PATRICK AND STRAUS DIRECT COMMITTEES TO STUDY HARVEY RECOVERY
The State’s response to Hurricane Harvey and future natural disasters will be examined by legislators as part of their preparations for the 2019 Legislative Session.
Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick releases his list on September 28 and will involve nine different Senate committees.
Those include a charge to the Health & Human Services Committee to analyze “…evacuation of vulnerable populations from state-regulated facilities.”
House Speaker Joe Straus announced five interim charges related to the storm on September 14. Though none of the charges dealt directly with health and human services issues, it is widely expected that committees with jurisdiction over health care will take up how they were impacted by Harvey.
Meetings of these committees will start in October, beginning with a House Appropriations Committee hearing in Houston on October 2.
Their findings will be placed in reports and may be considered for legislation next session.
Funding for hurricane recovery could be taken up before 2019 in a special session of the Legislature. However, Governor Greg Abbott has indicated he does not plan to call a special session as he believes affected areas already have the funding they need for the recovery.