Throughout the 89th regular session, Texas Living Waters partners championed flood solutions and legislative recommendations put forward in Texas’ first State Flood Plan, which was adopted in September 2024. The establishment of the statewide flood planning process and adoption of the first plan were enormous steps toward better protecting the 5 million Texans who live or work in areas at risk of flooding. Along with studies and projects that would help mitigate flood risk, the plan makes legislative recommendations that address issues ranging from increased project and technical assistance funding, to giving counties the clear authority to conduct their own floodplain management.
Texas Living Waters prioritized the legislative recommendations included in the state flood plan:
Allocate dedicated funding through the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) for flood mitigation, including the Flood Infrastructure Fund (FIF), regional planning, risk modeling, and mapping.
Create and fund a technical assistance program to develop and/or perform floodplain management activities in small, rural, and socioeconomically disadvantaged communities.
Increase funding for low water crossing safety, prioritizing high-risk locations based on traffic, road types, and flood risk, with structural upgrades and warning systems.
Prioritize and expand funding for implementing flood early warning systems on a regional scale, with emphasis on rural areas.
Develop a levee safety program and enhance the Dam Safety Program to further identify and assess risks to dams and levees.
Allow counties to collect drainage fees and clarify their floodplain management authority.
Develop and adopt minimum statewide design standards to reduce damage and loss of life.
Update consistent, statewide building codes.
Align Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) projects with local standards and require critical infrastructure to be built at or above 1% (100-year) annual chance storm event, considering future flood risks.
The tragic flooding that occurred during the week of July 4th led to the creation of Select Committees on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding. There were Select Committees appointed in both the House and Senate and they were tasked by Governor Abbott with evaluating flood warning systems, flood emergency communications, relief funding for the Hill Country foods, and natural disaster preparation and recovery.
Several important bills were filed during the special sessions that would either fully implement or generally support the flood plan’s recommendations. Some of those bills passed – including funding that will enhance the state’s flood planning efforts – and others served as important steps in advancing crucial dialogue about the complex issues related to floodplain management and flood risk mitigation:
Bills that passed:
HB 1 (Darby) and SB 1 (Perry) focus on campground safety. HB 1 requires emergency warning systems for camps, but does not include policy changes applicable statewide or limit the presence of camps in floodplains. Several of the State Flood Plan’s policy recommendations emphasized the need for funding to support flood mitigation infrastructure projects, technical assistance, rural floodplain management, and more.
SB 3 (Bettencourt), passed during the second special session, creates a grant program for flood warning systems in areas prone to flash flooding. The flood plan recommends additional funding for warning systems but emphasizes that rural areas and projects with regional benefit should be prioritized. Texas Living Waters is monitoring the implementation of the new grant program closely, since the manner that it is administered will be important to its success.
SB 5 (Huffman) appropriates money from the Rainy Day Fund to cover the state’s required match for federal disaster recovery assistance, to install sirens and rain gauges in Central Texas, and to support improved weather forecasting. While these were not listed among the recommendations in the flood plan, improved meteorological data can directly benefit flood mitigation planning and response at the state, regional, and local levels.
Bills that didn’t pass but would have implemented recommendations from the state flood plan:
HB 108 (Zwiener) and SB 45 (Eckhardt) would implement a flood plan recommendation by authorizing counties to collect drainage fees and establish regulations for floodplain management in unincorporated areas. These bills did not pass, but HB 108 was referred to the House select committee – a positive sign that legislators are open to discussing issues of county authority as they relate to floodplain management. Much of Texas is privately held but unincorporated; county authority in these areas can have a huge impact on the way our state manages flood risk, and we hope to see these issues receive further consideration in the next regular session.
HB 225 (Reynolds) would update minimum building code requirements applicable in unincorporated areas, modernizing the state’s minimum standards to adopt codes with stronger flood protections. Although it is a flood plan recommendation, this bill (and a similar one calling for updates to building codes in cities) did not pass during the regular or special sessions.
Looking ahead, Texas Living Waters partners will continue to highlight the value of our state’s flood plan and the wisdom of adopting its recommendations – with or without a third special session. The interim provides an important opportunity to interface with legislative offices and to share suggestions for studies that could be undertaken prior to the start of the next regular session in support of building Texas’ flood resilience. The 90th Legislature will bring several new faces to the Texas House, providing a great opportunity to educate members about the importance of the flood planning process, especially as we enter the early phases of development of the plan’s next iteration and regional planning groups begin to contemplate new sets of recommendations.
