Texas lawmakers hold first public hearing on Hill Country flood response

Lawmakers will convene today in their first public hearing to consider the state’s response to the flash floods on July 4 that killed at least 135 people statewide.

The special panel of 18 House and Senate members will hear from invited experts only about how to mitigate future disasters. A second hearing is scheduled for July 31 in Kerrville, the epicenter of the Hill Country flooding.

During a crowded special session that includes redistricting and THC regulation, Gov. Greg Abbott has asked lawmakers to address flood warning systems and emergency communications, relief funding for impacted areas in the Hill Country, and natural disaster preparation and recovery.

READ MORE: 6 ways lawmakers could respond to the Texas floods in their special session

It’s not yet clear what exact legislation lawmakers will rally behind. Invited witnesses include Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, and representatives from state agencies and a handful of river authorities, including the Upper Guadalupe River Authority, which oversees the area where the most deadly flooding occurred.

Top GOP lawmakers, including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and state Sen. Paul Bettencourt of Houston, have said they want the state to install physical sirens in flood-prone areas, especially in places that have struggled to pay for new systems.

On Tuesday, Patrick named three flood-related issues as priorities for the special session, including natural disaster preparation, emergency communication, and flood relief funding. The bill language has not yet been filed.

Shortly after the July 4 floods, Patrick also indicated that he and Abbott had specifically discussed allocating state funding for sirens in Kerr County so that they could be in place “by the next summer.” No more specifics on that proposal have emerged so far.

House Speaker Dustin Burrows, a Lubbock Republican, hasn’t made clear exactly how he wants the state to respond. On July 11, he said it was “too early to commit to know the specifics until we actually talk to the members of the community and hear what they think, talk to the experts in the field, talk to the first responders.”

EXCLUSIVE: Most Kerr County homes hit on July 4 had no flood insurance

Last week, acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock told lawmakers $3.1 billion was available for general purpose spending during the special session. It’s unclear how much will be budgeted for flood response and recovery.

Experts say inland flooding is only expected to become more severe with climate change, and have suggested several approaches state lawmakers could take.

Philip Bedient, director of Rice University's SSPEED Center, which focuses on severe storm prediction and evacuation, said the “lowest hanging fruit is to get a unified flood warning type system in place.” He said such a system – which relies on radar-estimated rainfall data – could be implemented in the Guadalupe River basin for less than $1.5 million, including installing sensors, sirens, and trained emergency managers.

Right now, counties can decide whether or not to put the systems in place. Kerr County sought to install a flood warning system, but couldn’t secure the $1 million needed, and its applications for state funds were rejected.

Other emergency managers cautioned lawmakers from relying too much on emergency sirens to alert people in danger.

“Sirens… alone are not going to solve the problem,” said Robert Cullick, a former executive at the Lower Colorado River Authority and retired emergency manager. “This is a people issue, and good training, good communications, and everybody understanding what their job is.”

Part of that effort, Cullick said, is preventing people from building in the floodplain – and moving existing structures out of the most dangerous areas. “We're not going to be able to stop or divert floods, generally speaking,” he said.

READ MORE: Texas emergency warning bill, vetoed in 2019, will return in session

Emergency warning systems also need ongoing capital to fund operations and training, said Howard Slobodin, the former general counsel of the Trinity River Authority. “All these capital projects, whether it’s flood warning or flood mitigation infrastructure, they have ongoing costs,” he said. “You can’t just put the money into the investment and then walk away.”

Lawmakers will also determine how much financial relief should flow to communities devastated by the flooding. A Houston Chronicle analysis found that most of the homes damaged in Kerr County didn’t carry flood insurance.

As youth camps situated in the floodplain face increased scrutiny after the deaths of dozens of girls, lawmakers are likely to consider measures that would address flood safety requirements for camps. State Rep. Don McLaughlin, a Republican from Uvalde, filed a bill that would require youth camps in floodplains to adhere to minimum building standards.

State Sen. Charles Perry, a Lubbock Republican, chairs the Senate’s select committee, while state Rep. Ken King, a Republican from Canadian near the Oklahoma border, leads the House committee.

Democratic lawmakers in both chambers have been critical of the attention the redistricting push from President Donald Trump has gotten so far compared to the flood response.

On Monday, the first day of the special session, state lawmakers spent hours on the Senate floor debating the rules that would govern the state’s effort to draw new congressional boundaries, while the House adjourned shortly after gaveling in.

“While communities across Texas are still reeling from one of the deadliest floods in our state's modern history, Republican leadership is choosing to serve Trump, not Texas,” said state Sen. Carol Alvarado, a Houston Democrat.

Forty-eight of the House’s 62 Democrats wrote a letter to Speaker Dustin Burrows demanding that no other legislation be considered or passed until the state had addressed flood relief and mitigation.