AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Speaker Dustin Burrows announced Tuesday the members of the House Select Committee on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding. The committee is made up of six Republicans and three Democrats.
Rep. Ken King, R-Canadian, will chair the committee alongside Rep. Armando Martinez, D-Weslaco, who will serve as the committee’s vice chair. The other members of the committee are Reps. Greg Bonnen, R-Friendswood, Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, Ann Johnson, D-Houston, AJ Louderback, R-Victoria, Joe Moody, D-El Paso, Wes Virdell, R-Brady and Terry Wilson, R-Georgetown.
This comes after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s office announced last week the creation of the Select Committees on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding after the Independence Day floods in Central Texas.
“I am confident Representative King will be effective as the chairman of this select committee, having led the House on legislation during the regular session to improve our state’s disaster response and enhance protections for Texas communities,” Burrows said in a statement.
The committee’s announcement comes after Patrick announced the members of the Senate’s matching committee Monday. The House committee will meet for the first time July 23 at the Capitol, alongside the Senate committee, and will meet for the second time July 31 in Kerrville to allow local residents to speak before the lawmakers.
The committee’s stated goals, according to Burrows’ proclamation, are to streamline rules and regulations for recovery from natural disasters, improve early warning systems and other infrastructure in “flood-prone areas” in the state and provide relief funding for areas affected by the July 4 floods.
Gov. Greg Abbott added multiple flood-related items to the special session agenda, including increasing disaster preparedness and improving emergency alert systems. No such bills have been filed at the time of publication, but officials have said in the days since the flood that they wanted legislators to investigate the best course of action before announcing specific legislation.