By: Miller of Erath (Senate Sponsor - Hinojosa) H.C.R. No. 90
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 28, 2011;
May 5, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on
Administration; May 17, 2011, reported favorably by the following
vote: Yeas 4, Nays 0; May 17, 2011, sent to printer.)
HOUSE 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 wireless devices and
satellite solutions; 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, IPAWS has addressed the lack of standards across
warning devices with the new Common Alerting Protocol, which will
facilitate the creation of a cohesive alert warning solution, and
with new alert systems such as the Commercial Mobile Alert System,
which allows for the mass transmission of text-based alerts to
mobile devices in targeted geographic areas; even with these
advancements and with a fully implemented IPAWS, IPAWS as designed
still falls short of a comprehensive alert warning system since it
has the same limitations of each existing and proposed system:
radio, television, and wireless service may not exist in some
remote geographic areas or may be compromised by natural or
man-made disasters; today's technology, however, can provide a
comprehensive alert warning system; and
WHEREAS, Such technology must be deployed as soon as possible
in a comprehensive, integrated national alert system, in
coordination with federal, state, local, territorial, 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,
territorial, and tribal, 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,
territorial, and tribal 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.
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