Texas lawmakers will focus on the nuts and bolts of disaster management when they convene on Monday for the first time since flash floods that killed at least 134 people.
Republicans are setting a narrow focus on flood recovery and emergency management, even as the floods have prompted broader discussions across the country about the effects of climate change. The proposals come in a jam-packed session that also includes a partisan redistricting effort, anti-abortion proposals and other culture war issues.
Climate hawks have pointed to the July 4th disaster as the latest demonstration that U.S. infrastructure is unprepared for a hotter world’s weather, and Democrats have raised questions about federal staffing shortages at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which President Donald Trump has threatened to disband. Some on the far-right, meanwhile, have circulated conspiracy theories about weather modification along with calls for banning geoengineering, as Florida did earlier this year.
Texas lawmakers seem unlikely to advance any of those ideas. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday previewed the special session’s emphasis on flood recovery and early warning systems. Officials are discussing programs that emphasize flexibility and local needs, he said.
