SB 2510

89R11676 SCL-D
		By: Kolkhorst
  S.B. No. 2510
  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.