### GENERAL

Auemm. - PRICE DANXEL A-- - 

### June26, 1948

Hon. GO F. Williams Firemanes Pension Commissfoner Austfn, Texas

Dear Sfrr Opinion ~0~ 

### v-618
Res Constrnctlonof Firemen'sDisability 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,** subjectmatter is as followss ,.

"Section 

### 8 of the Fir6men's Disability and RetirementLaw, (H. B. 

### 258 ,45th Leg.) provfdes that Medical and-Hospital services shall be paid for VolunteerFiremen and shall not apply to any city or town having a fully paid fire department.
*Tn some fnstances ffre departmentshave 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"sRelief and Retirement Act, (H. B. No. 

### 258of the:RegularSession' of the 45th Legislature) is as fOlltXW8

Whenever any duly enrolledmember of any regularly organizedactive flre'department of any city or town now coming within or that may hereafter come within the provisionsof this Act as herein limited, on account of accfdent or other temporarydlsabfllty caused or sustainedwhile fn, and/or in consequenceof the performanceof his duties be confined to any hospital or to his bed an /or 8 shall require._ -

Hon. 0. F. Williams - Page 2 

### (V-618)

the professionalservices of a physician,surgeon or nurse, said Board of Trustees shall upon presentationof properly Itemized

### ma verified bills therefor, order paid from the Firemen'sRelief and RetirementFund of that city or town, all.necessary hospital,physl-' cian's, surgeon's,nurses1 and/or medicine bills or expensesand not less than Five DoL lars ($5) nor more than Fifteen Dollars ($15) per week to such fireman during such temporary disability;providedhowever, 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 dominatingpurpose 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 ~woraVlremenn or *fireman"means and Includesall active members of any regularlyorganizedFire Departmentof any incorporated city or town of this State having fire-fightingeqnipment 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 benefitsprovidedby the Act.

The language of Section 

### 8 abpve quoted is clear and unambiguousIn respect to the proviso under conslderatlon. That proviso Is wand provided further, that.the benefitsprovidedby thls~ Section shall not apply to any city or~townhaving a fully paid Fire Department.' In the instanceput by you isg one paid fireman an4 that Is, In a Fire Departmenthavthe other members are volnnteers, .ltcannotpossiblybe said that there exists a "fully paid Fire Department.* It takes all the members of the Department to constitutethe Department,and where only one of such members Is a paid fireman, lt.cannotbe said that the Departmentis a "fully paid" one.

The member benefits of Section 

### 8 of the Flremenls Disabilityand RetiremenAct, 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'sRelief akd RetirementAct (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

.

0S:bswb