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Texas Statutes (Last Updated: January 4, 2014) |
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HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE |
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Title 9. SAFETY |
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Subtitle B. EMERGENCIES |
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Chapter 775. EMERGENCY SERVICES DISTRICTS |
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Subchapter C. ORGANIZATION, POWERS, AND DUTIES |
Sec. 775.036. POWERS AND DUTIES OF BOARD
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(a) The board shall:
(1) hold regular monthly meetings and other meetings as necessary;
(2) keep minutes and records of its acts and proceedings;
(3) give reports required by the state fire marshal, commissioner of health, and other authorized persons;
(4) on a written request from the commissioners court of a county in which the district is located received on or before December 31, give a written report not later than February 1 of the following year to the commissioners court regarding the district's budget, tax rate, and debt service for the preceding fiscal year; and
(5) administer the district in accordance with this chapter.
(b) The board may adopt and enforce a fire code, including fines for any violations, that does not conflict with a fire code adopted by any county that also contains within its boundaries any portion of the land contained in the district and may require inspections in the district relating to the causes and prevention of fires and medical emergencies, except as provided by Section 775.031(b). The fire code must be similar to standards adopted by a nationally recognized standards-making association. The board may not enforce the district's fire code within the boundaries of a municipality that has adopted a fire code, except for an area that has been annexed only for limited purposes in which the municipality does not enforce a fire code. The board of a district located wholly within a county with a population of three million or more may not adopt a fire code or a fine for a violation of the district's fire code unless the commissioners court of the county consents to the adoption of the code or fine.
(b-1) If a county that contains within its boundaries any portion of the land contained in the district adopts a fire code after the district adopts a code under Subsection (b), the board may continue to enforce its fire code in the area subject to the county fire code. To the extent of any conflict between the county's code and the district's code, the more stringent provision prevails.
(c) The board may promote educational programs it considers proper to help carry out the purposes of this chapter.
(d) Repealed by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 308, Sec. 4, eff. June 19, 2009.
(e) Chapter 551, Government Code, does not apply to a meeting of a committee:
(1) of the board if less than a board quorum attends; or
(2) composed of representatives of more than one board, if less than a quorum of any of the boards attends.
(f) Each January, the board shall publish the street address of the district's administrative office in eight-point type in the legal notices section of a newspaper of general circulation in the district. In a district's first year of operation, the board shall publish the notice not later than the 60th day after the date the initial board is appointed.
(g) The board may commission a peace officer or employ a person who holds a permanent peace officer license issued under Section 1701.307, Occupations Code, to inspect for fire hazards any structure, appurtenance, fixture, or other real property located in the district. The board may adopt procedures to order the owner or occupant of the property that fails an inspection to correct the hazardous situation.