, and the
state is not otherwise liable for that loss.
Sec. 2155.008. SELF-INSURANCE FEE; COST-SHARING
REQUIREMENTS. (a) The service may assess and collect a reasonable
fee from participating prescribed burn managers to provide
self-insurance coverage under this chapter. The service shall also
establish reasonable cost-sharing requirements, including
appropriate deductibles.
(b) In establishing the amount of the fee and the
cost-sharing requirements, the service shall consider the amount
that could be charged to the prescribed burn manager for similar
insurance coverage provided to that prescribed burn manager in
accordance with this code and ensure that a deductible is
sufficiently high to:
(1) deter the use of the self-insurance coverage for
minor losses; and
(2) ensure the self-insurance coverage is used only
for significant losses.
(c) The service shall adjust the amount of a premium for the
self-insurance coverage under this chapter by using the information
collected under Section 2155.009.
(d) Money collected under this section shall be deposited to
the credit of the fund.
Sec. 2155.009. PRESCRIBED BURN DATA COLLECTION. A
participating prescribed burn manager shall report in the form and
manner prescribed by the service the following information for each
prescribed burn the manager conducts:
(1) the amount of land burned in acres;
(2) the date of the burn; and
(3) whether the burn resulted in a financial loss or
wildfire response.
Sec. 2155.010. EXCESSIVE CLAIMS. If the service determines
that a participating prescribed burn manager has made excessive
claims under self-insurance coverage under this chapter, the
service may:
(1) terminate the manager's participation in the
self-insurance pool under this chapter; and
(2) refer the manager to the Prescribed Burning Board
for disciplinary action under Section 153.102, Natural Resources
Code, as if the manager violated Chapter 153 of that code.
Sec. 2155.011. LEGAL REPRESENTATION. (a) The service may
employ an attorney to represent a prescribed burn manager in a
liability action for which insurance coverage is provided under
this chapter.
(b) The attorney general may not provide the services
described by Subsection (a).
Sec. 2155.012. EXPIRATION OF PROGRAM AND CHAPTER. The
program and this chapter expire September 1, 2040. On expiration of
the program, the remaining balance in the fund that is not needed to
pay claims is transferred to the statewide fire contingency account
established under Section 88.117, Education Code.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.