BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

                                                                                                                                           H.B. 2405

                                                                                                                                    By: Hardcastle

                                                                                        Defense Affairs & State-Federal Relations

                                                                                                       Committee Report (Unamended)

 

 

 

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

 

Texas has many agencies that are called upon by the Governor to respond during natural disasters and emergency situations to serve and protect the citizens of the state of Texas.  Such agencies include, but are not limited to, Texas Forest Service, Texas Engineering Extension Service and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.  These agencies do a tremendous job.  However, they must cover the cost of their deployment out of their state-appropriated budget.  Many times they are faced with having to exceed their state- appropriated budget in order to meet the budgetary needs of these deployments.  In these times, they are forced to return to the Legislature to ask for an Emergency Supplemental Appropriation.  As an example, the Texas Forest Service currently has an Emergency Supplemental Appropriation of more than $44.7 million in the engrossed version of HB 15 to cover wildfires which they have been deployed to over the past biennium.

 

The purpose of HB 2405 is to require the reimbursement of these agencies for costs associated with gubernatorial deployments out of the disaster contingency fund.

 

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

 

HB 2405 amends the Government Code by adding a subsection which states that if the governor deploys the personnel or other resources of a state agency to respond to a natural disaster or other emergency, the governor shall pay the costs incurred by the agency resulting from the deployment from the disaster contingency fund without regard to whether the demands placed on funds otherwise appropriated to the agency are unreasonably great.  The concurrence of the disaster emergency funding board is not required for a payment under this subsection.

 

EFFECTIVE DATE

 

Upon passage, or, if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2007.