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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to wildfire prevention in certain urban areas. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Chapter 342, Local Government Code, is amended |
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by adding a new subsection (c) to read as follows: |
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Sec. 342.003. FIRE REGULATIONS. (a) The governing body of |
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the municipality may: |
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(1) prohibit dangerous chimneys, flues, fireplaces, |
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stovepipes, ovens, and other apparatus used in or about any |
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building, and require the apparatus to be removed or placed in a |
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safe condition; |
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(2) prohibit the unsafe deposit of ashes; |
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(3) appoint officers who may enter any building or enclosure |
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to examine and determine whether it is in a dangerous condition and, |
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if the building or enclosure is in a dangerous condition, require |
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that it be put in a safe condition; |
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(4) require the inhabitant of a building to maintain as many |
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fire buckets and means of access to the roof as prescribed by the |
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governing body, and regulate the use of those items in the event of |
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a fire; |
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(5) require the owner or occupant of a building to maintain |
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access to the roof and to stairs or ladders that lead to the roof; |
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(6) prohibit or otherwise regulate factories and other |
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works that pose a danger of promoting or causing fires; |
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(7) prohibit or otherwise regulate the erection of cotton |
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presses and sheds; |
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(8) prohibit or otherwise regulate the use of fireworks and |
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firearms; |
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(9) prohibit, direct, or otherwise regulate the keeping and |
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management of buildings within the municipality that are used to |
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store gunpowder or other combustible, explosive, or dangerous |
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materials, and regulate the keeping and conveying of those |
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materials; |
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(10) regulate the building of parapet or party walls; |
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(11) authorize the mayor or other municipal officers, |
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including the officers of fire companies, to keep away from the |
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vicinity of any fire all idle, disorderly, or suspicious persons, |
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and to arrest and confine those persons; |
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(12) compel municipal officers and all other persons to aid |
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in extinguishing fires, preserving property exposed to the danger |
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of fire, and preventing theft; and |
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(13) adopt other rules or ordinances for the prevention and |
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extinguishment of fires as the governing body considers necessary. |
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(b) Subsection (a)(8) or (9) does not authorize a |
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municipality to adopt any prohibition or other regulation in |
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violation of Section 229.001. |
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(c) This subsection applies to a general law municipality |
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with a population of less than 4,000 located in a county with a |
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population of more than 1 million that is adjacent to a county with |
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a population of more than 450,000 and that is served by a district |
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created under Chapter 51 of the Water Code. The governing body of a |
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municipality may by ordinance require a district created pursuant |
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to Chapter 51, Water Code, that is |
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located in the municipality to |
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conform to fireflow and water pressure standards established by the |
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ordinance. |
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SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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Act takes effect September 1, 2013. |