Texas Government Code 419.004 – Composition of Commission
(a) The commission is composed of the following 13 members:
(1) two members to be selected from a list of five names submitted by the Texas Fire Chiefs Association who are chief officers with a minimum rank that is equivalent to the position immediately below that of the fire chief and who are employed in fire departments as defined by § 419.021 that are under the jurisdiction of the commission, at least one of whom must be the head of a fire department and one of whom must be employed by a political subdivision with a population of less than 100,000;
(2) two members to be selected from a list of five names submitted by the Texas State Association of Fire Fighters who are fire protection personnel as defined by § 419.021 with the rank of battalion chief or below and who are employed in fire departments or other appropriate local authorities under the jurisdiction of the commission, one of whom must be employed by a political subdivision with a population of less than 100,000;
(3) two members to be selected from a list of five names submitted by the State Firemen’s and Fire Marshals’ Association of Texas who are volunteer fire chiefs or volunteer fire fighters;
(4) one certified fire protection engineer;
(5) one certified arson investigator or certified fire protection inspector;
(6) one fire protection instructor from an institution of higher education as defined by § 61.003, Education Code; and
(7) four public members.
(b) The members of the commission are appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate for staggered terms of six years with four or five members’ terms expiring February 1 of each odd-numbered year.
Terms Used In Texas Government Code 419.004
- Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Person: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Population: means the population shown by the most recent federal decennial census. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Year: means 12 consecutive months. See Texas Government Code 311.005
(c) The duties of a public officer or employee on the commission constitute additional duties of the member’s office or employment.
(d) Appointments to the commission shall be made without regard to the race, color, disability, sex, religion, age, or national origin of the appointees.
(e) A person may not be a public member of the commission if the person or the person’s spouse:
(1) is registered, certified, or licensed by a regulatory agency in the field of fire protection;
(2) is employed by or participates in the management of a business entity or other organization regulated by or receiving money from the commission;
(3) owns or controls, directly or indirectly, more than a 10 percent interest in a business entity or other organization regulated by or receiving money from the commission;
(4) uses or receives a substantial amount of tangible goods, services, or money from the commission, other than compensation or reimbursement authorized by law for commission membership, attendance, or expenses; or
(5) is employed in the field of fire protection.
(f) For purposes of this section, “volunteer fire fighter” and “volunteer fire chief” mean a person who is a member of a nonprofit volunteer fire department, and the term may include a person who is also employed full-time in the fire service.