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Committee approves bill to let local governments get emergency loans before FEMA disaster declarations
Summary
The Senate State and Local Government Committee approved SB1679 to let local governments request comptroller approval for emergency operating loans without waiting for a FEMA declaration and to let them pledge revenue as collateral for grant-anticipation notes when grant proceeds are delayed.
Senator Crow presented SB1679, a comptroller-sponsored bill to speed local recovery after storms by letting local governments request emergency operating loans approved through the comptroller’s office without waiting for a FEMA disaster declaration. “This bill gives our locals the ability to have emergency operating loans approved through the comptroller's office without waiting on FEMA to declare a national disaster,” the sponsor said during the committee hearing.
Sponsor and committee members stressed two core changes: (1) allowing the comptroller to approve emergency loans when a disaster has caused economic distress even if FEMA has not certified a national disaster, and (2) permitting a local government to pledge revenue as security or collateral for grant-anticipation notes when grant disbursements are delayed. Senator Crow noted past storms where FEMA declarations lagged months after events and that the bill “allows local governments to request approval for emergency operating loans now without having to wait on FEMA.” The committee voted to pass the bill and move it to the calendar.
