Bay Area Edition | August 2023

GOVERNMENT

Ocials optimistic about gulf protection district funding account

The Texas Gulf Coast Protection District covers about 5,220 square miles of land across ve counties, including Chambers, Galveston, Harris, Jeerson and Orange counties. MAPPING IT OUT

ORANGE COUNTY

BY JAMES T. NORMAN

contains two projects with the potential to add a third, Paul said. “I look forward to working with the author on enacting language that will achieve its intended purpose,” Abbott said in the proclamation. The outlook Paul said he thinks there is support for the bill, and making the needed changes should be “an easy x.” He added he expects a fol- low-up bill to come up at some point during upcoming special sessions with dierent wording. “Area leaders have said they want to get this done,” Paul said. “From the chamber groups to business groups. I’m hopeful that maybe we will.” However, it will likely come after the state nishes dealing with a few other priorities, Paul said. At this point, he thinks the opportunity to get it on a special session agenda—of which Abbott has total control— might not come until October. “What we need is for the com- munity to support the trust fund and ask the governor to stick it on a special session so we can get something done,” Paul said. Nicole Sunstrum, executive direc- tor of the Texas Gulf Coast Protec- tion District, agreed with Paul that it would be “very easy” to amend the bill to x the wording. “It was to prevent any unintended consequences,” Sunstrum said. “Gov. Abbott and the state of Texas have shown consistent and strong

HARRIS COUNTY

CHAMBERS COUNTY

Despite receiving almost unan- imous support from the Texas Legislature, Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed a bill that would have created a funding account to help pay for Gulf Coast protection projects due to concerns over how it was worded. House Bill 2416, sponsored by state Rep. Dennis Paul, RHouston, aimed to create a trust fund to allow extra federal funds to be deposited for future and current Gulf Coast protection projects. One such project is the coastal spine, a series of gates between Galveston Island and Boli- var Peninsula to protect Galveston Bay from ooding during hurricanes. With a few separate projects in the works, the goal was to begin depos- iting money that could be invested by the state’s comptroller, which would help fund those projects further, Paul said. “We didn’t fund anything [with the bill],” Paul said. “But it’s a start to get something going on it and showing the seriousness of the state.” However, due to some technical wording within the bill, Abbott vetoed the bill in June. In a proclamation issued fol- lowing the veto, Abbott reiterated Texas’ “rock-solid commitment” to protecting its coastline. But he took issue with the bill’s text requiring “any” money to go toward just projects within the Texas Gulf Coast Protection District, which includes several coastal counties, including Galveston County, and currently

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JEFFERSON COUNTY

GALVESTON COUNTY

GULF OF MEXICO

SOURCES: GULF COAST PROTECTION DISTRICT, ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERSCOMMUNITY IMPACT

“WHAT WE NEED IS FOR THE COMMUNITY TO SUPPORT THE TRUST FUND AND ASK THE GOVERNOR TO STICK IT ON A SPECIAL SESSION SO WE CAN GET SOMETHING DONE.” STATE REP. DENNIS PAUL, RHOUSTON

commitment to these projects.” The bill could also get picked up in a later session too with little consequence, Sunstrum said. The would-be account isn’t funded, so not creating it yet wouldn’t interfere with the district’s funding. As of press time, an updated bill had yet to be placed on a special session agenda. Created in 2021, the Texas Gulf Coast Protection District contains

more than 5,000 square miles of land across Harris, Galveston, Chambers, Jeerson and Orange counties, according to its website. A bill passed earlier this year also makes Brazoria County eligible to join, Paul said. HB 2416 did not provide any funding to the district, but another bill, House Bill 1, did provide about $550 million, according to a June 20 news release from the district.

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BAY AREA EDITION • AUGUST 2023