HBA-MSH C.S.H.B. 2618 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 2618 By: Gray Public Safety 3/29/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In 2000, there were 96 fatalities, 146 injuries, and $925 million in property and crop damage in Texas due to severe weather. There have been 51 major natural disasters declared in Texas between 1972 and 2000, more than any other state. Declared disasters are eligible for federal assistance. However, many other disasters occur in Texas that do not qualify for federal aid, and the costs of these disasters are borne by local governments and individuals. In many of these undeclared disasters, the governor does not have the authority to make grants to local government and individuals. C.S.H.B. 2618 expands the governor's authority to make grants to local governments and individuals during a disaster and creates the disaster management fund. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 2618 amends the Government Code relating to provisions in the Texas Disaster Act of 1975. The bill authorizes the governor to request federal assistance to save lives, protect property, preserve the public health and safety, lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe, supplement the efforts of available resources of the state, the affected local government, and organized volunteer groups, and to provide compensation for uninsured disaster-related losses for situations that the governor determines are beyond the capabilities of the state and the affected political subdivision. The bill removes provisions relating to the authority of the governor to determine the amount needed by a local government to restore its governmental functions before applying to the federal government for assistance and authorizing the governor to recommend to the federal government cancellation of all or part of repayment under certain conditions (Sec. 418.021). The bill authorizes the governor to make grants to meet disaster-related necessary expenses or other serious needs of individuals or households adversely affected by a disaster that is not declared by the president of the United States or a disaster that is declared by the president of the United States but in which individual or household assistance is not granted (undeclared disaster) and in which the governor determines that disaster relief will not be sufficient to address serious needs of the victims of the disaster. The bill limits such grants to financial assistance for housing repairs, repair or replacement of personal property, transportation expenses, and funeral, dental, medical, and other analogous expenses considered necessary to meet a serious need (Sec. 418.022). In an undeclared disaster in which the governor determines that disaster relief will not be sufficient to address the mental health needs of the affected population, the bill authorizes the governor to provide funds to the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation in order to provide short-term crisis counseling services (Sec. 418.023). In an undeclared disaster, the bill authorizes the governor to provide funds to a political subdivision for expenses incurred in the repair or replacement of a damaged highway or street or water control structure if no other means of financial assistance is available (Sec. 418.0231). In an undeclared disaster or a disaster that is declared but in which hazard mitigation assistance is not granted, the bill authorizes the governor to provide funds for the cost of hazard mitigation measures and for the costs associated with pre-disaster mitigation projects that are determined by the governor to be costeffective, and substantially reduce the risk of future damage, loss, or suffering in an area affected by the disaster. The bill specifies that the total amount of funds provided for these purposes may not exceed 20 percent of the estimated aggregate amount of grants made by the governor in disaster situations (Sec. 418.0232). The bill abolishes the disaster contingency fund and creates the disaster management fund (fund) (Sec. 418.073 and SECTION 9). The bill provides that the fund is a trust fund established in and required to be administered by the Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company. The bill authorizes the governor to make funds available from the fund to provide money for emergency management and disaster relief programs where the costs exceed the funds regularly appropriated to state and local agencies (Sec. 418.073). The bill sets forth limits on the use of the fund for administrative expenses, emergency management training costs, and the implementation of statewide notification systems or services. The bill also authorizes the governor to use money in the fund for expenses incurred in implementation of mutual aid assistance, disaster assistance to individuals and households, competitive grants for emergency preparedness and recovery projects conducted by volunteer groups, nonprofit organizations, and local political subdivisions. The bill authorizes the governor to use money in the fund for at least one-half of eligible project costs for disaster-related mental health counseling, repair or replacement of streets and water control structures, and hazard mitigation. The bill authorizes the governor to use money in the fund for at least one-half of a local political subdivision's share of expenses incurred on public assistance projects eligible for federal assistance if the county has been declared a disaster area by the president of the United States (Sec. 418.0731). EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 2618 differs from the original by replacing references to "individuals and families" with "households and individuals." The substitute removes the $5,000 limit on grants made to individuals and families to meet disaster-related necessary expenses or other serious needs (Sec. 418.022). The substitute authorizes the governor to provide funds to the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation in order to provide short-term crisis counseling services in an undeclared disaster in which the governor determines that disaster relief will not be sufficient to address the mental health needs of the affected population. In the original bill, the governor was authorized to provide funds to a political subdivision to pay for removal of debris (Sec 418.023). The substitute removes provisions that limited funds provided by the governor for hazard mitigation measures to 50 percent of the cost. The substitute authorizes the governor to provide funds for pre-disaster mitigation projects (Sec 418.0232). The substitute authorizes the governor to use money in the disaster management fund (fund) for grants made to individuals and households to meet disaster-related necessary expenses or other serious needs, competitive grants for emergency preparedness and recovery projects conducted by volunteer groups, nonprofit organizations, and local political subdivisions. The substitute authorizes the governor to use money in the fund for at least one-half of the costs of disaster-related mental health counseling, repair or replacement of streets and water control structures, and hazard mitigation and, if the county has been declared a disaster area, for at least one-half of a local political subdivision's share of expenses incurred on public assistance projects eligible for federal assistance (Sec. 418.0731).