Texas lawmakers OK massive flood control package in response to Harvey. Sent to Abbott’s desk

[Elderberry]

Houston Chronicle by Jasper Scherer and Mike Morris May 22, 2019

The Texas Legislature has approved a bill that marks its largest response yet to Hurricane Harvey, potentially directing billions of dollars from the state’s savings account to repairs and flood-mitigation projects — steps that lawmakers say will speed up recovery and help prepare for the next major storm.

Senate Bill 7, an omnibus flood-control package authored by state Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, is headed to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk after the upper chamber agreed to a series of House tweaks late Wednesday.

Local leaders say the legislation includes crucial provisions that will allow them to move forward on Harvey repairs and projects that receive federal funding. Such projects require a local match of 10 percent to 25 percent, which the state may now agree to help cover. Without state support, Houston alone would be out more than $220 million.

Though a prior version of the bill would have appropriated more than $3 billion from the state’s “rainy day fund,” the version that advanced did not include that phrasing. Lawmakers were still negotiating budget proposals Thursday evening that would determine how much money to draw from the state savings account, though a Senate proposal would provide $1.65 billion.

Passage of the measure comes 21 months after Harvey soaked the Houston area with up to 51 inches of rain in some parts, flooding more than 200,000 homes. A year later, Harris County voters approved a $2.5 billion flood infrastructure bond aimed at protecting the area from future storms.

“It is uncharacteristic for the legislature to take such bold, proactive actions, and I am honored by the faith our colleagues put in me and Rep. (Dade) Phelan to get this done,” Creighton said in a written statement. “...Every stakeholder, local leader and Texas family who was impacted by the storm and provided input shares in this success.”

The legislation would establish funds of varying sizes, among them a pot of money to provide local agencies with low- or no-interest loans — or, in some areas, grants — to design and build flood mitigation projects, and another to cover the local match on federally funded flood-control projects.

The bill also creates a fund for Harvey recovery that would provide local governments with most of the local money required to access recovery aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and other Gulf Coast officials have pressed lawmakers for months to tap the rainy day fund, which is formally known as the Economic Stabilization Fund. They’ve argued that providing state support for the local match ensures Texas gets a huge return on its investment.

More: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Texas-lawmakers-OK-massive-flood-control-package-13885846.php