H.B. No. 6
AN ACT
relating to disaster relief and recovery.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 418.005(a), (b), (c), and (e),
Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) This section applies only to:
(1) an elected law enforcement officer or county
judge, or an appointed public officer of the state or of a political
subdivision, who has management or supervisory responsibilities
and:
(A) [(1)] whose position description, job
duties, or assignment includes emergency management
responsibilities; or
(B) [(2)] who plays a role in emergency
preparedness, response, or recovery; and
(2) an emergency management coordinator designated
under Section 418.1015(c) by the emergency management director of a
county with a population of 500,000 or more.
(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 public
officer; [or]
(2) otherwise assumes responsibilities as a public
officer, if the person is not required to take an oath of office to
assume the person's duties; or
(3) is designated as an emergency management
coordinator under Section 418.1015(c).
(c) The division shall develop and provide a training course
related to the emergency management responsibilities of
state-level officers and a training course related to the emergency
management responsibilities of officers and emergency management
coordinators of political subdivisions. The division shall ensure
that the training courses satisfy the requirements of Subsection
(b).
(e) The division or other entity providing the training
shall provide a certificate of course completion to a person
[public officers] who completes [complete] the training required by
this section. A person [public officer] who completes the training
required by this section shall maintain and make available for
public inspection the record of the person's [public officer's]
completion of the training.
SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 418, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 418.054 to read as follows:
Sec. 418.054. DISASTER RECOVERY TASK FORCE. (a) The
division shall develop a disaster recovery task force to operate
throughout the long-term recovery period following natural and
man-made disasters by providing specialized assistance for
communities and individuals to address financial issues, available
federal assistance programs, and recovery and resiliency planning
to speed recovery efforts at the local level.
(b) The disaster recovery task force may include and use the
resources of:
(1) any appropriate state agencies, including
institutions of higher education; and
(2) organized volunteer groups.
(c) The disaster recovery task force shall develop
procedures for preparing and issuing a report listing each project
related to a disaster that qualifies for federal assistance. A
report must be submitted to the appropriate federal agencies as
soon as practicable after any disaster.
(d) Once each quarter, the disaster recovery task force
shall brief members of the legislature, legislative staff, and
state agency personnel on the response and recovery efforts for
previous disasters and any preparation or planning for potential
future hazards, threats, or disasters.
SECTION 3. Section 418.102, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) An emergency management program required by
Subsection (a) and maintained by a county, or in which a county
participates, must provide for catastrophic debris management.
SECTION 4. Section 33.604, Natural Resources Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
(b-1) In addition to the money described by Subsection (b),
the account consists of money transferred to the account under
Section 156.252, Tax Code. This subsection expires September 1,
2031.
SECTION 5. Subchapter F, Chapter 156, Tax Code, is amended
by adding Section 156.252 to read as follows:
Sec. 156.252. TEMPORARY ALLOCATION OF CERTAIN REVENUE TO
BENEFIT COASTAL COUNTIES. (a) In this section, "coastal county"
means any county adjacent to:
(1) the Gulf of Mexico; or
(2) Corpus Christi Bay.
(b) Beginning with the state fiscal year beginning
September 1, 2021, and except as provided by Subsection (d), the
comptroller shall, not later than September 30 of each state fiscal
year:
(1) compute the amount of revenue derived from the
collection of taxes imposed under this chapter at a rate of two
percent and received from hotels located in coastal counties during
the preceding state fiscal year; and
(2) transfer that amount to the coastal erosion
response account created under Section 33.604, Natural Resources
Code.
(c) Revenue transferred under this section may be
appropriated only to the General Land Office for a purpose
consistent with Subchapter H, Chapter 33, Natural Resources Code,
that benefits a coastal county.
(d) Revenue derived from the collection of taxes under this
chapter that is placed in a suspense account under Section
151.429(h) or under Section 2303.5055(f), Government Code, is
excluded from the computation required by Subsection (b)(1).
(e) This section expires September 1, 2031.
SECTION 6. Not later than March 1, 2020, each person who is
required to complete a course of training under Section 418.005,
Government Code, as amended by this Act, must complete the
training.
SECTION 7. Not later than January 1, 2020, each county shall
provide for catastrophic debris management in the county's
emergency management program or in a program in which the county
participates as required by Section 418.102(a-1), Government Code,
as added by this Act.
SECTION 8. The Texas Division of Emergency Management 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 division
may, but is not required to, implement a
provision of this Act using other appropriations available for that
purpose.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 6 was passed by the House on April 11,
2019, by the following vote: Yeas 145, Nays 0, 1 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 6 on May 24, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 140, Nays 1, 2
present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 6 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