By: Janek, et al. S.B. No. 1818
(In the Senate - Filed March 29, 2005; April 4, 2005, read
first time and referred to Committee on Transportation and Homeland
Security; May 6, 2005, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0;
May 6, 2005, sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1818 By: Lindsay
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. The division shall:
(1) deploy incident management teams composed of first
responders who are trained in emergency management, including
hurricane emergency management, as needed to assist with mass
evacuations;
(2) 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;
(3) 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
(4) 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. The
governor's office of homeland security 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.
(a) The Health and Human Services 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 and coordinate with local officials
to provide improved emergency evacuation assistance to persons with
special needs, including persons who reside in or attend special
needs care facilities, such as intermediate care facilities, adult
day care facilities, nursing facilities, and assisted living
facilities.
(b) This section does not create a duty or cause of action.
Sec. 418.254. TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. The
Texas Department of Transportation shall:
(1) conduct a study of traffic at critical points on
regional mass evacuation routes, using existing real-time traffic
counter systems to simulate the flow of traffic during an emergency
evacuation; and
(2) 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 on the state
highway system 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. The Department
of Public Safety 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;
and
(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.
SECTION 3. Not later than December 1, 2006, the Department
of Public Safety of the State of Texas shall 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 4. 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.
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