Gov. Perry Calls on Lawmakers to Enhance Disaster Related Efforts

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry today reiterated his request that lawmakers enhance Texas’ recovery efforts related to the 2008 hurricane season and its preparedness efforts for the upcoming season at the 2009 National Hurricane Conference, a nationwide forum for federal, state and local officials to exchange ideas and recommend new policies to improve emergency management.

“2008 was a tough year in the storm business, but I believe we held up our end of the deal. In 2009, I think we’ll do even better,” Gov. Perry said. “Four of my six emergency items at the beginning of this legislative session had to do with storm issues, and I hope lawmakers will agree with me and devote the necessary funds to not only complete the recovery from the 2008 storms, but also prepare us for whatever disasters might hit Texas in the future.”

The governor spoke to an audience of more than 1,500 emergency management experts, including Max Mayfield, chairman of the National Hurricane Conference Planning Committee, and National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read. Later in the conference, the Governor’s Division of Emergency Management Chief Jack Colley will be awarded the 2009 Distinguished Service Award, which is given to individuals who demonstrate outstanding leadership in emergency preparedness and response.

Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30.  During the 2008 hurricane season, the Texas coast was battered by three hurricanes and a major tropical storm, resulting in the simultaneous designation of all Texas coastal counties as presidential disaster areas for the first time in the state’s history. As a result of Hurricane Ike alone, Texas sustained more than $50 billion in damages.

In a phone call last month to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Gov. Perry discussed FEMA’s role in Texas’ continued recovery, as well as long term recovery goals for Hurricane Ike and future disasters. The governor has requested that FEMA extend the deadline for 100 percent federal reimbursement for debris removal for an additional six months, which would end October 26. He also requested that emergency protective measures be funded at 100 percent federal reimbursement beginning October 26, 2008, and continue for an additional 12 months.

Additionally, last month the Governor’s Commission for Disaster Recovery and Renewal presented Gov. Perry with a preliminary report on how to better prepare communities for future disasters and help them recover quickly and completely once the storm has passed. The report is based on testimony given by citizens and local officials at a series of commission meetings held in Galveston, Harlingen, Beaumont and League City.

For more information about Texas’ disaster recovery efforts, please visit http://www.governor.state.tx.us.