GENERAL
Auemm. -
PRICE DANXEL
A-- -
June 26, 1948
Hon. GO F. Williams Opinion ~0~ v-618
Firemanes Pension Commissfoner
Austfn, Texas Res Constrnctlon of
Firemen's Dis-
ability and Retire-
ment Act as to the
expressPon "fully
paid Firs Depart-
ment" contained in
Section 8.
Dear Sfrr
Pour request for an opinion upon the above i$ht,ed,
subject matter is as followss ,.
"Section 8 of the Fir6men's Disability
and Retirement Law, (H. B. 258 ,45thLeg.) pro-
vfdes that Medical and-Hospital services shall
be paid for Volunteer Firemen and shall not
apply to any city or town having a fully paid
fire department.
*Tn some fnstances ffre departments have
one paid fireman and the rest are volunteers,
I would like to have a ruling on whether or
not Section 8 would apply to the paid man in
a case..likethis."
Section 8 of the Firemen"s Relief and Retirement
Act, (H. B. No. 258 of the:Regular Session'of the 45th Leg-
islature) is as fOlltXW8
Whenever any duly enrolled member of any
regularly organized active flre'departmentof
any city or town now coming within or that may
hereafter come within the provisions of this
Act as herein limited, on account of accfdent
or other temporary dlsabfllty caused or sus-
tained while fn, and/or in consequence of the
performance of his duties be confined to any
hospital or to his bed an8/or shall require
._ -
Hon. 0. F. Williams - Page 2 (V-618)
the professional services of a physician, sur-
geon or nurse, said Board of Trustees shall
upon presentationof properly Itemized ma
verified bills therefor, order paid from the
Firemen's Relief and Retirement Fund of that
city or town, all.necessaryhospital, physl-'
cian's, surgeon's,nurses1 and/or medicine
bills or expenses and not less than Five DoL
lars ($5) nor more than Fifteen Dollars ($15)
per week to such fireman during such tempor-
ary disability; provided however, that in no
case shall the amount or amounts so paid for
such bills and expenses exceed the aggregate
sum of One Hundred Dollars ($100) In any one
month; and provided.,iurther,that the bene-
fits provided by this Section shall not apply
to any city or town having a fully paid fire
department."
The dominating purpose of H. B.,Ho. 258,as ap-
pears from the title to the Bill and likewise from the
entire context thereof, is to afford relief and retlre-
ment benefits to firemen of the cities, towns and vll-
lages of the State. In Section 26 the ~wora Vlremenn or
*fireman"means and Includes all active members of any
regularly organized Fire Department of any incorporated
city or town of this State having fire-fightingeqnip-
ment or apparatus of the m&nue value of One Thousand
($1 000)~Dollars or more, whether wholly paid, partly
pali ana partly volunteer, or wholly volunteer. These
-are the members entitled to benefits provided by the Act.
The language of Section 8 abpve quoted is clear
and unambiguousIn respect to the proviso under conslder-
atlon. That proviso Is wand provided further, that.the
benefits provided by thls~Section shall not apply to any
city or~town having a fully paid Fire Department.' In
the instance put by you that Is, In a Fire Departmenthav-
isg one paid fireman an4 the other members are volnnteers,
.ltcannot possibly be said that there exists a "fully paid
Fire Department.* It takes all the members of the Depart-
ment to constitutethe Department,and where only one of
such members Is a paid fireman, lt.cannot be said that the
Departmentis a "fully paid" one.
The member benefits of Section 8 of the Flremenls
Disabilityand Retiremen Act, therefore, do apply to the
case you state.
Hon. G. F. Wfllfams - Page 3 (V-618)
The benefits DrOvided in Section 8 of the
Firemen's Relief akd Retirement Act (H. B. No.
258, R. S. 45th Leg,) apply to a city or town
whose Fire DeDartment has one paid fireman ma
the other members are volunteers,
Yours very truly9
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
BY
h& Ocle Spie
Assistant
APPROVEDs 1.
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