Kolkhorst Bill Backs Prescribed Burn Insurance With Up To $25M

The text as introduced · 1,112 words

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.