81R7206 EAH-F
By: Carona S.B. No. 1741
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to emergency management.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 418.005, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (h) to read
as follows:
(a) This section applies only to an elected or appointed
public officer of the state or of a political subdivision who has
management or supervisory responsibilities and:
(1) whose position description, job duties, or
assignment includes emergency management responsibilities; or
(2) who plays a role in emergency preparedness,
response, or recovery.
(b) Each person described by Subsection (a) shall complete a
course of training provided or approved by the division of not less
than three hours regarding the responsibilities of state and local
governments under this chapter not later than the 180th day after
the date the person:
(1) takes the oath of office, if the person is required
to take an oath of office to assume the person's duties as a [an
appointed] public officer; or
(2) otherwise assumes responsibilities as a [an
appointed] public officer, if the person is not required to take an
oath of office to assume the person's duties.
(h) The Texas Engineering Extension Service shall develop
continuing education credits for employees or volunteers required
to attend a training course under Subsection (b).
SECTION 2. Section 418.013, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
follows:
(b) The emergency management council is composed of
representatives [the heads] of state agencies, boards, [and]
commissions, and [representatives of] organized volunteer groups
designated by the head of each entity.
(d) The council shall assist the division in identifying,
mobilizing, and deploying state resources to respond to major
emergencies and disasters throughout the state.
SECTION 3. Section 418.042, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
follows:
(a) The division shall prepare and keep current a
comprehensive state emergency management plan. The plan may
include:
(1) provisions for prevention and minimization of
injury and damage caused by disaster;
(2) provisions for prompt and effective response to
disaster;
(3) provisions for emergency relief;
(4) provisions for energy emergencies;
(5) identification of areas particularly vulnerable
to disasters;
(6) recommendations for zoning, building
restrictions, and other land-use controls, safety measures for
securing mobile homes or other nonpermanent or semipermanent
structures, and other preventive and preparedness measures
designed to eliminate or reduce disasters or their impact;
(7) provisions for assistance to local officials in
designing local emergency management plans;
(8) authorization and procedures for the erection or
other construction of temporary works designed to protect against
or mitigate danger, damage, or loss from flood, fire, or other
disaster;
(9) preparation and distribution to the appropriate
state and local officials of state catalogs of federal, state, and
private assistance programs;
(10) organization of manpower and channels of
assistance;
(11) coordination of federal, state, and local
emergency management activities;
(12) coordination of the state emergency management
plan with the emergency management plans of the federal government;
(13) coordination of federal and state energy
emergency plans; and
(14) [provisions for education and training of local
officials on activation of the Emergency Alert System established
under 47 C.F.R. Part 11; and
[(15)] other necessary matters relating to disasters.
(d) The division, in coordination with the Department of
State Health Services, shall include in the state emergency
management plan:
(1) provisions for assisting local shelter operations
to develop medical special needs categories and meet the
requirements of individuals with special needs; and
(2) minimum standards for short-term and long-term
shelter operations.
SECTION 4. Section 418.043, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 418.043. OTHER POWERS AND DUTIES. The division shall:
(1) determine requirements of the state and its
political subdivisions for food, clothing, and other necessities in
event of a disaster;
(2) procure and position supplies, medicines,
materials, and equipment;
(3) adopt standards and requirements for local and
interjurisdictional emergency management plans;
(4) periodically review local and interjurisdictional
emergency management plans;
(5) coordinate deployment of mobile support units;
(6) establish and operate training programs and
programs of public information or assist political subdivisions and
emergency management agencies to establish and operate the
programs;
(7) make surveys of public and private industries,
resources, and facilities in the state that are necessary to carry
out the purposes of this chapter;
(8) plan and make arrangements for the availability
and use of any private facilities, services, and property and
provide for payment for use under terms and conditions agreed on if
the facilities are used and payment is necessary;
(9) establish a register of persons with types of
training and skills important in disaster mitigation,
preparedness, response, and recovery;
(10) establish a register of mobile and construction
equipment and temporary housing available for use in a disaster;
(11) assist political subdivisions in developing
plans for the humane evacuation, transport, and temporary
sheltering of service animals and household pets in a disaster;
(12) prepare, for issuance by the governor, executive
orders and regulations necessary or appropriate in coping with
disasters;
(13) cooperate with the federal government and any
public or private agency or entity in achieving any purpose of this
chapter and in implementing programs for disaster mitigation,
preparation, response, and recovery; [and]
(14) establish procedures for shelter operations to
oversee and segregate populations, including sex offenders, that
may pose a threat to residents;
(15) develop regional planning for health care surge
capacity, including support for health care workers and volunteers,
with the assistance of the Department of State Health Services,
health care facilities, county officials, and other appropriate
entities;
(16) develop a plan to raise public awareness and
expand the capability of the information and referral network under
Section 531.0312;
(17) report to the legislature the division's
recommendations to improve the integration of faith-based
organizations into emergency management plans; and
(18) do other things necessary, incidental, or
appropriate for the implementation of this chapter.
SECTION 5. Section 418.045, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 418.045. TEMPORARY PERSONNEL. (a) The division may
employ or contract with temporary personnel from funds appropriated
to the division, from federal funds, or from the disaster
contingency fund. The merit system does not apply to the temporary
or contract positions.
(b) The division may enroll, organize, train, and equip a
cadre of disaster reservists with specialized skills in disaster
recovery, hazard mitigation, community outreach, and public
information to temporarily augment its permanent staff. The
division may activate enrolled disaster reservists to support
recovery operations in the aftermath of a disaster or major
emergency and pay them at a daily rate commensurate with their
qualifications and experience. Chapter 654, Chapter 2254, and
Subtitle D, Title 10, do not apply in relation to a disaster
reservist under this subsection.
SECTION 6. Section 418.048, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 418.048. MONITORING WEATHER[; SUSPENSION OF WEATHER
MODIFICATION]. [(a)] The division shall keep continuously
apprised of weather conditions that present danger of climatic
activity, such as precipitation, severe enough to constitute a
disaster.
[(b) If the division determines that precipitation that may
result from weather modification operations, either by itself or in
conjunction with other precipitation or climatic conditions or
activity, would create or contribute to the severity of a disaster,
it shall request in the name of the governor that the officer or
agency empowered to issue permits for weather modification
operations suspend the issuance of permits. On the governor's
request, no permits may be issued until the division informs the
officer or agency that the danger has passed.]
SECTION 7. Subchapter D, Chapter 418, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 418.075 to read as follows:
Sec. 418.075. REQUEST FOR FUNDS; HOSPITALS. A hospital may
request funding from the disaster contingency fund or through a
mutual aid agreement with a political subdivision for deployment of
hospital services, treatment of evacuees, and nonlocal emergency
medical services in the event of a disaster.
SECTION 8. Section 418.107(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) Political subdivisions may make agreements for the
purpose of organizing emergency management service divisions and
provide for a mutual method of financing the organization of units
on a basis satisfactory to the subdivisions. [The functioning of
the units shall be coordinated by the emergency management
council.]
SECTION 9. Section 418.117, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 418.117. LICENSE PORTABILITY. If the assistance of a
person who holds a license, certificate, permit, or other document
evidencing qualification in a professional, mechanical, or other
skill is requested by a state agency or local government entity
under the system, the person is considered licensed, certified,
permitted, or otherwise documented in the political subdivision in
which the service is provided as long as the service is required,
subject to any limitations imposed by the chief executive officer
or the governing body of the requesting state agency or local
government entity.
SECTION 10. Section 418.172(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) If sufficient funds are not available for the required
insurance, an agency may request funding from [petition] the
disaster contingency fund [emergency funding board] to purchase the
insurance [on the agency's behalf. The board may spend money from
that fund for that purpose].
SECTION 11. Subchapter H, Chapter 418, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 418.188 to read as follows:
Sec. 418.188. POSTDISASTER EVALUATION. Not later than the
30th day after the date a request is received from the division, a
state agency, political subdivision, or interjurisdictional agency
shall conduct an evaluation of the entity's response to a disaster,
identify areas for improvement, and issue a report of the
evaluation to the division.
SECTION 12. Section 531.0312, Government Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
(f) A public or private entity serving persons who would
require assistance in the event of a disaster evacuation, including
a nursing home, assisted living center, or home health agency,
shall provide the Texas Information and Referral Network with
information about the number of persons served by the entity and the
type of assistance required by those persons in the event of a
disaster evacuation. The entity shall provide the information in a
form determined by the executive commissioner and shall update the
information at least quarterly or as required by the network. On
request, the network shall provide the information collected under
this subsection to a state or local emergency management official.
SECTION 13. Section 771.051(a), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The commission is the state's authority on emergency
communications. The commission shall:
(1) administer the implementation of statewide 9-1-1
service and the telecommunications requirements for poison control
centers under Chapter 777;
(2) develop minimum performance standards for
equipment and operation of 9-1-1 service to be followed in
developing regional plans under Section 771.055, including
requirements that the plans provide for:
(A) automatic number identification by which the
telephone number of the caller is automatically identified at the
public safety answering point receiving the call; and
(B) other features the commission considers
appropriate;
(3) examine and approve or disapprove regional plans
as provided by Section 771.056;
(4) recommend minimum training standards, assist in
training, and provide assistance in the establishment and operation
of 9-1-1 service;
(5) allocate money to prepare and operate regional
plans as provided by Section 771.056;
(6) develop and provide public education materials and
training;
(7) plan, implement, operate, and maintain poison
control center databases and assist in planning, supporting, and
facilitating 9-1-1 databases, as needed;
(8) provide grants or contracts for services that
enhance the effectiveness of 9-1-1 service;
(9) coordinate emergency communications services and
providers;
(10) make reasonable efforts to gain voluntary
cooperation in the commission's activities of emergency
communications authorities and providers outside the commission's
jurisdiction, including:
(A) making joint communications to state and
federal regulators; and
(B) arranging cooperative purchases of equipment
or services; [and]
(11) provide education for local officials on the
operation of the Emergency Alert System, including how to:
(A) access the system to issue warnings to the
public; and
(B) provide information about emergency
situations to the public; and
(12) accept, receive, and deposit in its account in
the general revenue fund gifts, grants, and royalties from public
and private entities. Gifts, grants, and royalties may be used for
the purposes of the commission.
SECTION 14. Section 418.072, Government Code, is repealed.
SECTION 15. On the effective date of this Act, the disaster
emergency funding board is abolished.
SECTION 16. The changes in law made by this Act by the
amendment of Section 418.005, Government Code, apply only to a
public officer elected or appointed on or after the effective date
of this Act. A public officer elected or appointed before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect
immediately before that date, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 17. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.