BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2305

By: Morrison

Homeland Security & Public Safety

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The Governor's Commission to Rebuild Texas, formed after Hurricane Harvey, issued a report that called for the development of a proposal for the legislature for training and credentialing emergency management personnel to help assist in the preparation for and recovery from future storms. C.S.H.B. 2305 provides for the establishment of a work group to study and develop a proposal for enhancing the training and credentialing of those personnel on the state or local level.

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. 2305 requires the Texas Division of Emergency Management to establish a work group of persons knowledgeable on emergency management to study and develop a proposal for enhancing the training and credentialing of emergency management directors, emergency management coordinators, and other emergency management personnel on the state or local level. The bill requires the work group to do the following as a part of the study and proposal:

· assess the training and credentials necessary for emergency management directors, emergency management coordinators, and other emergency management personnel on the state or local level to effectively oversee the response to and recovery from a disaster, including reviewing current required training courses; and

· consult with institutions of higher education on the development of degree programs in emergency management in addition to the programs that exist in Texas on the bill's effective date.

C.S.H.B. 2305 sets out certain required considerations for the work group in conducting the assessment and requires the work group, not later than November 1, 2020, to submit the proposal to members of the legislature and the governor. The work group is abolished and the bill's provisions expire January 1, 2021. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2019.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 2305 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 does not include the provisions requiring the work group to consult with the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service in reviewing the current required training courses and with Texas A&M University on the development of the applicable degree programs.