June 14, 2019

Thank you for subscribing to my e-newsletter. Below you will find updates from federal, state and local agencies. Should you have any questions about the information below, please do not hesitate to contact us using the contact details listed at the end of this newsletter.

On Tuesday, Governor Abbott signed HB 3, The Texas Plan, into law. I was honored to be alongside him and my Senate counterpart, Chairman Larry Taylor, as this tranformative legislation was signed. Speaker Dennis Bonnen and Lt. Gov Dan Patrick, along with my Vice Chairman, Diego Bernal, and fellow Commission Members, Rep. Ken King, Sen. Royce West and Sen. Paul Bettencourt. Several other members were also on hand for the event. You can read more about this below.

In the "Legislative Update" section this week, HB 3913, the flood victim data protection bill, is highlighted. Scroll down to read more about this important legislation to protect all Harris County flood victims from future scams.

As mentioned last week, June 1st was the first day of the hurricane season. Our community has already seen a large amount of severe weather in 2019, with more predicted this summer. Again, I encourage you to take a look at www.TexasPrepares.org or www.Ready.gov for information on how to be prepared for the next storm. Make a Plan, Build a Kit and Get Informed now.

Should you have questions regarding anything in this newsletter, please feel free to contact us directly using the information provided at the bottom of this email.

Sincerely,

Download my May 2019 calendar by clicking the link below. This month is full of events in and around Texas that could be fun or useful to you and your family! This new format allows you to save the document for printing or sending to your family members.

 

Keep watch for these updated calendars at the beginning of each month. Important local and legislative dates and events will be posted here.

Harris County Launches Project Recovery Harris

Harris County has officially launched the Project Recovery Harvey program. If you or someone you know is a homeowner who was impacted by Harvey and/or the floods of 2015 and/or 2016 and live inside Harris County but outside the Houston City limits, please go to www.harrisrecovery.org and fill out a pre-a pplication for assistance or call 832-927-4961 for more information.

Possible avenues for help include:

There are currently five permanent intake centers open and available to help with filling out an application for assistance. Please see below for locations and hours. Harris County is working hard to make sure that they are reaching out to as many people in our community as possible to let them know about the program. Please call 832-927-4961 for more information.

USACE Galveston District executes modification to dredge additional material in San Jacinto River

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Galveston District staff executed a modification to the West Fork San Jacinto River Emergency Debris Removal contract June 7, 2019, to dredge an additional 497,400 cubic yards of material that was deposited in the mouth of the San Jacinto River from Hurricane Harvey.

“This contract modification will ensure a decrease in threats to critical infrastructure and lower the risk to potential loss of life,” said Charles Wheeler, USACE Galveston District project manager. “This is an ongoing contract that is part of a Federal Emergency Management Agency mission assignment.”

According to USACE Galveston District officials, the dredged material will be placed at the existing location referred to as Placement Area 2, which is located approximately 10 miles upriver. The additional dredging is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2019, with the demobilization of the equipment completed by early 2020.

Established in 1880 as the first engineer district in Texas to oversee river and harbor improvements, the district is directly responsible for maintaining more than 1,000 miles of channel, including 250 miles of deep draft and 750 miles of shallow draft as well as the Colorado River Locks and Brazos River Floodgates.

For more news and information, visit www.swg.usace.army.mil, on Facebook, www.facebook.com/GalvestonDistrict or on Twitter, www.twitter.com/USACEgalveston .

Governor Abbott Signs HB 3 into Law

On Tuesday, Governor Greg Abbott signed into law landmark legislation to reform school finance, increase teacher pay, and provide property tax relief. The Governor was joined by Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, Speaker Dennis Bonnen, Senator Larry Taylor, and Representative Dan Huberty who helped spearhead the effort in the legislature. 

 

"The people of Texas demanded that we take bold action to fix our state's broken school finance system, which is why I made school finance reform an emergency item this legislative session," said Governor Abbott. "Thanks to the tireless efforts of those gathered here today, I am proud to sign into law transformative legislation to fix our school finance system. This law provides additional funding to recruit and retain the best teachers for the most challenging classrooms, employ effective strategies to better educate our students, and provide lasting property tax relief to homeowners."

 

House Bill 3 (Huberty/Taylor) creates an incentive pay program for teachers, adds career, college, and military readiness bonuses for school districts, funds full-day prekindergarten for students in poverty, and requires all elementary school principals and teachers in kindergarten through third grade be trained on science-based reading instruction by 2021. The bill also creates a student-focused formula structure, where the needs of a child – not the child’s zip code – will determine funding allocations. Additionally, the bill buys down property tax rates by an average of 8 cents in 2020 and implements a 2.5% property tax cap starting in 2021, which will result in an average tax rate reduction of 13 cents this biennium. 

 

Additionally, the signing ceremony was attended by Senators Jane Nelson, Royce West, Kirk Watson, and Donna Campbell, as well as Representatives Alma Allen, Diego Bernal, Ken King, John Zerwas, Trent Ashby, and Mary Gonzalez.

Disaster Relief And Preparedness Legislation

Signed Into Law

On Thursday, Governor Greg Abbott signed into law several monumental bills related to disaster relief and preparedness in Texas. As a result of Hurricane Harvey, Governor Abbott made this issue an emergency legislative item this session, resulting in several bills being passed that will better prepare the state for future disasters. Additionally, the legislature voted to appropriate $3 billion in relief for Harvey-impacted areas from the Rainy Day Fund.

The Governor was joined by Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, Speaker Dennis Bonnen, and members of the legislature including Senators Lois Kolkhorst, Brandon Breighton, Joan Huffman, Carol Alvarado, Larry Taylor, Paul Bettencourt, and Donna Campbell, and Representatives Dade Phelan, Alma Allen, Gina Calanni, Garnet Coleman, Sarah Davis, Harold Dutton, Sam Harless, Dan Huberty, Will Metcalf, Rick Miller, Mayes Middleton, Ron Reynolds, Jon Rosenthal, Valoree Swanson, Steve Toth, and Armando Walle. 

The bill signing was held at Gallery Furniture in Houston, owned by Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale. When Hurricane Harvey hit Houston in August 2017, McIngvale opened two of his stores as shelter for Houstonians displaced by the storm. McIngvale's company also deployed its largest moving truck to help rescue those displaced by flooding. 

"Thanks to the work of the legislature, we are rebuilding Texas stronger and more resilient than ever," said Governor Abbott. "In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, we saw the unshakable spirit of the Lone Star State through the generosity of Texans helping their neighbors. These important pieces of legislation are a symbol of that spirit, as well as a sign of Texas' commitment to improving the way we respond to natural disasters."

Governor Abbott Takes Action To Extend Texas State Board Of Plumbing Examiners

On Thursday, Governor Greg Abbott issued an executive order to extend the activity of the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners past its set expiration of September 1, 2019. Governor Abbott utilized Section 418.016 of the Texas Government Code, which allows the Governor to suspend provisions of regulatory statutes prescribing the procedures for the conduct of state business if strict compliance would in any way prevent, hinder or delay necessary action in coping with a disaster.

Since Hurricane Harvey made landfall and caused widespread destruction, the Governor has issued a disaster declaration each month effective through today. The magnitude of what still must be rebuilt is reflected in the more than $10 billion of federal funds that are newly or nearly available to Texas for areas impacted by Hurricane Harvey. A qualified workforce of licensed plumbers throughout the state, including from areas not directly affected by Hurricane Harvey, will be essential as those funds are being invested in crucial infrastructure, medical facilities, living facilities, and other construction projects.

The Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners, whose mission is “to protect Texas citizens against the health and safety hazards that can result from improperly installed plumbing, gas, and medical gas systems,” will continue to play an essential role in all these efforts by ensuring that the plumbers who rebuild Texas and prepare for future disasters do so in a manner that will safeguard public health, safety, and property.

To fulfill the demands for rebuilding after Hurricane Harvey and keeping Texas prepared and able to recover from future disasters, it is necessary to continue the Board to perform its indispensable role in protecting Texans.

By utilizing the powers granted to him by the Legislature under the Texas Government Code, the Governor’s order today will allow the Board to continue its operations through May 31, 2021, giving the 87th legislature time to address the matter. 

Click here to read the Governor's full proclamation.

Legislative Update:

HB 3913 - Relating to an exception from required disclosure under the public information law for certain personal information obtained by certain flood control districts.

In this weekly section, you will find bills authored by Rep. Huberty that successfully passed both chambers and were sent to Governor Abbott for his approval. As of today, Governor Abbott has signed four of the 11 House Bills and one of the two Senate Bills Rep. Huberty successfully sent to him.

The last bill highlighted was HB 791, taxpayer-savings legislation for volunteer fire departments. In this edition, you will find more information about Rep. Huberty's HB 3913 , a future flood victim protection bill.

HB 3913 is aimed at protecting residents from identity theft by guarding their personal information after a declared disaster. In current statute, any information "…written, produced, collected, assembled or maintained" by a governmental entity "in connection with official business" is considered public information. As such, the details are open to public information request via the Open Records Act.

After a disaster occurs, counties gather information on affected homes and residents in order to assess the extent of the damage. Each county must meet certain threshold requirements of damage in order to declare a disaster in that area. Harris County uses the Flood Control District to gather these numbers and all of the requisite contact information. These details are then considered public information and are accessible to anyone through a public records request.

This legislation was crafted to exempt personal data, collected by the Harris County Flood Control District after a declared disaster, from being accessed by public record request. This aligns HCFCD with current practice for FEMA on the federal level.

After Harvey, information requests were made for the personal data of Harris County flood victims. With no type of exemption in place, HCFCD was required to release this sensitive data which opened the door for scammers and identity thieves. HB 3913, which goes into effect on September 1, 2019, will protect future flood victims from similar data releases.

Rep. Huberty carried HB 3913 to help future Harris County flood victims. The bill passed the House on April 24, 2019. It was sponsored by Senator Carol Alvarado and passed that Chamber on May 16, 2019. Governor Greg Abbott signed the bill into law on May 29, 2019.

 

To see a list of Rep. Huberty's legislation from the 86th Session, click here.

86th Session Legislative Statistics

This information last updated at 06/12/2019, and is subject to change.

To view a report of all Legislative Statistics, please click here.

The City of Houston and Montgomery County have partnered together to host a flood claims workshop at the Kingwood Community Center located at 4102 Rustic Woods, Kingwood, Texas 77345 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 19, 2019.

 

This event is for individuals that have suffered from previous flood damages and have questions about the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policy claims process. FEMA representatives will be available to provide resources and answer questions. It does not matter what event caused the flood damage, all who have been affected are invited to attend for assistance with submitting a flood claim.

 

Special thank you to Montgomery County on this partnership, the District E office looks forward to future opportunities to work together. For more information please contact the District E Office at [email protected] or Diane Cooper, Montgomery County Floodplain Administrator at [email protected] .

Kingwood Area and Montgomery County NFIP Claim Workshop

June 19, 2019

 6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Kingwood Community Center

4102 Rustic Woods Dr., Kingwood, TX 77345



Our office is always ready to assist you. Call or email us and we will do our best to help. Many State Agencies also have hotlines or citizen assistance offices to assist you. That contact information is available at this link, in alphabetical order: 

http://www.lrl.texas.gov/genInfo/stateAgencies.cfm

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