Overview

• On August 8, the Senate Select Committee on Disaster Preparedness & Flooding held hearings on four bills aimed at addressing failures exposed by the July 4 flash floods that killed at least 117 people in Kerr County.
• Senate Bill 2 would require counties in flood-prone areas to install, maintain and operate outdoor warning sirens with a grant program to offset installation costs.
• Senate Bill 1 would mandate evacuation plans for campgrounds in floodplains and require drills and emergency ladders whenever the National Weather Service issues flash flood warnings.
• A proposed 2027 Sunset review would scrutinize the Upper Guadalupe River Authority’s governance, river gauge monitoring and its absence of locally operated flood sirens.
• Lawmakers are considering an exemption for certain flood-control dams and reservoirs from Texas Commission on Environmental Quality permits to streamline erosion control and sediment management.