§ 78A.001.Definitions

Two definitions for a 2017 chapter addressing a small and specific situation.

"First responder" means a law enforcement, fire protection, or emergency medical services employee or volunteer, including a peace officer, fire protection personnel, a volunteer firefighter who is either certified by the Texas Commission on Fire Protection or the State Firefighters' and Fire Marshals' Association or a member of an organized unit that renders services without remuneration and conducts a minimum of two drills each month, each two hours long, and an individual certified as emergency medical services personnel.

The drill requirement is unusually specific — two drills a month of two hours each — and it supplies an objective test for an uncertified volunteer unit.

"Roadside assistance" means assistance to the owner, operator, or passenger of a motor vehicle with an incident related to its operation, including jump-starting or replacing a battery, lockout assistance, replacing a flat tire, and roadside vehicle breakdown assistance.

The four examples describe what an officer or firefighter does when they stop for a stranded motorist, and the chapter exists because those helpful acts carry a risk of damaging the vehicle.

The same definition of "first responder" is used, with one addition, in the wellness check chapter enacted six years later.