The committees will be looking at warning systems, emergency communications, relief funding for the Hill Country floods, and overall natural disaster preparation.
AUSTIN, Texas — State lawmakers are now taking matters into their own hands to improve disaster response and preparedness across Texas. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick created two new committees dedicated to tackling the issue, as Kerr County and the Hill Country continue recovery from the floods.
“Right now, we must focus on the recovery of those still missing, then rebuilding communities in flooded areas. In the coming year, and into the next regular legislative session, we will gather all the facts and answer the many questions to which the public demands answers. I look forward to working with Speaker Burrows on these critical issues,” the Lt. Gov said in a statement.
State Representative Wes Virdell, District 53, who represents Kerr County, will sit on the House committee.
“I think it’s extremely important to have somebody from the district that this occurred in to be on there,” Virdell said. “In the last two weeks, I have a much better understanding of what it’s like to go through something like this and what it takes to manage something like this. And we’ve had a lot of conversations about warning systems and other possibilities of how to do this.”
The representative was on the ground in Kerr County the first ten days of the flood. He stated while he wasn’t personally impacted, he knew people who had lost family members or lost their homes.
“Our state’s been working really hard at trying to find ways to mitigate and deal with this already, but hopefully we can find something going forward that can help even more,” Virdell said.
The committees will be looking at flood warning systems, flood emergency communications, relief funding for the Hill Country floods, and overall natural disaster preparation and recovery. The aim is to create an overall plan for the state.
Senator Jose Menendez, who represents Bexar County, will be a member of the senate committee.
“I think in terms of if you want to try to address blame, that’s a different question for a different, you know, time in my opinion,” Menendez said. “I think the issue should be how do we prevent future loss of life? What I expect to come out of this committee is not just a system just for the Guadalupe River. It’s a system for the state of Texas.”
The state is set to begin its special session on Monday. The first hearing for these committees will take place on July 23. The second is planned to be in Kerrville on July 31 so those in Kerr County can provide input.
A location and time of the Kerrville hearing is still to be announced.