Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst has issued additional interim charges related to safety requirements, disaster relief efforts, child protection, the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association and the Texas FAIR Plan. The interim charges are listed below by committee.
Senate Committee on Agriculture, Rural Affairs & Homeland Security:
- Examine the current regulatory and insurance requirements for the storage of ammonium nitrate, including the role of the State Chemist and the Texas Department of Insurance.
- Make recommendations that would eliminate inconsistencies, improve transparency, and protect Texans' safety without creating duplicitous practices and procedures for the Texas workforce.
- Dissect the role of state and local governments regarding recovery operations across the state in the event of a disaster, including how state, local governments, and businesses can work together in order to assist with the rebuilding/recovery of affected areas in the event of a disaster.
- Identify essential personnel and resources needed to increase existing response capabilities.
Senate Committee on Health & Human Services:
- Review the Department of Family and Protective Services' (DFPS) efforts to reduce child fatalities, ensure that DFPS effectively uses data to strategically improve caseworker performance, identify and improve upon deficiencies within the system, and improve overall outcomes for children.
Senate Committee on Business & Commerce:
- Review the administrative and financial state of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) and determine alternative financial methods to fund a probable maximum loss of a 1-in-75 or 1-in-100 year event.
- Monitor litigation developments, develop and evaluate plans to reduce TWIA's total insured exposure, make recommendations regarding an exposure reduction clearinghouse under development at TWIA, which aims to assist the transfer of TWIA policies to the free market, make recommendations regarding the qualifications for building inspectors conducting inspections for the TWIA and other building inspectors statewide, and consider expanding the types of professionals qualified to conduct inspections and the appropriate entity to oversee inspectors.
- Review the Texas FAIR Plan's organizational and financial structure as the state's insurer of last resort for residential homeowner's insurance coverage.
- Study, in particular, the structural relationship to TWIA, cause of its current debt, and available coverage and rates compared to the private market.
To view Dewhurst’s press release, please visit: http://www.ltgov.state.tx.us/prview.php?id=495 .
Dewhurst will continue to release his interim charges in the coming months. Previously released charges can be accessed using the following links:
http://www.ltgov.state.tx.us/prview.php?id=491
http://www.ltgov.state.tx.us/prview.php?id=493