Senate flood committee advances omnibus bill; floor vote expected next week
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas Senate Select Committee for Disaster Preparedness & Flooding voted Friday to advance four bills out of committee, including the special session's Senate Bill 1, which Committee Chair Sen. Charles Perry laid out in the hearing.
"Over the past three weeks, our committee convened in two joint hearings and took over 26 hours of invited and public testimony," said Perry, R-Lubbock. "SB 1 is the primary product of the work we performed over the last few weeks ... the bill is comprehensive, omnibus legislation that addresses many of the concerns that have been brought to the committee's attention since July 4th."
SB 1 contains a collection of changes to how state agencies, campgrounds and volunteer groups will need to prepare and respond to flooding.
"It is not specifically related to floods. We found gaps in our emergency responses at the local levels," Perry said. "There's fortunately areas of the state that may never need these, and we recognize the diversity of geography and weather patterns ... but it is a universal system with respect to how we respond."
Perry said that while he typically has issues with omnibus legislation, he hopes that "common sense doesn't leave the room" if it were to pass and that responders should still take initiative when possible.
SB 1 would require some level of background checks for volunteers if passed. Perry likened the proposed process to what's required to purchase a gun, in that the forms wouldn't be retained after approval is granted.
He also said that he doesn't want to dissuade organized groups from helping.
"I don't want an authoritarian walking by and asking 'show me your badge,'" Perry said.
He also chose to preemptively take a swing at the media, and said that he believed that the press would run headlines claiming the committee wanted extensive FBI background checks for volunteers. However, it was apparent from his comments that wouldn't be the case.
"There is no '72 hour process' for the volunteers in this bill, we're not certifying those with criminal background checks at the FBI level," Perry said. "To reaffirm, we will have some way of initiating volunteers into a database. Exactly what that looks like today will be determined between now and [Aug. 12]."
Rather, it seemed that some who gave public testimony Friday confused a separate provision of SB 1, which would require steeper background checks for an emergency coordinator's license.
Complaints about the shortcomings of Travis County leadership, made during prior hearings, were again voiced during the Friday hearing. Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, said she has spoke with Travis County Judge Andy Brown about those and promised to address those further after the special session concluded.
The committee also heard invited testimony for Senate Bills 2, 13 and 43:
- SB 2 calls for outdoor warning sirens in flood-prone areas
- SB 13 would provide credits for construction that incorporates water savings
- SB 43 would provide permit exemptions for dam construction
Around 12:30 p.m., committee members voted unanimously to advance all four bills. During the meeting, some members said they would seek to make friendly amendments to SB 1.
Ultimately, for this special session, these four bills are likely doomed to die with the Texas House paralyzed due to a lack of quorum. Even were the Senate to pass one or all of the bills, they cannot become laws without passage by the House.
However, the legislation can return in future sessions of the Texas Legislature. The next session will be in 2027, unless the governor calls another special session. Gov. Greg Abbott said Thursday in an interview with NBC that he would call "special session after special session after special session” with the "with the same agenda items."