H.B. No. 2345
AN ACT
relating to the creation of the Institute for a Disaster Resilient
Texas.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter E, Chapter 86, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 86.82 to read as follows:
Sec. 86.82. INSTITUTE FOR A DISASTER RESILIENT TEXAS. (a)
In this section, "institute" means the Institute for a Disaster
Resilient Texas.
(b) The Institute for a Disaster Resilient Texas is a
component of Texas A&M University.
(c) The institute is under the management and direction of
the board.
(d) The institute shall:
(1) develop data analytics tools to support disaster
planning, mitigation, response, and recovery by the state, its
political subdivisions, and the public;
(2) create and maintain web-based analytical and
visual tools to communicate disaster risks and ways to reduce those
risks, including tools that work on the level of individual parcels
of land;
(3) provide evidence-based information and solutions
to aid in the formation of state and local partnerships to support
disaster planning, mitigation, response, and recovery;
(4) collect, display, and communicate comprehensive
flood-related information, including applicable updated inundation
maps, for use by decision-makers and the public; and
(5) collaborate with institutions of higher
education, as that term is defined by Section 61.003, state
agencies, local governments, and other political subdivisions to
accomplish the purposes of this section.
(e) The institute may employ personnel, including experts
in planning, engineering, hydrology, ecology, and economics.
(f) The institute may accept a gift or grant from any public
or private source for the benefit of the institute.
SECTION 2. The Institute for a Disaster Resilient Texas is
required to implement a provision of this Act only if the
legislature appropriates money specifically for that purpose. If
the legislature does not appropriate money specifically for that
purpose, the institute may, but is not required to, implement a
provision of this Act using other appropriations available for that
purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2345 was passed by the House on April
11, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 145, Nays 1, 2 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 2345 on May 24, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 128, Nays 11,
2 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2345 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 22, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor