SPI Insights

Gov. Greg Abbott signed several disaster relief and preparedness bills June 13 to combine with $3 billion in aid earmarked from the state’s ‘Rainy Day Fund’ for areas impacted by Hurricane Harvey.

Abbott signed the following bills:
HB5 – Requires the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to develop a catastrophic debris management plan and training and creates a work group to make recommendations to local governments and property owners’ associations on how to assist with recovery efforts. It also mandates that TDEM create a model contract for debris removal.

HB7 – Requires the governor’s office to create a waiver list that could be enacted in the event of a disaster and to establish a plan to help local communities with disaster preparation contracts for services.

SB6 – Requires TDEM to develop a model guide for disaster response and a wet debris study group for local communities. The bill also establishes a disaster recovery loan program at TDEM for communities that suffered significant infrastructure damage.

SB7 – Creates a framework for providing $1.6 billion in matching funds via the Texas Infrastructure Resilience Fund (TIRF) for areas most impacted by Hurricane Harvey and also through the Flood Infrastructure Fund for statewide infrastructure projects to mitigate future flooding.