GENERAL 

Auemm. - 

PRICE DANXEL 

A-- - 

June 26, 1948 

Hon. GO F. Williams 

Firemanes Pension Commissfoner 

Austfn, Texas 

Dear Sfrr 

Opinion ~0~ v-618 

Res Constrnctlon of 

Firemen's Disability and Retirement Act as to the 

expressPon "fully 

paid Firs Department" contained in 

Section 8. 

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 ,45th Leg.) provfdes 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..like this." 

Section 8 of the Firemen"s Relief and Retirement 

Act, (H. B. No. 258 of the:Regular Session' of the 45th Legislature) is as fOlltXW8 

Whenever any duly enrolled member of any 

regularly organized active flre'department of 

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 sustained while fn, and/or in consequence of the 

performance of his duties be confined to any 

hospital or to his bed an 8 /or shall require 
._ - 

Hon. 0. F. Williams - Page 2 (V-618) 

the professional services of a physician, surgeon or nurse, said Board of Trustees shall 

upon presentation of properly Itemized ma 

verified bills therefor, order paid from the 

Firemen's Relief and Retirement Fund of that 

city or town, all.necessary hospital, 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 temporary 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 benefits 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 appears from the title to the Bill and likewise from the 

entire context thereof, is to afford relief and retlrement benefits to firemen of the cities, towns and vlllages 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-fighting eqnipment 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 unambiguous In respect to the proviso under conslderatlon. 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 

isg one paid fireman an 4 

that Is, In a Fire Department havthe other members are volnnteers, 

.lt cannot possibly be said that there exists a "fully paid 

Fire Department.* It takes all the members of the Department to constitute the Department, and where only one of 

such members Is a paid fireman, lt.cannot be said that the 

Department is a "fully paid" one. 

The member benefits of Section 8 of the Flremenls 

Disability and 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,) 

whose Fire DeDartment 

the other members are 

apply to a city or town 

has one paid fireman ma 

volunteers, 

Yours very truly9 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

BY h& 

Ocle Spie 

Assistant 

APPROVEDs 1 . 

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