BILL ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 2618 By: Ancha State Affairs Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE According to an analysis of data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Centers for Environmental Information that was published in 2024 by Texas 2036, Texas leads the nation in both the frequency and cost of severe weather disasters, accounting for 15 percent of all billion-dollar disasters in the United States. The analysis indicated that from 1980 to 2024, Texas experienced 171 billion-dollar weather and climate disaster events, which was 77 percent more than Louisiana, the second-most-affected state. According to a report published in 2024 by the Office of the Texas State Climatologist, the state is expected to experience more frequent and intense extreme weather events over the next decade, including hotter temperatures, increased drought severity, and more intense hurricanes and flooding. C.S.H.B. 2618 seeks to address this issue by requiring certain state entities to publish a severe weather adaptation plan to assess the entity's role with respect to severe weather events. CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 2618 amends the Government Code to require each of the following entities, not later than September 1 of each even-numbered year, to publish a severe weather adaptation plan to assess the entity's role with respect to severe weather events: the Department of Agriculture; the Department of Public Safety; the General Land Office; the Health and Human Services Commission; the office of the comptroller of public accounts; the Parks and Wildlife Department; the Public Utility Commission of Texas; the Texas A&M Forest Service; the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality; the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs; the Texas Department of Insurance; the Texas Department of Transportation; and the Texas Division of Emergency Management. For this purpose, a severe weather adaptation plan is a strategy to identify, minimize, and adequately prepare for the effects of changes in the incidence and prevalence of severe weather on the social, economic, and ecological systems of the state and to manage the risks associated with severe weather. The bill requires such a plan to be based on current research-based science that identifies the likely effects on the state from severe weather events. C.S.H.B. 2618 requires an entity's severe weather adaptation plan to include the following: a severe weather vulnerability assessment; a review of existing programs in the context of severe weather events; an analysis of the effects the entity's efforts to adapt to changes in the incidence and prevalence of severe weather events would have on the entity's budget during the next 2, 5, and 10 years; potential sources of funding to support the entity's efforts to adapt to changes in the incidence and prevalence of severe weather events; and a statewide strategy to monitor the continuing effects of severe weather events. The bill authorizes each applicable entity, in developing its plan, to consult with the Houston Advanced Research Center and with the Office of the Texas State Climatologist in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, Texas A&M University. C.S.H.B. 2618 requires an entity subject to the bill's provisions that is required to develop a continuity of operations plan under applicable Labor Code provisions to include in that plan the severe weather vulnerability assessment described by the bill. This requirement applies only to a continuity of operations plan developed or adopted on or after the bill's effective date. C.S.H.B. 2618 requires each applicable entity, not later than September 1 of each even‑numbered year, to post its severe weather adaptation plan on a publicly accessible website and electronically submit a copy of the plan to the following individuals: the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of representatives; the presiding officer of each standing committee or subcommittee of the legislature with primary jurisdiction over environmental matters; and the executive director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The bill requires an applicable entity, before posting the plan on a publicly accessible website, to redact from the plan information the release of which might compromise the security of the entity's operations. The bill subjects a severe weather adaptation plan to audit by the state auditor. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2025. COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE While C.S.H.B. 2618 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill. While both the introduced and substitute set out a list of entities required to publish a severe weather adaptation plan, the substitute omits ERCOT and the Texas Water Development Board, which were included in the introduced, from that list. Whereas the introduced established that a severe weather adaptation plan is a strategy to identify, minimize, and adequately prepare for the effects of an increased incidence and prevalence of severe weather on the state's social, economic, and ecological systems, the substitute establishes that such a plan is a strategy to identify, minimize, and adequately prepare for the effects of changes in the incidence and prevalence of severe weather on those systems. The substitute makes the following changes to the introduced with respect to the required contents of an applicable entity's severe weather adaptation plan: omits the requirement that the plan include specific steps necessary for the entity to fulfill its mission during severe weather events; replaces the requirement that the plan include an analysis of the effects implementing those steps would have on the entity's budget during the next 2, 5, and 10 years with a requirement that the plan include an analysis of the effects the entity's efforts to adapt to changes in the incidence and prevalence of severe weather events would have on the entity's budget during the next 2, 5, and 10 years; and replaces the requirement that the plan include potential sources of funding to support the entity's efforts to adapt to an increased incidence and prevalence of severe weather events with a requirement that the plan include potential sources of funding to support the entity's efforts to adapt to changes in the incidence and prevalence of severe weather events. The substitute replaces the requirement in the introduced for each applicable entity to consult with the Houston Advanced Research Center and with the Office of the Texas State Climatologist in developing its severe weather adaptation plan with an authorization to do so. The substitute includes a requirement absent from the introduced for an entity subject to the bill's provisions that is required to develop a continuity of operations plan under applicable Labor Code provisions to include in that plan the severe weather vulnerability assessment described by the bill. Accordingly, the substitute also includes a procedural provision absent from the introduced making that requirement applicable only to a continuity of operations plan developed or adopted on or after the bill's effective date. The substitute includes a requirement absent from the introduced for an applicable entity, before posting its severe weather adaptation plan on a publicly accessible website, to redact from the plan information the release of which might compromise the security of the entity's operations.
BILL ANALYSIS
# BILL ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 2618
By: Ancha
State Affairs
Committee Report (Substituted)
C.S.H.B. 2618
By: Ancha
State Affairs
Committee Report (Substituted)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE According to an analysis of data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Centers for Environmental Information that was published in 2024 by Texas 2036, Texas leads the nation in both the frequency and cost of severe weather disasters, accounting for 15 percent of all billion-dollar disasters in the United States. The analysis indicated that from 1980 to 2024, Texas experienced 171 billion-dollar weather and climate disaster events, which was 77 percent more than Louisiana, the second-most-affected state. According to a report published in 2024 by the Office of the Texas State Climatologist, the state is expected to experience more frequent and intense extreme weather events over the next decade, including hotter temperatures, increased drought severity, and more intense hurricanes and flooding. C.S.H.B. 2618 seeks to address this issue by requiring certain state entities to publish a severe weather adaptation plan to assess the entity's role with respect to severe weather events.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 2618 amends the Government Code to require each of the following entities, not later than September 1 of each even-numbered year, to publish a severe weather adaptation plan to assess the entity's role with respect to severe weather events: the Department of Agriculture; the Department of Public Safety; the General Land Office; the Health and Human Services Commission; the office of the comptroller of public accounts; the Parks and Wildlife Department; the Public Utility Commission of Texas; the Texas A&M Forest Service; the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality; the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs; the Texas Department of Insurance; the Texas Department of Transportation; and the Texas Division of Emergency Management. For this purpose, a severe weather adaptation plan is a strategy to identify, minimize, and adequately prepare for the effects of changes in the incidence and prevalence of severe weather on the social, economic, and ecological systems of the state and to manage the risks associated with severe weather. The bill requires such a plan to be based on current research-based science that identifies the likely effects on the state from severe weather events. C.S.H.B. 2618 requires an entity's severe weather adaptation plan to include the following: a severe weather vulnerability assessment; a review of existing programs in the context of severe weather events; an analysis of the effects the entity's efforts to adapt to changes in the incidence and prevalence of severe weather events would have on the entity's budget during the next 2, 5, and 10 years; potential sources of funding to support the entity's efforts to adapt to changes in the incidence and prevalence of severe weather events; and a statewide strategy to monitor the continuing effects of severe weather events. The bill authorizes each applicable entity, in developing its plan, to consult with the Houston Advanced Research Center and with the Office of the Texas State Climatologist in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, Texas A&M University. C.S.H.B. 2618 requires an entity subject to the bill's provisions that is required to develop a continuity of operations plan under applicable Labor Code provisions to include in that plan the severe weather vulnerability assessment described by the bill. This requirement applies only to a continuity of operations plan developed or adopted on or after the bill's effective date. C.S.H.B. 2618 requires each applicable entity, not later than September 1 of each even‑numbered year, to post its severe weather adaptation plan on a publicly accessible website and electronically submit a copy of the plan to the following individuals: the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of representatives; the presiding officer of each standing committee or subcommittee of the legislature with primary jurisdiction over environmental matters; and the executive director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The bill requires an applicable entity, before posting the plan on a publicly accessible website, to redact from the plan information the release of which might compromise the security of the entity's operations. The bill subjects a severe weather adaptation plan to audit by the state auditor.
EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2025.
COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE While C.S.H.B. 2618 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill. While both the introduced and substitute set out a list of entities required to publish a severe weather adaptation plan, the substitute omits ERCOT and the Texas Water Development Board, which were included in the introduced, from that list. Whereas the introduced established that a severe weather adaptation plan is a strategy to identify, minimize, and adequately prepare for the effects of an increased incidence and prevalence of severe weather on the state's social, economic, and ecological systems, the substitute establishes that such a plan is a strategy to identify, minimize, and adequately prepare for the effects of changes in the incidence and prevalence of severe weather on those systems. The substitute makes the following changes to the introduced with respect to the required contents of an applicable entity's severe weather adaptation plan: omits the requirement that the plan include specific steps necessary for the entity to fulfill its mission during severe weather events; replaces the requirement that the plan include an analysis of the effects implementing those steps would have on the entity's budget during the next 2, 5, and 10 years with a requirement that the plan include an analysis of the effects the entity's efforts to adapt to changes in the incidence and prevalence of severe weather events would have on the entity's budget during the next 2, 5, and 10 years; and replaces the requirement that the plan include potential sources of funding to support the entity's efforts to adapt to an increased incidence and prevalence of severe weather events with a requirement that the plan include potential sources of funding to support the entity's efforts to adapt to changes in the incidence and prevalence of severe weather events. The substitute replaces the requirement in the introduced for each applicable entity to consult with the Houston Advanced Research Center and with the Office of the Texas State Climatologist in developing its severe weather adaptation plan with an authorization to do so. The substitute includes a requirement absent from the introduced for an entity subject to the bill's provisions that is required to develop a continuity of operations plan under applicable Labor Code provisions to include in that plan the severe weather vulnerability assessment described by the bill. Accordingly, the substitute also includes a procedural provision absent from the introduced making that requirement applicable only to a continuity of operations plan developed or adopted on or after the bill's effective date. The substitute includes a requirement absent from the introduced for an applicable entity, before posting its severe weather adaptation plan on a publicly accessible website, to redact from the plan information the release of which might compromise the security of the entity's operations.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
According to an analysis of data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Centers for Environmental Information that was published in 2024 by Texas 2036, Texas leads the nation in both the frequency and cost of severe weather disasters, accounting for 15 percent of all billion-dollar disasters in the United States. The analysis indicated that from 1980 to 2024, Texas experienced 171 billion-dollar weather and climate disaster events, which was 77 percent more than Louisiana, the second-most-affected state. According to a report published in 2024 by the Office of the Texas State Climatologist, the state is expected to experience more frequent and intense extreme weather events over the next decade, including hotter temperatures, increased drought severity, and more intense hurricanes and flooding. C.S.H.B. 2618 seeks to address this issue by requiring certain state entities to publish a severe weather adaptation plan to assess the entity's role with respect to severe weather events.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 2618 amends the Government Code to require each of the following entities, not later than September 1 of each even-numbered year, to publish a severe weather adaptation plan to assess the entity's role with respect to severe weather events:
the Department of Agriculture;
the Department of Public Safety;
the General Land Office;
the Health and Human Services Commission;
the office of the comptroller of public accounts;
the Parks and Wildlife Department;
the Public Utility Commission of Texas;
the Texas A&M Forest Service;
the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality;
the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs;
the Texas Department of Insurance;
the Texas Department of Transportation; and
the Texas Division of Emergency Management.
For this purpose, a severe weather adaptation plan is a strategy to identify, minimize, and adequately prepare for the effects of changes in the incidence and prevalence of severe weather on the social, economic, and ecological systems of the state and to manage the risks associated with severe weather. The bill requires such a plan to be based on current research-based science that identifies the likely effects on the state from severe weather events.
C.S.H.B. 2618 requires an entity's severe weather adaptation plan to include the following:
a severe weather vulnerability assessment;
a review of existing programs in the context of severe weather events;
an analysis of the effects the entity's efforts to adapt to changes in the incidence and prevalence of severe weather events would have on the entity's budget during the next 2, 5, and 10 years;
potential sources of funding to support the entity's efforts to adapt to changes in the incidence and prevalence of severe weather events; and
a statewide strategy to monitor the continuing effects of severe weather events.
The bill authorizes each applicable entity, in developing its plan, to consult with the Houston Advanced Research Center and with the Office of the Texas State Climatologist in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, Texas A&M University.
C.S.H.B. 2618 requires an entity subject to the bill's provisions that is required to develop a continuity of operations plan under applicable Labor Code provisions to include in that plan the severe weather vulnerability assessment described by the bill. This requirement applies only to a continuity of operations plan developed or adopted on or after the bill's effective date.
C.S.H.B. 2618 requires each applicable entity, not later than September 1 of each even‑numbered year, to post its severe weather adaptation plan on a publicly accessible website and electronically submit a copy of the plan to the following individuals:
the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of representatives;
the presiding officer of each standing committee or subcommittee of the legislature with primary jurisdiction over environmental matters; and
the executive director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
The bill requires an applicable entity, before posting the plan on a publicly accessible website, to redact from the plan information the release of which might compromise the security of the entity's operations. The bill subjects a severe weather adaptation plan to audit by the state auditor.
EFFECTIVE DATE
On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2025.
COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 2618 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
While both the introduced and substitute set out a list of entities required to publish a severe weather adaptation plan, the substitute omits ERCOT and the Texas Water Development Board, which were included in the introduced, from that list.
Whereas the introduced established that a severe weather adaptation plan is a strategy to identify, minimize, and adequately prepare for the effects of an increased incidence and prevalence of severe weather on the state's social, economic, and ecological systems, the substitute establishes that such a plan is a strategy to identify, minimize, and adequately prepare for the effects of changes in the incidence and prevalence of severe weather on those systems.
The substitute makes the following changes to the introduced with respect to the required contents of an applicable entity's severe weather adaptation plan:
omits the requirement that the plan include specific steps necessary for the entity to fulfill its mission during severe weather events;
replaces the requirement that the plan include an analysis of the effects implementing those steps would have on the entity's budget during the next 2, 5, and 10 years with a requirement that the plan include an analysis of the effects the entity's efforts to adapt to changes in the incidence and prevalence of severe weather events would have on the entity's budget during the next 2, 5, and 10 years; and
replaces the requirement that the plan include potential sources of funding to support the entity's efforts to adapt to an increased incidence and prevalence of severe weather events with a requirement that the plan include potential sources of funding to support the entity's efforts to adapt to changes in the incidence and prevalence of severe weather events.
The substitute replaces the requirement in the introduced for each applicable entity to consult with the Houston Advanced Research Center and with the Office of the Texas State Climatologist in developing its severe weather adaptation plan with an authorization to do so.
The substitute includes a requirement absent from the introduced for an entity subject to the bill's provisions that is required to develop a continuity of operations plan under applicable Labor Code provisions to include in that plan the severe weather vulnerability assessment described by the bill. Accordingly, the substitute also includes a procedural provision absent from the introduced making that requirement applicable only to a continuity of operations plan developed or adopted on or after the bill's effective date.
The substitute includes a requirement absent from the introduced for an applicable entity, before posting its severe weather adaptation plan on a publicly accessible website, to redact from the plan information the release of which might compromise the security of the entity's operations.