Texas Emergency Management and Homeland Security Statutory Authorities Summarized

Publication Date: May 2004

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Government

Type:

Coverage: Texas

Abstract:

The Texas Disaster Act of 1975 contains the key emergency management provisions for the state of Texas (Tex. Government §418.001 et seq.). The governor is authorized to establish an emergency management council to provide advice on emergency management issues. The coordinator of the Division of Emergency Management for the state also serves as the lead drought officer for state. Wildfire and drought are significant natural disaster concerns for the state and are addressed in specific statutes. Continuity of government provisions call upon former legislators to serve as emergency interim successors.

This report is one of a series that profiles emergency management and homeland security statutory authorities of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Each profile identifies the more significant elements of state statutes, generally as codified. Congressional readers may wish to conduct further searches for related provisions using the Internet link presented in the last section of this report. The National Conference of State Legislatures provided primary research assistance in the development of these profiles under contract to the Congressional Research Service (CRS). Summary information on all of the profiles is presented in CRS Report RL32287. This report will be updated as developments warrant.