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Bills to better prepare for the next Hurricane Harvey coast through Senate
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FILE – In this Monday, Sept. 4, 2017 file photo, Mariko Shimmi, right, helps carry items out of the home of Ken Tani in a neighborhood still flooded from Harvey in Houston. Thousands of people were displaced by torrential rains and catastrophic flooding after Harvey slammed into Southeast Texas in late August, 2017. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
FILE – In this Monday, Sept. 4, 2017 file photo, Mariko Shimmi, right, helps carry items out of the home of Ken Tani in a neighborhood still flooded from Harvey in Houston. Thousands of people were displaced by
Photo: Gregory Bull, STF / Associated Press
FILE – In this Monday, Sept. 4, 2017 file photo, Mariko Shimmi, right, helps carry items out of the home of Ken Tani in a neighborhood still flooded from Harvey in Houston. Thousands of people were displaced by torrential rains and catastrophic flooding after Harvey slammed into Southeast Texas in late August, 2017. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
FILE – In this Monday, Sept. 4, 2017 file photo, Mariko Shimmi, right, helps carry items out of the home of Ken Tani in a neighborhood still flooded from Harvey in Houston. Thousands of people were displaced by
Photo: Gregory Bull, STF / Associated Press
AUSTIN — Twenty months after Hurricane Harvey ripped through the Gulf Coast and flooded thousands of people out of their homes, the state Senate has approved a trio of bills Wednesday members say represent lessons learned from the storm.
The bills call for the creation of a disaster recovery blueprint for government officials, establish an “infrastructure resiliency fund” and require the state to develop a flood plan every five years.
The bills, which Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick referred to as some of the most important bills of this year’s legislative session, passed the Senate 31-0. They will next go to the House, which will evaluate them in legislative committees.
Hurricane Harvey slammed into the Texas Gulf Coast in August of 2017 and went on to dump more than 50 inches in parts of Texas, causing the most disastrous flooding in the nation’s history.
This is a developing story; check back for updates.