Well, just some of them.
The Texas Legislature’s special session will journey west to Kerrville this week, sending lawmakers to the seat of the most devastated county of the July 4 floods.
The two special committees weighing the legislative response to one of the deadliest flooding events in state history are expected to travel to the Hill Country this week and allow local residents to testify in Kerrville Thursday, the Chronicle previously reported. Their visit from Austin would come during the second week of the legislature’s special session, which kicked off last Monday and will last until Aug. 19.
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The July 4 floods are one of the major subjects of the session, alongside a THC ban and a congressional redistricting plan. Gov. Greg Abbott has asked lawmakers to consider flooding-related legislation under four categories — flood warning systems, flood emergency communications, relief funding and disaster preparedness and recovery.
So far during the special session, Texas’ emergency management chief has said Texas needed better coordination between state and local authorities during the July 4 flooding, and lawmakers have blasted Kerr County’s river authority for cutting property taxes instead of modernizing its flood warning system.
Some of the proposed flood-related measures in the legislature include physical flood sirens, radar-based monitoring that delivers instant alerts, a disaster preparedness council, and legislation, which Abbott vetoed in 2019, allowing the public to sign up for local emergency alerts when they obtain or renew a driver’s license.
Here are the details, if you’re interested and will be or want to be in Kerrville tomorrow morning. You should be able to watch online as well. The main question to me at this point is are we going to take up flooding issues before or after redistricting? Assuming there is anything to take up on that.
Elsewhere, we have a story about the Hill Country Community Foundation, which has been able to raise over $60 million so far for flood relief, and this story about text messages between Kerrville officials on the day of the flood. I didn’t think there was much of interest, but it’s always a good idea to check. I wish the Hill Country Community Foundation well in their mission. Finally, here’s a story about a family from San Antonio who volunteered in the immediate relief efforts, and what they took away from it.