Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that requires youth camps located in 100-year floodplains to develop and carry out flood evacuation plans during flood warnings in Texas.

Highlights:

• Authorizes Texas Justices of the Peace to exempt deaths caused solely by natural disasters from otherwise required autopsies (Sec. 1-2).

• Specifies that the aforementioned provision shall expire April 1, 2027 (Sec. 1). 

• Requires that the Texas Department of State Health Services develop a training for Justices of the Peace regarding the management of mass fatality events (Sec. 3).

• Specifies what curriculum the aforementioned training is to include (Sec. 3).

• Authorizes the Texas Commission on Fire Protection to obtain certain personally identifiable information for the purpose of vetting license applicants and holders (Sec. 4).

• Requires that the commission destroy such information after having completed the aforementioned vetting process (Sec. 4).

• Specifies that such information may only be disclosed in a hearing or criminal proceeding (Sec. 4).

• Authorizes the Texas Division of Emergency Management to obtain certain personally identifiable information for the purpose of vetting emergency response volunteer applicants (Sec. 5).

• Requires that the division destroy such information after having completed the aforementioned vetting process (Sec. 4).

• Specifies that such information may only be disclosed in a hearing or criminal proceeding (Sec. 5).

• Specifies that sheriffs and mayors of municipalities not covered by hazard mitigation plans are subject to certain existing provisions (Sec. 6).

• Increases the number of mandatory training emergency response hours for specified officials from 3 to 16 hours every 2 years (Sec. 6).

• Establishes a line of succession for the role of emergency management director within a governing body or county (Sec. 7).

• Establishes a line of succession for the role of emergency management director within an incorporated city (Sec. 7).

• Requires that counties with populations equal to or less than 68,750 include in their emergency management plan a unified incident command structure (Sec. 8).

• Requires that emergency management agencies conduct annual division-supervised drills regarding the agency’s emergency management plan (Sec. 8).

• Specifies that the aforementioned requirement shall not apply to agencies for one year after the issuance of a disaster declaration (Sec. 8).

• Requires that agencies subject to a disaster declaration submit to the division a post-disaster after-action report within 60 days (Sec. 9).

• Requires that the commission adopt certain minimum requirements relating to the issuance of bridge, basic, intermediate, advanced, and master-level emergency manager and emergency management coordinator licenses (Sec. 10).

• Requires that the commission establish, maintain, and make available a database of license holders (Sec. 10).

• Authorizes the division to establish an advisory committee regarding the implementation of these provisions and specifies its membership (Sec. 10).

• Prohibits the unlicensed service of emergency manager coordinators beyond an initial term of 6 months (Sec. 10).

• Requires that license applicants complete 40 hours of approved emergency management training and instruction (Sec. 10).

• Prohibits the licensure of applicants convicted of relevant crimes at the discretion of the commission (Sec. 10).

• Specifies that the commission may conduct background checks and require the submission of specified information to satisfy the aforementioned provisions (Sec. 10).

• Authorizes the commission to charge an applicant fee to cover any costs incurred by said background check (Sec. 10).

• Exempts specified alternative certifications from licensure requirements (Sec. 10).

• Specifies that licenses shall be valid for a term of 1 year and specifies the criteria under which licenses may be renewed (Sec. 10).

• Authorizes the commission to deny, suspend, or revoke licenses in response to violations of these provisions (Sec. 10).

• Requires that the division establish, maintain, and make available a volunteer registration and management database and specifies various requirements surrounding the creation and implementation of the database (Sec. 10).

• Requires that all unaffiliated volunteers be credentialed through the database before beginning their volunteer service (Sec. 10).

• Authorizes the division to waive any requirement provided for in these provisions as is necessary to facilitate an urgent response to a disaster (Sec. 10).

• Authorizes the division to conduct background checks and authorizes the division to deny volunteer applicants based upon criminal history (Sec. 10).

• Requires that the division adopt specified rules surrounding volunteer registration, vetting, training, and deployment (Sec. 10).

• Authorizes the division to solicit gifts, grants, and donations for specified purposes (Sec. 10).

• Authorizes the division to enter into agreements with public and private entities to support volunteer mobilization efforts (Sec. 10).

• Authorizes the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Division of Emergency Management to neutralize unmanned and unauthorized aircraft operating in a disaster area (Sec. 11).

• Expands the Disaster Recovery Program to include small businesses (Sec. 12-21).

• Prohibits banks from providing loans to micro-businesses under the aforementioned program in an amount less than 50% of the total amount of all loans projected under the program in a fiscal biennium (Sec. 18).

• Amends loan eligibility requirements to require physical or economic injury suffered as a result of a disaster (Sec. 18).

• Prohibits the issuance of loans to businesses that have not paid in full any previous loan received through the aforementioned program (Sec. 18).

• Limits loan interest rates to those of comparable private loans (Sec. 18).

• Authorized businesses to apply loans received towards payroll costs (Sec. 19).

• Authorizes the executive commissioner to establish specified rules regarding youth camp emergency evacuation plans and youth camp operators (Sec. 22).

• Prohibits the department from issuing a waiver for the aforementioned provision (Sec. 22).

• Requires that the department establish a Mass Fatality Operations Rapid Response Team for specified purposes (Sec. 23).

• Requires that specified entities and providers facilitate the integration of said team (Sec. 23). 

• Requires that the department establish and maintain a centralized fatality tracking system for the deployment of said team and specifies various requirements surrounding the creation and implementation of the system (Sec. 23).

• Requires that the operators of campgrounds located within floodplains adopt specified safety and construction standards (Sec. 24).

• Requires that the operators of such campgrounds adopt and make available to specified individuals an emergency evacuation plan (Sec. 24).

• Expands the initial flood planning group to include representation from institutions of higher education (Sec. 25).

• Requires the limited review of the Upper Guadalupe River Authority and specifies what said assessment is to include (Sec. 26).

• Specifies that the aforementioned provision shall take effect on April 1, 2027, and shall expire upon September 1, 2029 (Sec. 16).

• Specifies the membership of the Meteorological Data Monitoring Work Group (Sec. 27).

• Requires that the group develop a plan for implementing a statewide system of flood gauges and other equipment to inform emergency management decisions in real-time and specifies that said plan is to include (Sec. 27).

• Requires that the group submit said report to specified officials on or before December 1, 2026 (Sec. 27).

• Specifies that the aforementioned provisions shall expire upon December 1, 2027 (Sec. 27).

• Specifies that the enforcement of certain provisions shall begin December 1, 2026 (Sec. 29).

• Specifies that certain rules shall take effect as soon as is practicable or no later than May 1, 2026 (Sec. 31-32).

Full Bill Text