Ordinance No. 4,30951114 -5
ORDINANCE NO. 4309
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 17, "MISCELLANEOUS
PROVISIONS AND OFFENSES," OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES TO
ESTABLISH A STANDARD OF CARE FOR OFFICERS, AGENTS AND
EMPLOYEES OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN RESPONDING TO
EMERGENCY SITUATIONS; REPEALING INCONSISTENT ORDINANCES;
CONTAINING A SAVINGS CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR THE
EFFECTIVE DATE HEREOF.
WHEREAS, the Texas Supreme Court in a case styled Ron Black vs. Nueces
Countz Rural Fire Prevention District No. 2, in construing Section 14(8) of Article
6252-19, the Texas Tort Claims Act, has ruled that in the absence of laws or
ordinances applicable to emergency action, there is no exception to the waiver of
sovereign immunity; and
WHEREAS, the Texas Supreme Court seems to be of the opinion that a city
must enact an ordinance regulating action in an emergency action; and
WHEREAS, the City of Baytown seeks as a matter of public policy to comply
with the decision of the Texas Supreme Court in the above named case; and
WHEREAS, the City of Baytown enacts this ordinance as a matter of public
policy to provide the standard of care with which the officer, agent or employee
should comply when responding to emergency calls or reacting to emergency
situations; and
WHEREAS, it is the intent of the City Council of the City of Baytown that
this ordinance shall be given a liberal reading so that the actions of an officer,
agent or employee of emergency services providers while responding to emergency
calls or reacting to emergency situations shall be deemed in compliance with this
ordinance.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF BAYTOWN, TEXAS:
Section 1: That the Code of Ordinances of the City of Baytown, Texas, is
hereby amended by adding a section, to be numbered 17 -22, which said section reads
as follows:
Sec. 17 -22. Standard of care for emergency action.
Every officer, agent, or employee of the City and every officer, agent,
or employee of an authorized provider of emergency services, including,
but not limited to every unit of government or subdivision thereof,
while responding to emergency calls or reacting to emergency
situations, regardless of whether any declaration of emergency has been
declared or proclaimed by a unit of government or subdivision thereof,
is hereby authorized to act or not to act in such a manner to
effectively deal with the emergency. An action or inaction is
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'effective' if it in any way contributes or can reasonably be thought to
contribute to preserving any lives or property. This section shall
prevail over every other ordinance of the City and, to the extent to
which the City has the authority to so authorize, over any other law
establishing a standard of care in conflict with this section. Neither
the City nor the employee, agent, or officer thereof, or other unit of
agents, or officers shall be liable for the failure to use ordinary care
in such emergency. It is the intent of the City Council, by passing
this ordinance, to assure effective action in emergency situations by
those entrusted with the responsibility of saving lives and property by
protecting such governmental units from liability, and their employees,
agents, and officers from non -- intentional tort liability to the fullest
extent permitted by statutory and constitutional law. This section
shall be liberally construed to carry out the intent of the City Council.
Section 2: All ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent with the terms
of this ordinance are hereby repealed, provided however, that such repeal shall be
only to the extent of such inconsistency and in all other respects this ordinance
shall be cumulative of other ordinances regulating and governing the subject matter
covered by this ordinance.
Section 3: If any provision, section, exception, subsection, paragraph,
sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance or the application of same to any
person or set of circumstances, shall for any reason be held unconstitutional, void or
invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of
this ordinance or their application to other persons or sets of circumstances and to
this end all provisions of this ordinance are declared to be severable.
Section 4: This ordinance shall take effect immediately from and after its
passage by the City Council of the City of Baytown.
INTRODUCED, READ, and PASSEL] by the affirmative vote of the City
Council of the City of Baytown, this the 34th day of November, 1955.
iTT O. HU 'TO, Mayor
0
ATTEST:
EILEEN P. HALL, City Clerk
APPROVED:
ij
ANDALL B. STRONG, Attorney