Will extreme weather set the next legislative agenda… again?
After the havoc wrought by Hurricane Beryl this summer, the devastating wildfires in the Texas Panhandle earlier this year or the tornados, flash floods and hailstorms that raked the Metroplex this spring, extreme weather is, once again, setting next year’s legislative agenda.
State lawmakers will have a choice: they can either adopt policies reactive to the problems identified after each disaster or pursue a path toward greater resilience that protects citizens from future harm.
This is not the first time extreme weather has set the legislative agenda. In fact, major initiatives from four out of the past six legislative sessions were reactive to extreme weather events.
In 2013, and following the worst one-year drought in recorded history in 2011, the Legislature and state voters approved a landmark package for financing water supply projects.
Four years later, in 2017, Hurricane Harvey annihilated the Gulf Coast, setting the table for an ambitious session in 2019, when the Legislature approved over 30 bills addressing disaster prevention, response, recovery and relief. That year, the Legislature also established a state flood planning process and appropriated $793 million to pay for needed flood control infrastructure.
The cold shock of Winter Storm Uri in 2021, which left millions of Texans without electric power or running water, galvanized the Legislature to approve extensive reforms aimed at ensuring electric power and natural gas supply chain reliability during extreme weather events. The electric reliability discussion spurred by Uri continued into 2023 with the Legislature’s and voters’ approval of the Texas Energy Fund to increase Texas’ dispatchable electric generation.
This recent legislative history corroborates with data released by the Office of the State Climatologist at Texas A&M University and Texas 2036 that Texas is becoming more susceptible to extreme weather events, including hotter heat waves, greater wildfire risks, intensifying droughts, worsening floods, and stronger hurricanes. Indeed, extreme weather events are setting the policy agenda with greater frequency.
Fortunately, state policymakers have taken bold action to address these past crises. While many of the policy fixes identified will answer future weather-related threats, we don’t have to wait for the next crisis before proactively addressing foreseeable future challenges. Rather, in addition to addressing the crises that have already arrived, Texas needs policies aligned towards long-term resilience against future challenges. This involves planning for and investing in the infrastructure needed for future events before they reach newfound crisis levels.
Resilience includes securing greater electric generation and reliable transmission for a hotter state frequented by violent storms. Another example includes establishing dedicated, consistent funding to pay for needed water supplies for our drought-prone state and to fix aging systems that often fail under weather extremes.
A resilience agenda includes funding to begin addressing the $54.5 billion for needed flood mitigation projects identified in the new State Flood Plan, which would protect homes and businesses from worsening floods and implement land management and response policies to lower wildfire risks. This could help with the problem of rising insurance premiums often associated with elevated extreme weather risks.
Unpredictable extreme weather events are imperiling our safety, economy and quality of life. By adopting a proactive resilience agenda, legislators will do more than defend against threats — they’ll seize a strategic opportunity to ensure that Texas remains strong and prosperous for generations to come.
This op-ed was first published in the Dallas Morning News (Aug. 21, 2024)