79R11011 KEG-D
By: Janek, Ellis, Lucio S.B. No. 1818
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the improvement and coordination of statewide efforts
to detect, prepare for, and respond to certain emergencies.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 418.108, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (f) and (g) to read as follows:
(f) Subject to the governor's homeland security strategy
developed under Chapter 421, the presiding officer of the governing
body of a political subdivision may order the evacuation of all or
part of the population from an area in the jurisdiction of the
political subdivision that is stricken with or threatened by a
disaster if the presiding officer considers the action necessary
for the preservation of life or other disaster mitigation,
response, or recovery.
(g) Subject to the governor's homeland security strategy
developed under Chapter 421, the presiding officer of the governing
body of a political subdivision may control ingress to and egress
from a disaster area in the political subdivision's jurisdiction
and the movement of persons and the occupancy of premises in a
disaster area in the political subdivision's jurisdiction.
SECTION 2. Chapter 418, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter I to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER I. CERTAIN DUTIES OF DIVISION AND OTHER ENTITIES
RELATED TO THE MANAGEMENT OF DISASTERS
Sec. 418.251. DIVISION DUTIES. To improve the ability of
the division to manage disasters, the division shall:
(1) employ and train four incident management teams
composed of first responders who are trained in emergency
management, including hurricane emergency management;
(2) deploy the teams as needed to assist with mass
evacuations;
(3) conduct a study to determine the benefits, if any,
of preemptively deploying the teams to expand the range of response
and recovery services provided by the teams, and publish a report of
the study;
(4) develop and implement a media campaign, in
coordination with local government officials, to improve public
awareness of hurricanes, hurricane preparedness, available
resources, and hurricane evacuation routes in regions of this state
that are close to the Gulf of Mexico; and
(5) using existing funds, develop training exercises
with the Texas Department of Transportation that will allow the
division to evaluate traffic management in relation to the planned
regional mass evacuation routes developed by state and local
officials and ensure the adequacy of the evacuation plans.
Sec. 418.252. GOVERNOR'S OFFICE OF HOMELAND SECURITY. To
improve the ability of the governor's office of homeland security
to manage disasters, the office shall:
(1) require local officials who are responsible for
emergency management planning to collaborate in the development of
regional mass evacuation plans that are fully compliant with the
framework developed by the National Incident Management System; and
(2) in coordination with the Texas Department of
Transportation, consult with local officials who are responsible
for emergency management planning to identify and upgrade hurricane
evacuation systems to make the systems compliant with systems
designed to respond to other homeland security emergencies.
Sec. 418.253. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION. To
improve the ability of the Health and Human Services Commission to
manage disasters, the commission, with the cooperation of other
health and human services agencies, including the Department of
State Health Services and the Department of Aging and Disability
Services, shall:
(1) encourage and assist local officials to identify
and maintain a list of persons with special needs, including
elderly persons and persons with disabilities, who may require
special assistance in the event of a catastrophic emergency; and
(2) develop a plan to provide improved emergency
evacuation assistance to persons with special needs.
Sec. 418.254. TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. To
improve the ability of the Texas Department of Transportation to
manage disasters, the department shall:
(1) seek available funding for, purchase, and install
real-time traffic counters at critical points on regional mass
evacuation routes, ensuring that the counters are linked to local
emergency operation centers and the Texas Infrastructure
Protection Communications Center under Subchapter E, Chapter 421;
(2) purchase wind gauges that will assist with the
prediction of and response to hurricanes approaching this state and
install the wind gauges in appropriate locations along the coast of
the Gulf of Mexico; and
(3) using available funds, develop and implement a
plan to:
(A) elevate low-lying roadways and bridges that
are a part of planned regional mass evacuation routes in coastal
regions to reduce the likelihood of flooding;
(B) reopen closed roadways that are a part of
planned regional mass evacuation routes;
(C) widen narrow roadways that are a part of
planned regional mass evacuation routes to improve the flow of
traffic and enhance overall evacuation capability; and
(D) install signs along planned regional mass
evacuation routes that indicate the availability of emergency
shelters.
Sec. 418.255. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY. To improve the
ability of the Department of Public Safety to manage disasters, the
department shall:
(1) identify and designate regions of this state that
are close to the Gulf of Mexico as "hurricane evacuation areas";
(2) develop and implement a regional unified command
structure to plan for and conduct evacuations in hurricane
evacuation areas and to coordinate the hurricane preparedness and
response efforts of the designated hurricane evacuation areas in a
manner that complies with the National Incident Management System;
(3) develop and implement a program to provide
information to persons with special needs relating to hurricanes,
emergency preparedness, evacuations, and access to any available
resources that provide appropriate assistance and services; and
(4) not later than December 1, 2006, report to the
legislature and the governor the department's progress in improving
and coordinating the hurricane planning and response efforts of
designated hurricane evacuation areas.
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, 2005.