82R8287 BPG-D
By: Miller of Erath H.C.R. No. 90
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Effective emergency communications are an essential
component of homeland security, but the federal government has thus
far failed to implement the Integrated Public Alert and Warning
System program, launched in 2006 in response to Presidential
Executive Order 13407, and related measures that are necessary to
alert the American public in situations of war, terrorist attack,
natural disaster, or other hazards; and
WHEREAS, At present, the capacity of the United States to
issue warnings is supported by the Emergency Alert System and the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Weather Radio
All-Hazards Network; the EAS is built on a structure conceived in
the 1950s, when the best available technology for widely
disseminating emergency alerts was over-the-air broadcasting; NOAA
Weather Radio broadcasts National Weather Service forecasts and
all-hazard warnings for natural and man-made events; and
WHEREAS, Reliance on radio and television to deliver warnings
fails to take into account the prevalence and sophistication of
other communications technologies, especially the Internet and
wireless devices; the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System,
managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is intended to
modernize and enhance the antiquated Emergency Alert System and
provide a fully integrated, multimodal "system of systems" for
warning citizens; and
WHEREAS, In its initial years, the IPAWS program progressed
slowly in the face of major obstacles such as the lack of standards
across warning devices, which have traditionally operated using
separate, proprietary protocols; however, FEMA recently adopted
the new Common Alerting Protocol, which will facilitate the
creation of a cohesive alert warning solution; other advancements
within the IPAWS program include the Commercial Mobile Alert
System, which allows for the mass transmission of text-based alerts
to mobile devices in targeted geographic areas; and
WHEREAS, Such technology must be deployed as soon as possible
in a comprehensive, integrated national alert system, in
coordination with federal, state, local, and tribal emergency
management systems, to ensure that under all conditions, at all
times, and in all places universal communication is available to
warn Americans of impending dangers; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby urge the United States Congress to expedite a solution and
enact laws that will provide public alert and warning in situations
of war, terrorist attack, natural disaster, or other hazards to
public safety or the well-being of all people of the United States
of America; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the 82nd Texas Legislature hereby
respectfully urge the United States Congress to investigate and
conduct hearings to inventory, evaluate, and assess capabilities
and integration with the public alert and warning systems of
federal, state, local, territorial, and tribal public alert and
warning resources and to establish or adopt common alerting and
warning protocols, standards, terminology, and operating
procedures that are effective without the necessity of maintaining
a database of contact information so as to protect the privacy of
all Americans and that enable interoperability and the secure
delivery of coordinated messages to the American people through as
many communication pathways as practicable, utilizing today's
technology to guarantee the delivery of warnings and alerts in a
timely manner to the entire population when surface infrastructure
does not exist, has been compromised, or has been otherwise
rendered ineffective; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the legislature hereby respectfully urge the
United States Congress to ensure that the public alert and warning
system is capable of serving all Americans, including those with
disabilities and those who lack an understanding of the English
language, even in the most remote geographic areas of the United
States and its territories, and to ensure that it is capable of
adapting the distribution and content of communications on the
basis of clearly defined geographic locations, risks, or personal
user preferences, as appropriate; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the legislature hereby respectfully urge the
United States Congress to require media communication
organizations and all governments, federal, state, local, tribal,
and territorial, to consult, coordinate, and cooperate with the
private sector, including emergency response providers and users,
as appropriate, for the full implementation of a state-of-the-art
early warning and alert system; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the legislature hereby respectfully urge the
United States Congress to establish training, annual tests, and
exercises for the public alert and warning system, to provide for
direct access to the system by appropriate federal, state, local,
tribal, and territorial emergency personnel, and, through
cooperation with the owners and operators of communications
facilities, to maintain, protect, and, if necessary, restore
communications facilities and capabilities necessary for the
public alert and warning system; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the legislature hereby respectfully urge the
United States Congress to ensure that public education efforts are
conducted so that federal, state, local, territorial, and tribal
governments, the private sector, and the American people understand
the functions of the public alert and warning system and how to
access, use, and respond to information issued through all public
alert and warning systems and devices; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the legislature hereby respectfully urge the
United States Congress, in performing the functions set forth
above, to coordinate with all appropriate departments and agencies
of all governments referenced in this resolution; and, be it
further
RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of
Representatives of the United States Congress, to the majority and
minority leaders of both houses, to the secretary of homeland
security, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to Congress
with the request that this resolution be entered in the
Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United
States of America.