BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 7

By: Morrison

Homeland Security & Public Safety

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The report issued by the Governor's Commission to Rebuild Texas, which was established following Hurricane Harvey, included a recommendation to compile and maintain a comprehensive list of all the regulatory waivers needed during a disaster to expedite suspensions in any future event, as well as a recommendation to emphasize to emergency management personnel the importance of working out partnership agreements and contracted services before a disaster strikes. C.S.H.B. 7 seeks to act on those recommendations in an effort to help eliminate administrative barriers that slow disaster recovery efforts.

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. 7 amends the Government Code to require the governor's office, using existing resources, to compile and maintain a comprehensive list of regulatory statutes and rules that may require suspension during a disaster. The bill requires an applicable state agency that would be impacted by the suspension of a statute or rule on the list, on request by the governor's office, to review the list for accuracy and advise the governor's office regarding any statutes or rules that should be added to the list.

C.S.H.B. 7 requires the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM), in consultation with other state agencies TDEM considers appropriate, to develop a plan to assist political subdivisions of the state with executing contracts for services likely to be needed following a disaster. The bill sets out the training, recommendations, and assistance that the plan must include and requires TDEM to consult with the comptroller of public accounts regarding including a contract for services likely to be needed following a disaster on the schedule of multiple award contracts or as part of another cooperative purchasing program administered by the comptroller.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2019.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 7 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute changes the entities with which TDEM must consult in developing the plan from the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service to any state agencies that TDEM considers appropriate.