The state government of Texas and the United States government have been having a strained relationship especially where policy formulation and implementation is concerned. State of Texas has been forming policies that tend to be in contrast with the interests of the federal government. One of the affected areas is disaster management and funding. This paper will be examining the contemporary policy issues between the government of the state of Texas and federal government. Legislators in Texas are aiming to seek more preparedness and investment in disaster preparedness, response, management and recovery.
They have been motivated by the occurrences especially after Hurricane Harvey. Texas Senate seeks to invest 1.8 billion dollars while the Texas House wants to invest 4 billion dollars, main aim is to reduce if not eliminate dependence on the federal government through Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA. The government of the state of Texas believes that each state should be responsible for its disaster management and funding. This is backed by the Texas Disaster Act of 1975 which replaced the Texas Civil Protection Act of 1951. Texas has always been hit by natural disasters and the federal government has been trying to make the state consider some of its disaster prevention and preparedness policies such as land and building codes without much success.
The United States Department of Defense conducted studies on the effects of climate change on Texas and other states. However, Texas has since been adamant to do the same, the executive director of the Texas Floodplain Management Association Roy Sedwick has been trying to convince Texas lawmakers without much success Furthermore, the state government has always exhibited laxity and resistance when it comes to adopting and implementing environmental and land laws or policies which are crucial when it comes to disaster management and funding. It has also been established that Texas relies federal disaster funds than any other state.
