TEXAS HOMELAND SECURITY

STRATEGIC PLAN
2015-2020

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary .......................................................................................................................2
Section I: Purpose and Principles ................................................................................................3
Scope ...........................................................................................................................................3
Vision ..........................................................................................................................................4
Focus ...........................................................................................................................................4
Coordination ...............................................................................................................................4
Principles.....................................................................................................................................5
State Planning Architecture ........................................................................................................6
Core Capabilities .........................................................................................................................8
Section II: The Texas Homeland Security Environment ..........................................................9
Homeland Security Risk .............................................................................................................9
State Description .......................................................................................................................10
Critical Infrastructure ................................................................................................................15
Threats and Hazards ..................................................................................................................19
Texas in 2020 ............................................................................................................................23
Section III: Goals and Objectives ..............................................................................................24
Introduction ...............................................................................................................................24
Evaluation Plan .........................................................................................................................24
Goal 1: Prevent ........................................................................................................................25
Goal 2: Protect .........................................................................................................................32
Goal 3: Mitigate .......................................................................................................................42
Goal 4: Respond .......................................................................................................................47
Goal 5: Recover .......................................................................................................................63
Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................67

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Texas Homeland Security Strategic Plan 2015-2020 is the states framework for
establishing homeland security priorities and organizing its many homeland security
capability development and employment activities. Securing Texas requires a coordinated
effort among all agencies, jurisdictions, and the private sector. Essential to success is
effective risk management, including risk identification and assessment, implementation of
actions to reduce risk in the most cost-effective way possible, and continuous evaluation and
adjustment as some risks are mitigated and others emerge and grow. The state encourages
the voluntary cooperation of the private sector in advancing this plan.
Section I of the plan explains the purpose and scope of the strategy. It also establishes the
states vision for homeland security and the fundamental principles that will guide our
actions.
Section II describes the states homeland security environment and provides an overview of
threats and hazards, vulnerabilities, and potential consequences in the state. Trends such as
rapid population growth present challenges from a homeland security perspective. Ongoing
and emerging threats such as an unsecured border and cyber-attacks must be addressed
through coordinated action.
Section III establishes the Goals and Objectives that represent our homeland security
priorities over the next five years. There are five Goals (one for each mission area of
prevent, protect, mitigate, respond, and recover) and 23 Objectives.
Through diligent work in implementing this strategy, Texas will be on its way to becoming
more secure and resilient while safeguarding individual liberty.

Texas Homeland Security Goals 2015-2020

Goal 1: Prevent
Goal 2: Protect
Goal 3: Mitigate

Goal 4: Respond

Goal 5: Recover

Prevent terrorist attacks and organized criminal activity in Texas.

Reduce the state's vulnerability to terrorist and criminal attacks and
natural and technological disasters.
Minimize the impact of terrorist and criminal attacks and natural and
technological disasters through proactive mitigation planning and
programs.
Increase the capability of the state's response system to minimize damage
and loss of life from terrorist and criminal attacks and natural and
technological disasters.
Ensure rapid, effective, and comprehensive community recovery
following terrorist or criminal attacks and natural or technological
disasters.
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SECTION I: PURPOSE AND PRINCIPLES

SCOPE
Building and maintaining a secure and resilient Texas is a significant, complex, and enduring
challenge. The Texas Homeland Security Strategic Plan (THSSP) 2015-2020 provides an
overarching framework for organizing this ongoing effort. It serves as a guide for managing
homeland security risk by developing capabilities, planning for their employment, and
coordinating action at the state, regional, local, tribal, and private sector levels. It fulfills
requirements established in Chapter 421 (Homeland Security) of the Texas Government Code
and is aligned with federal strategic guidance including the National Security Strategy, National
Preparedness Goal, National Planning Frameworks, and relevant Presidential directives. While it
establishes priorities that should be addressed through use of homeland security-related grant
funding from multiple federal programs, these priorities can and should also be addressed in a
number of additional ways, including state and local appropriations.
Homeland security is inherently a multi-agency and multi-jurisdictional effort, and it focuses on
all threats and hazards that could significantly impact the people of Texas. The THSSP is
therefore a statewide strategy, with applicability for state agencies, regional organizations, local
and tribal governments, private sector organizations, and the public. In general, local
jurisdictions prepare for their most likely threats and hazards, while state agencies must be
prepared to assist with catastrophic events that exceed local capability. While effective publicprivate coordination is critical to the success of homeland security initiatives and is encouraged
in many areas of this plan, it should be noted that private sector participation is voluntary and
that government agencies must take all appropriate measures to safeguard private sector
information.

Homeland security in Texas is a continuous, statewide effort to

prevent, protect against, mitigate the effects of, respond to, and
recover from terrorist and significant criminal attacks and
natural and technological disasters.

By design, the THSSP is a high-level, multi-year strategy; it does not include all important
homeland security activities. Implementing the strategy in order to achieve its Objectives and
further its Goals will depend on continuous attention, focused effort, and detailed follow-on
planning at the agency and jurisdictional levels. Texas must also be flexible in making
adjustments as homeland security threats and hazards, and capabilities for dealing with them,
evolve.

To these ends, each state agency with a role in homeland security will develop an annual
implementation plan for the strategy that details specific tasks the agency will take during the
following fiscal year to implement it. Each Council of Governments will develop an annual
implementation plan detailing significant regional and local implementation tasks. The Texas
Office of Homeland Security will provide templates for these plans and will ensure completion
by appropriate agencies and regions.

VISION
A secure and resilient Texas that actively manages homeland security risk while safeguarding
individual liberty.

FOCUS
Texas will achieve this vision through activity across five broad mission areas, each of
which has a Goal with corresponding Objectives and Priority Actions in Section III of this
plan.
Prevention. Prevent, avoid, or stop an imminent, threatened or actual act of terrorism.
Protection. Protect our citizens, residents, visitors, and assets against the greatest threats
and hazards in a manner that allows our interests, aspirations, and way of life to thrive.
Mitigation. Reduce the loss of life and property by lessening the impact of future disasters.
Response. Respond quickly to save lives, protect property and the environment, and meet
basic human needs in the aftermath of a catastrophic incident.
Recovery. Recover through a focus on the timely restoration, strengthening and
revitalization of infrastructure, housing, and a sustainable economy, as well as the health,
social, cultural, historic, and environmental fabric of communities affected by a catastrophic
incident.

COORDINATION
Homeland security is a shared responsibility among agencies and jurisdictions, the private sector,
and individual citizens.
Overall coordination of Texas homeland security capability
development and operational efforts is the responsibility of the Governor, supported by the Texas
Office of Homeland Security. The Director and Deputy Director of the Office of Homeland
Security currently serve as the Director and Deputy Director of the Texas Department of Public
Safety. At the state level, homeland security operations are generally coordinated through the
State Operations Center and regional Disaster District Committees; the Joint Crime Information
Center; and the State Medical Operations Center. At the local level, operations are generally
coordinated through county or city Emergency Operations Centers.

Success in protecting Texas requires close collaboration across a diverse group of organizations,
jurisdictions, and functions. Major stakeholders and partners include the Texas Legislature,
which authorizes funding for homeland security capability development, day-to-day agency
operations, and emergency operations; federal and state departments and agencies with a role in
homeland security; regional organizations including Councils of Governments and Urban Area
Working Groups; county, municipal, and tribal governments; non-governmental organizations,
including private volunteer organizations; private sector businesses, including critical
infrastructure owners and operators and private sector security personnel; community
organizations such as the Citizens Corps; and private citizens. Some of the many forums for
collaboration among these partners include the Texas Homeland Security Council, Emergency
Management Council, Private Sector Advisory Council, Senior Advisory Council, Governorcreated task forces, Port and Transit security groups, critical infrastructure Sector Coordinating
Councils, and various public-private partnerships at the state, regional, and local levels. It is
imperative that these forums be used effectively to identify homeland security challenges and
recommend solutions.

PRINCIPLES
Our homeland security efforts across these mission areas will be guided by the following
principles. These principles are woven throughout this strategy and provide the foundation
of our approach to securing Texas:
RISK-INFORMED DECISION MAKING
In an environment of constrained resources and competing priorities, we must optimize the use
of homeland security funding and assets through identification of risks and prioritization of risk
reduction measures. While we can and must ensure minimum levels of preparedness, we cannot
engage in an equal level of effort across all functions and geographic areas. Difficult choices are
necessary, and they must be informed by a shared understanding of homeland security risk.
INFORMATION SHARING
With an increasing abundance of data available to decision makers, we must develop and sustain
the ability to rapidly analyze and share relevant, actionable homeland security information with
public and private stakeholders at all levels. Doing so requires information and intelligence
collection and analysis systems that maximize use of automated processes; electronic systems
that ensure the availability of secure data to those who need it; and public information and
warning capabilities spanning multiple platforms. Necessary information and data will be
developed from existing sources, including voluntary submission of information from the private
sector. If the private sector submits information, it will be secured and protected from disclosure
using all appropriate methods.
REGIONALISM
Threats, hazards, and capabilities vary widely across Texas, making a regional approach to
homeland security a necessity. We must continue to strengthen regional-level capabilities for
planning and operational coordination, along with processes for providing mutual aid within and
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among regions. Where feasible, state agencies should seek to align their regional boundaries
within the state in order to strengthen regional preparedness efforts.
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
Given that threats, vulnerabilities, and consequences within Texas are constantly evolving, we
must maintain a responsive homeland security culture that seeks continuous improvement. We
must remain open to new ideas, maximize the utility of after action reviews and forums for
sharing best practices, and actively engage partners such as academic institutions and private
sector businesses in homeland security risk assessments and planning.
MEASURING PROGRESS
Effective assessment of capability development and operational efforts is essential to managing
resources and making needed adjustments as we move forward. At all levels, we must establish
and accurately track meaningful performance metrics to gauge the impact of programs,
processes, and initiatives.

STATE PLANNING ARCHITECTURE

Because of its breadth, homeland security planning includes multiple related planning efforts
across agencies and jurisdictions. Plan types include strategic guidance, capability development
plans, and capability delivery plans. Strategic guidance establishes broad principles and
priorities, long-term goals, and general roles and responsibilities for homeland security; it
informs and guides related capability development and capability delivery efforts. Capability
development plans include more specific guidance on how jurisdictions and agencies will
prioritize, fund, build, and sustain homeland security capabilities. Capability delivery plans
establish the tasks, responsibilities, and coordination requirements needed to effectively employ
homeland security capabilities. In Comprehensive Preparedness Guide 101 and the Texas
Emergency Management Planners Guide, capability delivery plans are classified as strategic
(overall priorities and policy guidancelisted under strategic guidance in the table below);
operational (broad roles and responsibilities, general tasks, and integration among jurisdictions
and agencies); or tactical (specific tasks and responsibilities for personnel, equipment, and
resources during an operation).
The following table, which is not intended to be all-encompassing, indicates the plan type and
jurisdictional level of several significant homeland security-related plans.

Plan Type

Strategic Guidance
Level
Texas Homeland Security Strategic Plan

State

Texas Hazard Mitigation Plan

Medical Countermeasures Operational Readiness Strategy
Veterinary Medical Countermeasures Strategy
Urban Area Strategies

Regional

Health Service Region Strategic Maps

Local Hazard Mitigation Plans

Local
Plan Type
Level

Local Health Department Strategic Maps

Capability Delivery Plans

Capability Development
Plans

Operational

State Agency HSSP Implementation

Plans

Texas Emergency
Management Plan, with
Functional, Hazard, and
Support Annexes

State Agency Strategic Plans (for

Legislative Budget Board)

State Medical Operations

Center Operations Manual

Texas Infrastructure Security and

Resiliency Plan

Public Health and Medical

Services Operating Guides

State Communications
Interoperability Plan

State

Veterinary Medical
Countermeasures Operating
Guide

Texas Cybersecurity Framework

Medical Countermeasures
Operational Readiness Reviews
Veterinary Medical Countermeasures
Logistics Plan

Agency or standalone state plans for

specific homeland
security threats and
hazards (e.g. DPS
Terrorist Attack and
Significant Criminal
Attack Response
Plan, Texas Cross
Border Mass
Migration Plan)
Plans for border
security operations,
e.g. Operation
SECURE TEXAS

Functional Needs Support Services

Toolkit
Emergency Management Planners
Guide and Planners Toolkit
COG HSSP Implementation Plans

Regional

Tactical
Agency Continuity of
Operations Plans

Regional operational plans

and concepts of operations
addressing specific functions
or threats/hazards

Regional Interoperable
Communications Plans
Regional Training and Exercise Plans

Health Service Region

Emergency Operations
Plans
Local Emergency
Management Plans

Health Service Region Medical

Countermeasures Distribution Plans
Local Training and Exercise Plans
Local Health Department Medical
Countermeasures Distribution Plans

Local Health Department

Emergency Operations
Plans and Operating Guides

Local

Community Animal
Response Plans

Regional Incident
Action Plans

Local Government
Continuity of
Operations Plans
Local Incident Action
Plans

CORE CAPABILITIES
The 2015 National Preparedness Goal establishes 32 Core Capabilities for homeland security.
The National Planning Frameworks for each mission area (Prevention, Protection, Mitigation,
Response, and Recovery) provide more detail on these capabilities and the critical tasks
associated with delivering them. In many cases, the core capabilities are supplemented by
additional guidance, definitions, and standards. For example, the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services has developed lists of Public Health Preparedness Capabilities and Healthcare
Preparedness Capabilities, and the Department of Homeland Security has developed a set of
Critical Operational Capabilities and Enabling Capabilities for Fusion Centers. The Core
Capabilities and supporting documents serve to orient and organize our homeland security
capability development efforts.
Prevention

Protection

Mitigation

Response

Recovery

Planning
Public Information and Warning
Operational Coordination
Intelligence and Information Sharing

Community
Resilience

Interdiction and Disruption

Long-term
Vulnerability
Reduction

Screening, Search, and Detection

Forensics and
Attribution

Access Control
and Identity
Verification
Cybersecurity
Physical
Protective
Measures

Risk and Disaster

Resilience
Assessment
Threats and
Hazards
Identification

Infrastructure Systems
Critical Transportation

Economic
Recovery

Environmental
Response/Health and
Safety

Health and
Social Services

Fatality Management
Services
Fire Management and
Suppression
Logistics and Supply
Chain Management

Risk
Management for
Protection
Programs and
Activities

Mass Care Services

Mass Search and
Rescue Operations
On-scene Security,
Protection, and Law
Enforcement

Supply Chain
Integrity and
Security

Operational
Communications
Public Health,
Healthcare, and
Emergency Medical
Services
Situational
Assessment

Housing
Natural and
Cultural
Resources

SECTION II: THE TEXAS HOMELAND

SECURITY ENVIRONMENT
HOMELAND SECURITY RISK
Homeland security fundamentally relates to the management of risk, which is defined as the
product of threat (likelihood), vulnerability, and consequences of attacks and disasters. In a
resource-constrained environment, we must actively identify and manage homeland security risk
at all levels.

Risk management begins with comprehensive risk identification and assessment. Several
recurring efforts conducted at the state, regional, local, and tribal levels seek to produce a
detailed understanding of the homeland security risk faced by Texas. These efforts include:

The Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA), a scenario-based
process for assessing the potential impacts of plausible worst case events and
corresponding needs across the 31 Core Capabilities;
The Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA), included in state and local
Hazard Mitigation Plans, a process for assessing the likelihood and consequences of
natural hazards based on historical data;
The Texas Statewide Threat Overview, a state intelligence estimate that identifies and
describes the most significant public safety threats to Texas;
The Texas Gang Threat Assessment, a comprehensive overview and categorization of
the criminal gangs that present the greatest threats to the state;
The Texas Public Health Risk Assessment Tool (TPHRAT), which enables evidencebased assessment at the jurisdictional level of public health hazards, resources, and
residual risk;
Vulnerability assessments of critical infrastructure, which range from large-scale
assessments to site-specific assessments conducted at the local level; and
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Cyber security assessments, penetration tests, and vulnerability scans performed on state
agency information assets.

This section of the Texas Homeland Security Strategic Plan 2015-2020 provides an overview of
the homeland security environment in Texas and summarizes the extensive and diverse nature of
the homeland security risks we face.

STATE DESCRIPTION
J URISDICTIONS
Texas has three basic layers of governing jurisdictions: state, county, and municipal. In
addition, there are three federally recognized tribes in the state: the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of
Texas, the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas, and the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo. There are also a
large number of special districts; such as school districts, college districts, public utility districts,
water supply districts, and road districts; that are responsible for particular functions.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Texas has over 1,200 incorporated municipalities; each responsible for providing essential
homeland security services to citizens through city and/or volunteer capabilities or agreements
with counties. There are 254 counties in Texas, the most of any state in the nation, and these
counties are similarly responsible for homeland security services in unincorporated areas and, by
agreement, in some incorporated municipalities. Texas law designates the presiding officer of
municipal and county governments (city mayors and county judges) as the jurisdiction's
Emergency Management Director and the governor's designated agent in the administration and
supervision of emergency management duties for that jurisdiction. The chief elected official
may designate an Emergency Management Coordinator to serve as an assistant to manage
homeland security/emergency management programs.
Texas cities and counties vary widely in size, population, and homeland security resources.
Harris County, for example, has a population of over four million, while Loving Countys
population is less than 100. Brewster County is 6,193 square miles, while Rockwall County is
147 square miles. Harris County has over 11,000 active Peace Officer licensees, while several
counties have fewer than 5. This variation results in dramatic differences in the local-level
homeland security environment across the state. Higher-population areas generally have law
enforcement and emergency management departments with a significant capacity for planning,
coordinating, and directing homeland security operations and capability development efforts,
along with security, fire, public health and healthcare, and special response teams capable of
handling the vast majority of homeland security emergencies within their jurisdictions. Cities
and counties with limited organic capacity rely on assets available through mutual aid for
effective response to incidents and rely on regional support for planning and coordination of
capability development efforts.

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REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
Particularly in areas of the state where local-level resources are limited, regional planning and
coordination are critical to homeland security preparedness, and many regional organizations
play an essential role in these processes.
Texas has 24 Councils of Governments (COGs), voluntary associations of local governments
formed under Texas law. Homeland security-related services provided by COGs vary, but may
include:

Planning for and coordinating regional implementation of the Texas Homeland Security
Strategic Plan;
Coordinating regional assessments of threats, hazards, and preparedness levels;
Operating law enforcement training academies;
Planning, coordination, and operation of regional radio systems and other
communications operability and interoperability efforts;
Maintaining and improving regional 9-1-1 systems;
Providing grant management services for member governments;
Coordinating regional transportation planning, mapping, and prioritization;
Coordinating regional disaster recovery programs; and
Providing geographic information system (GIS) mapping of infrastructure and geospatial
data.

The Texas Association of Regional Councils is a statewide organization providing policy and
program support to help COGs develop the expertise and capacity to meet a variety of regional
needs through an efficient and coordinated approach.
Each jurisdiction within Texas is part of a Disaster District. Disaster Districts, aligned with
COG boundaries, are the states regional emergency management organizations that serve as the
initial source of state emergency assistance for local governments. Disaster District Committees,
consisting of state agencies and volunteer groups that have resources within the Districts area of
responsibility, assist the Disaster District Chair (the local Texas Highway Patrol Captain or
Lieutenant) in identifying, mobilizing, and deploying personnel, equipment, supplies, and
technical support to respond to requests for emergency assistance from local governments and
state agencies. Each Disaster District is also supported by a District Coordinator from the Texas
Division of Emergency Management. The District Coordinator assists with coordination of
emergency response operations and serves as a liaison between the region and the State
Operations Center.
There are seven Texas Department of Public Safety Regions statewide, each led by a regional
commander with supporting staff. In addition to directing state-level public safety operations
within the region, these regional commanders may be called upon to coordinate multi-agency
homeland security operations including local, state, and federal partner agencies.

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Public Health and medical operations are coordinated in a similar way. Local health departments
are responsible for overseeing public health and medical response within their jurisdiction. In
counties that do not have a local health department, the Texas Department of State Health
Services (DSHS) Health Service Regions (HSRs) coordinate public health and medical
operations. When incidents exhaust local public health and medical capabilities and regional
support is needed, HSRs can activate their Regional Health and Medical Operations Center
(RHMOC) to coordinate regional public health and medical response. RHMOCs are staffed with
local, regional and state public health and medical response partners who coordinate resources
and mutual aid in conjunction with local and regional emergency response entities, serving as the
public health and medical coordination points for Disaster Districts.
Many other state agencies also have agency regional offices that work with jurisdictions to
coordinate preparedness, response, and compliance activities in functional areas related to the
agencies homeland security authorities and responsibilities. For example, the Texas Department
of Agriculture and Texas Animal Health Commission maintain five and seven regional offices,
respectively.
Homeland security operations focused on preventing attacks and conducting investigations are
supported by a network of Fusion Centers and intelligence nodes around the state. Fusion
Centers establish priorities for intelligence gathering, conduct analysis, and ensure sharing of
relevant information and intelligence with law enforcement organizations and the public in their
regions. There are seven recognized Fusion Centers in Texas: the state-level Texas Joint Crime
Information Center (Austin); the Austin Regional Intelligence Center; the Dallas Fusion Center;
the El Paso Multi-Agency Tactical Response Information eXchange; the Houston Regional
Intelligence Service Center; the North Central Texas Fusion Center (McKinney); and the
Southwest Texas Fusion Center (San Antonio).
In and around Texas largest cities, Urban Area Working Groups (UAWGs) play a central role
in coordinating homeland security operational planning and capability development efforts. Five
areas in Texas have received Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) grant funding at various
times: Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth/Arlington, San Antonio, Austin, and El Paso. UAWGs in
these areas provide a forum for subject matter experts from member jurisdictions to assess
homeland security capability levels and requirements, establish regional priorities, and develop
plans for delivering capabilities when needed.
STATE GOVERNMENT
There are 180 state agencies (including 64 state-funded higher education agencies) in Texas,
each with defined roles and authorities. While all state agencies have a responsibility for
workforce safety and continuity of operations planning, many have specific operational and/or
regulatory responsibilities for law enforcement, emergency management, public health,
hazardous materials safety, critical infrastructure protection, and other aspects of homeland
security. Standing state-level councils and committees such as the Homeland Security Council,

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Emergency Management Council, and Drought Preparedness Council coordinate multi-agency

policy, planning, and information sharing efforts.
During incidents of such scope and complexity that state assistance for local or regional
operations may be needed, the Texas State Operations Center (SOC) is activated to coordinate
state agency support and ensure unified action. The SOC, along with partner organizations such
as the Joint Crime Information Center for incidents with a significant law enforcement or
intelligence component, the State Medical Operations Center for incidents with a significant
public health and medical component, and the Network Security Operations Center for cyber
security incidents, is responsible for maintaining liaison with federal partner agencies and
coordinating structures; coordinating resources from state agencies and other sources to meet
local and regional needs; and coordinating state-level dissemination of public information.
GEOGRAPHY
Texas size and geographic diversity create significant homeland security challenges. At
268,596 square miles, Texas is larger than the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio,
North Carolina, and all of the New England states combined. For context, El Paso is closer
to San Diego, CA than it is to Houston, and Houston is closer to Tallahassee, FL than it is to
El Paso. Texas shares 1,254 miles of international border with Mexico (64% of the entire
US-Mexico border), and has 367 miles of coastline on the Gulf of Mexico. Natural
environments include coastal plains, the semi-tropical Lower Rio Grande Valley, and
mountains in far west Texas, all with associated weather hazards. Distance and geographic
variation complicate statewide homeland security planning and demand a regional approach
to preparedness.
DEMOGRAPHICS
Two key demographic trends are ongoing in Texas, each with significant implications for
homeland security preparedness. The first trend is rapid population growth overall. Texas
population of over 26 million is the second-highest among all states, and it increased by 20.6%
from 2000-2010. Texas has 35 cities over 100,000, including six of the 20 largest cities in the
United States. Texas also had eight of the 15 fastest-growing cities in the nation from 20102013, and 12 of the 40 fastest-growing counties in the nation from 2012-2013. By 2020, the
Texas population is expected to grow to 28.8 million; by 2050, to over 40 million. This
continued growth will place proportionate demands on law enforcement, public health,
infrastructure, and other vital services.
The second trend is urbanization; Texas growth is not occurring evenly, but is concentrated in
three areas: the Texas Triangle, with points at San Antonio, Dallas/Fort Worth/Arlington, and
Houston (the area east of Interstate Highway 35 contains 40% of the states land, but over 85%
of its population and over 90% of population growth); the lower Rio Grande Valley; and the El
Paso area. In addition, the Eagle Ford Shale (southeast of San Antonio) and Cline Shale

13

(Midland-Odessa) areas are growing rapidly due to increases in oil and natural gas extraction.
Ninety-nine of the states 254 counties, however, have lost population over the last decade.
ECONOMY
Texas economy has been the engine of its population growth. With a gross state product of
approximately $1.65 trillion, Texas has the second-largest economy of any state, and it would be
the 12th largest economy in the world if it were a nation. Texas is a national leader across
multiple industries, including energy, agriculture, technology, financial services, and healthcare.
The economic consequences of terrorist attacks, technological disasters, or natural disasters
could be immense, making an understanding of economic trends and vulnerabilities essential to
effective homeland security risk management. Highlights demonstrating the size and diversity of
Texas economy include:

Texas is the leading exporter of all states, grossing more ($264.7 billion) through
exports than California and New York combined;
Texas has 13 seaports, three of which (the Ports of Houston, Beaumont, and Corpus
Christi) are among the ten largest in the nation by cargo volume. The Port of Beaumont
is also the busiest military port in the United States;
Texas has 29 official Ports of Entry, the most of any state. The Port of Laredo is the
largest inland border port of entry in the country;
Texas produces and consumes the most natural gas of any state, accounting for 29% of
U.S. natural gas production;
Texas has the most proven oil reserves of any state and accounts for over one third of
the United States daily crude oil production;
Texas has 27 oil refineries (the most of any state), including nine of the 20 largest in the
country; these refineries account for 29% of U.S. capacity;
Texas leads all states in wind-powered generation capacity, with over double the
capacity of the closest state;
Texas produces and consumes more electricity than any other state. Texas' electrical
infrastructure is largely a separate grid that is isolated from power grids serving other
states;
Agriculture is the second largest industry in Texas, which leads the nation in number of
farms and ranches;
Texas leads the nation in cattle, cotton, hay, sheep, and goat production;
Texas is responsible for almost 25% of U.S. chemical exports;
Texas is home to 51 of the companies on the Fortune 500 list, including six of the top
50;
Texas has over 600 hospitals with over 80,000 licensed beds. These hospitals employ
over 365,000 people and result in a total of over $175 billion in economic activity;
The Texas Medical Center (Houston) is the largest concentration of healthcare and
public health facilities in the world;
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Texas is home to over 15,000 technology firms and ranks second in the nation for
computer and video game industry employment; and
Texas has led the nation in job creation over the past five years, with 2014 being its best
year yet, and has accounted for nearly 30% of the nations net new jobs in the past ten
years.

CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE
Critical infrastructure includes a wide array of assets, systems, and networks that underpin the
basic functions of communities and enable our state and nation to operate and prosper. The
elements of these complex systems are organized
according to sectors, sub-sectors, segments, sub-segments,
Critical Infrastructure are those
and assets. Texas critical infrastructure systems span all
systems and assets, whether
16 recognized sectors and represent the needs and
opportunities associated with a geographically and
physical or virtual, so vital to the
demographically diverse state. The majority of critical
United States or the State of Texas
infrastructure systems on which we all rely are owned and
that the incapacity or destruction
operated by the private sector.

of such systems and assets would

The safety and security of critical infrastructure is a shared

have a debilitating impact on
responsibility between these private sector owners and
operators and public sector agencies, which fulfill security, economic security, public
regulatory roles and provide law enforcement and
health or safety, or any
emergency management support before, during, and after
combination thereof.
incidents. Any effort to enhance the security and
resilience of critical infrastructure systems in Texas
depends on the
Critical Infrastructure Sectors:
ability and willingness of public and private sector
Chemical
partners to coordinate activities and share information
Commercial Facilities
through a collaborative framework. The two-way sharing
of actionable information regarding threats, suspicious
Communications
activity, and interdependencies, while protecting business Critical Manufacturing
sensitive data, is the foundation for this collaborative
Dams
relationship.
Defense Industrial Base

Emergency Services
Energy
Financial Services
Food and Agriculture
Government Facilities
Healthcare
Information Technology
Nuclear Reactors, Materials,
and Waste
Transportation Systems
Water and Wastewater
Systems

Sectors listed in Red represent lifeline

sectors. All other sectors have
dependencies on these lifeline sectors.

The security and resilience of critical infrastructure cannot

be adequately addressed in a piecemeal fashion. The
essence of protecting these systems and ensuring their
resilience during any crisis lies in our collective ability to
develop and sustain a thorough understanding of the
relationships among them. Infrastructure assets, clusters,
systems, and networks are bound together through a series
of complex dependencies and interdependencies. The
failure of any single component in these networks can lead
to a series of direct and indirect impacts and cascading
failures.

15

Infrastructure failures can result from any number of natural hazards, technological failures,
industrial accidents, criminal or terrorist threats, cyber threats, and capacity shortfalls. The
examination of infrastructure risk in Texas must account for this wide spectrum of threats and
vulnerabilities. The state must address challenging infrastructure questions through a wellorganized, collaborative analytical approach: What are the potential consequences to Texas
communities of increasing water demands with limited supplies during prolonged periods of
drought? What actions need to be taken to ensure the reliability of the water infrastructure
system to meet these demands during periods of stress or crisis? How does Texas ensure that the
public health and healthcare system is robust and resilient enough to provide adequate surge
capacity during an epidemic? How will Texas ensure that infrastructure systems have the
appropriate resilience strategies in place to minimize downtime and quickly restore critical
services?
Five of the sixteen critical infrastructure sectors in Texas are considered lifeline sectors,
meaning that all of the other eleven sectors depend on these systems to operate. The four lifeline
sectors defined by the Department of Homeland Security are communications, energy,
transportation systems, and water and wastewater systems. Texas also includes the financial
services sector as a lifeline sector because during crisis response and recovery, citizens and
companies need access to financial services to address the many needs that arise. To illustrate
the concept of lifeline sectors, a facility such as a hospital could not provide effective patient
care without the ability to communicate, without power, without clean water, without a
transportation system to bring patients in for care, and without the ability to process payments
and pay staff.
The facts and statistics in the remainder of this section are intended to illustrate the breadth of
critical infrastructure in Texas, its importance to the state and nation, and the many
vulnerabilities associated with Texas critical infrastructure. While only lifeline sectors are
addressed here, all 16 sectors have a large presence in the state; ensuring their security and
resiliency requires a focused effort to understand risk and prioritize risk-reduction activities.
COMMUNICATIONS SECTOR

Texas has 587 registered public safety answering points that receive 9-1-1 calls;
There are 1,068 radio stations and more than 110 television stations in Texas; and
In May 2010, fixed broadband at download speeds of 768 Kbps or above was available to
approximately 7.14 million households, or 96.63% of households in the state.

ENERGY SECTOR
PETROLEUM SUB-SECTOR

As of January 2015, the 27 petroleum refineries in Texas had a capacity of over 5.2
million barrels of crude oil per day and accounted for approximately 29% of total U.S.
refining capacity;
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve maintains two sites in Texas, one of which has a
capacity of 254 million barrels and the other a capacity of 160 million barrels;
The cluster of refineries in the Houston area, including the nation's largest refinery in
Baytown, is the largest refining center in the United States;

16

The majority of Texas' refineries are clustered near major ports along the Gulf Coast,
including the Houston, Port Arthur, and Corpus Christi areas. These coastal refineries
have access to local Texas production, foreign imports, and crude oil from the Gulf of
Mexico;
Refined-product pipelines spread out from Houston across the country, allowing Texas
petroleum products to reach virtually every major consumption market east of the Rocky
Mountains; and
Each day, the Colonial Pipeline transports more than 100 million gallons of fuel from the
refinery-rich region of the Gulf Coast. Colonial's network of pipelines crosses 13 states,
serving more than 265 marketing terminals in the southern and eastern United States.

NATURAL GAS SUB-SECTOR

Texas is the Nations leading natural gas producer, accounting for approximately 29% of
total U.S. natural gas production; and
Texas has approximately 270,000 miles of pipelines carrying oil and natural gas as well
as many interstate pipelines. The nation's second-largest interstate pipeline by capacity,
the Transcontinental Gas Pipeline, carries more than 8.1 billion cubic feet per day of oil
and natural gas from the Texas coast to the southeastern region of the United States. The
third-largest interstate pipeline, carrying 7.2 billion cubic feet per day, moves products
from west Texas to the Midwest.

ELECTRICITY SUB-SECTOR

Electricity in Texas is distributed by portions of all three U.S. electric grids. The vast
majority of Texas electric infrastructure is on a grid managed by the Electric Reliability
Council of Texas (ERCOT), with portions of far West Texas near El Paso on the Western
Interconnection, and portions of East Texas and the Texas Panhandle on the Eastern
Interconnection;
ERCOT manages the flow of electric power to 24 million Texas customersabout 90%
of the state's entire electric load;
The ERCOT grid contains 46,000 miles of transmission lines, including approximately
15,000 miles of 345-kilovolt (kV) lines, 20,000 miles of 138-kV lines, and 11,000 miles
of 69 kV lines;
Natural gas-powered plants provide approximately 41% of Texas' electricity, while coal
provides 36% and nuclear power 11.6%. Texas ranks sixth in the Nation in nuclear
capacity. Each of the state's two nuclear power plants, Comanche Peak in Somervell
County and South Texas Project near Bay City, has two reactors; and
In 2014, Texas generated almost 36 million megawatt hours of electricity from wind
energy.

FINANCIAL SERVICES SECTOR

Texas is home to more than 29,500 financial services firms, including banks, credit
unions, credit and consumer lending services, insurance companies, investment firms,
securities brokerages, accounting firms, and others;
Compared to the U.S. financial sector as a whole, the Texas financial services industry is
significantly more specialized in sales financing, real estate lending, and consumer
finance;
17

The Dallas Federal Reserve Bank serves the Eleventh Federal Reserve District, which
consists of Texas, northern Louisiana, and Southern New Mexico, and maintains
branches in El Paso, Houston and San Antonio;
Millions of people in Texas do not have bank accounts or credit cards and may require
funds during emergencies; and
Millions of Texans rely on the Electronic Benefit Transfer system for receiving federal
and state entitlement funds, making this system critical to the financial sector as well.

TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS SECTOR

AVIATION SUB-SECTOR

Texas' general aviation sector includes more than 225 public-use airports and 21
international airports located throughout the state;
Texas is home to six of the top 50 busiest airports in the nation by annual passengers
boarded. These include #4 Dallas/Fort Worth International, #11 Houston George Bush
Intercontinental, #32 Houston William P. Hobby, #36 Austin Bergstrom International,
#44 San Antonio International, and #45 Dallas Love Field; and
The expiration of the Wright Amendment in October 2014 could bring a 50% increase of
passengers through Dallas Love Field in the coming years.

MARITIME SUB-SECTOR

Texas has 13 seaports, three of which are among the ten busiest in the nation;
The Port of Houston is the nation's second-most active harbor, handling some 222 million
tons of cargo annually; and
The U.S. military recognizes the Port of Beaumont as the busiest military port in the
world.

ROADWAYS SUB-SECTOR

Texas has 313, 228 miles of public roads;

1,025 of the 53,018 bridges in Texas (2%) are considered structurally deficient;
7,577 of the 53,018 bridges in Texas (14%) are considered functionally obsolete;
Texas is connected to Mexico by 28 international vehicular bridges. 13 of these
crossings accommodate commercial import and export traffic with U.S. Customs
services; and
Texas dominates U.S.-Mexico border crossings. In 2014, 3.7 million trucks crossed from
Mexico into Texas, more than twice the number that crossed into the other three U.S.
Southern Border States combined.

RAILROAD SUB-SECTOR

Two master-planned logistics complexes, Fort Worths Alliance Texas and San
Antonios Port San Antonio, integrate high-capacity industrial airports, Class I rail
terminals, and direct access to interstate highways;
Three of the countrys eight Class I railroads operate in Texas, including Union Pacific,
Kansas City Southern, and the Fort Worth-based BNSF Railway;
The Texas railroad system maintains 14,361 miles of track, more rail miles than any other
state;
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In 2010, more than 7.4 million tons of intermodal rail freight was shipped from Texas,
ranking the state third in the nation; and
In 2011, Texas was the entry point for 89% of all rail containers crossing into the United
States from Mexico.

WATER AND WASTEWATER SECTOR

WATER SUB-SECTOR

Texas has 157 large water systems serving populations greater than 20,000 and 832
systems serving populations between 3,300 and 20,000;
Groundwater is a major source of water for Texas. However, projected depletions of
groundwater and water quality problems due to naturally occurring constituents (e.g.
arsenic, chlorides, radionuclides, etc.) may leave groundwater supplies insufficient for
consumers that do not have other water sources to rely on in order to meet many
irrigation needs and the needs of some cities; and
There are 46 desalination plants in Texas. El Paso has the largest inland desalination
plant in the world, with a production capacity of over 27 million of gallons of potable
water a day.

WASTEWATER SUB-SECTOR

There are 2,844 public and private domestic wastewater facilities in Texas;
43% of assessed river miles and 38% of assessed reservoir acres in Texas are designated
as having impaired water quality according to the 2012 Texas Integrated Report of
Surface Water Quality; and
The leading sources of water pollution in the state include municipal sewage treatment
plants, agricultural runoff, urban runoff, and atmospheric deposition.

THREATS AND HAZARDS

Texas faces the full spectrum of threats and hazards, and the states vast size, geography, and
large population present unique challenges to public safety and homeland security. Texas
employs a systematic approach to detect, assess, and prioritize threats and hazards to the state.
This threat assessment model, which is detailed in the Texas Public Safety Threat Overview
published periodically by the Texas Department of Public Safety, is used to assess current and
potential threats, incorporating three variables that are commonly used in risk models:
likelihood, vulnerability, and consequence.
An evolving threat environment requires a dynamic assessment process that accounts for new
information, changing conditions, and emerging threats. The Texas Department of Public Safety
collaborates with federal, state, and local partners to manage the states threat assessment
process, which benefits from proactive information sharing and collaborative analysis. The
Texas Public Safety Threat Overview provides updated information on and analysis of the
various threats to Texas, such as crime, terrorism, natural disasters, public health threats, and
cyber threats. As the priority of threats and hazards in Texas may shift over time, this section of
the Texas Homeland Security Strategic Plan 2015-2020 does not provide a comprehensive
account of each of these threats. Instead, it highlights some of the threats and hazards that pose
the most significant homeland security concerns.
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CRIME
International cartels constitute the greatest organized crime threat to Texas. These powerful and
ruthless criminal organizations use military and terrorist tactics to battle each other and the
government of Mexico. They dominate the lucrative drug and human smuggling markets along
the border and have expanded their presence and control of criminal networks in Texas and
elsewhere in the United States, to include carrying out murders and other acts of violence in
Texas.
Trafficking and Exploitation of Children and other Vulnerable Victims
International cartels, transnational gangs, human trafficking organizations, and other criminal
groups engage in a wide range of criminal activity in Texas, including murder, kidnapping,
assault, drug trafficking, weapon smuggling, and money laundering. A particularly heinous
crime in which these organizations and other criminals are engaged is the exploitation and
trafficking of children and other vulnerable victims.
Human trafficking involves the recruitment, harboring, transporting, or procurement of a person
for labor or services for the purpose of involuntary servitude, slavery, or forced commercial sex
acts. In Texas, this crime is committed by criminal organizations and individual criminals who
target male and female victims of different ages, nationalities, and socioeconomic classes.
Traffickers in Texas target juvenile runaways, illegal aliens, and other vulnerable victims
through force, fraud, or coercion. Often, victims are manipulated by traffickers to remain with
them due to their emotional or financial dependency on the trafficker for food, housing, and
other needs.
Gangs also represent a significant public safety threat to Texas. The Texas Department of Public
Safety uses a threat assessment matrix involving multiple factors to evaluate the threat posed by
individual gangs on a statewide level. Several dangerous gangs in Texas have large membership
numbers, a presence across multiple regions of Texas, and relationships with Mexican cartels.
The Texas Department of Public Safety annually publishes the Texas Gang Threat Assessment,
which includes the most recent rankings and updated information on the gang threat to Texas.
Concentration of Smuggling Activity in the Rio Grande Valley
The Rio Grande Valley has become the center of gravity for international cartel-related
smuggling operations in Texas. Although this activity occurs along the entire border, the Rio
Grande Valley is the location of a disproportionate level of drug and human smuggling,
accounting for more than half of all apprehensions along the U.S.-Mexico border in FY2014.
Members and associates of the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas are active in this region, smuggling
drugs, weapons, bulk cash, and people, and also carrying out home invasions and other violent
crimes.

20

TERRORISM
Texas continues to face a threat from foreign terrorist organizations and lone terrorists. It is
important to recognize that al Qaeda, Hezbollah, ISIS, and other foreign terrorist organizations
still seek to carry out attacks in the United States. Additionally, there are potential attackers in
the United States who are unaffiliated with a terrorist organization but who could act alone or in
small groups. We are concerned about the continued threat from these capable, patient, and
persistent enemies.
Crime-Terror Convergence
The distinction between criminal organizations and terrorist groups can be difficult to discern. In
Mexico, the cartels use terrorist tactics such as beheadings and car bombs to intimidate the
government and public. Around the world, terrorist organizations make use of criminal
enterprise activities such as drug trafficking and kidnapping to support and fund their operations.
One threat concern for Texas is the potential that international cartels could support the
operations of a terrorist organization in planning or carrying out an attack on the United States.
This concern is underscored by the fact that, over the past few years, several individuals
associated with foreign terrorist organizations have illegally entered the United States from
Mexico, presumably through cartel-controlled human smuggling networks.
NATURAL DISASTERS
Texas faces a diverse array of natural hazards and has had significantly more disaster
declarations than any other state since 1953. On an annualized basis, flooding represents the
most serious natural hazard facing Texas, accounting for more physical losses and casualties than
other natural hazards. Statewide, the top five hazards of concern (as listed in the State of Texas
Hazard Mitigation Plan), are floods, hurricanes and tropical storms, wildfires, tornadoes, and
drought. Other hazards also pose a threat, including less frequently occurring events such as
coronal mass ejections, the consequences of which could range from minor to catastrophic.
These hazards vary significantly from region to region within the state in terms of frequency and
consequences, but all may result in loss of life and property and require a large-scale response.
The State of Texas Hazard Mitigation Plan is published periodically to identify and prioritize the
natural threats to the state and develop plans to eliminate or mitigate their risk.
PUBLIC HEALTH THREATS
Public health threats to Texas are a significant concern. Many public safety and homeland
security threats often carry public health consequences. For example, a hurricane or wildfire that
displaces residents and causes widespread electrical outages would naturally have a secondary
impact on the physical and mental health of affected Texans. Additionally, there are several
threats that primarily impact public health, such as emerging infectious diseases.

21

Risk of Pandemic
As shown by the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, the outbreak of which was first reported in Mexico, and
again by the first-ever U.S. Ebola diagnosis in Dallas in 2014, from the outbreak in West Africa,
Texas faces a risk from emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, including pandemics.
These diseases pose a potential threat to Texas health via people and products entering the state
through international airports, ports of entry along the Gulf of Mexico, and the international
border with Mexico. In addition, migratory birds and vectors such as mosquitoes and ticks may
carry emerging diseases across the state.
INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS
The large industrial base in Texas generally operates safely, with minimal homeland security
impact. However, due to the size and distribution of Texas industry and its economic
importance, any significant accidents that occur could result in high consequences. Industrial
accidents have the potential to threaten the states security, especially when they result in
casualties, the destruction of critical infrastructure, or the disruption of the states economy.
Explosion in West, Texas
In April 2013, a fire and explosion at the West Fertilizer Company in West, Texas, left 15 people
dead and more than 226 people injured and destroyed or damaged multiple buildings in the town.
The blast was an ammonium nitrate explosion caused by a fire in a wooden warehouse that
stored approximately 60 tons of ammonium nitrate in wooden bins.
CYBER THREATS
Cyber-attacks and intrusions can be used by criminals, terrorists, insiders, and hostile foreign
nations to mask other attacks, shake citizens confidence in the government, or disrupt delivery
of essential services. As this threat continues to grow and evolve, we are particularly concerned
about the potentially severe consequence of an effective cyber-attack against critical
infrastructure facilities and systems. Cyber threats could result in the denial or disruption of
essential services, including utilities, public health, finance, or law enforcement networks.
Cyber Threats to the Texas Electric Grid
Critical infrastructure networks are potential cyber-attack targets, given the interconnectedness
of these assets industrial control systems. A cyber-attack against the states electric grid could
potentially disrupt the supply of electric power across wide areas of Texas. A prolonged electric
outage across a large area would likely have a catastrophic impact on the states economy, public
health, and public safety.

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SUMMARY: TEXAS IN 2020

By 2020, Texas will likely have close to 29 million people, representing population growth of
approximately 15% since 2010.
The states economy will likely continue to expand, led by the energy sector, with agriculture,
technology, chemicals, financial services, and healthcare continuing to play key roles in the
economic vitality of the state and nation. This expansion, along with population growth, will
place increasing demands on infrastructure such as roads, bridges, ports, and pipelines, with
aging infrastructure increasing the risk of industrial accidents and other technological hazards.
In addition, interdependencies across sectors will likely continue to increase. Peak (summer)
demand for electricity in Texas is anticipated to grow by over 6% between 2015 and 2020, with
capacity increasing by over 8%. Water demand is expected to increase by over 5% from 2010 to
2020, with decreasing demand for irrigation water offset by increases in municipal, electricity
generation, manufacturing, and mining use.
Texas will remain the most natural hazard-prone state in the nation. Drought will pose a
growing challenge across the majority of the state, with wildfires in central Texas, tornadoes in
north central Texas, flooding in east Texas, and hurricanes/tropical storms along the Gulf Coast
continuing to be the most frequent and destructive natural hazards. Texas will also remain
vulnerable to infectious disease outbreaks and pandemics. The agriculture industry will continue
to be threatened by plant and animal disease.
Border security, especially in the absence of increased federal effort, is likely to remain the top
public safety concern in Texas. Border-related crime, including drug smuggling, human
trafficking, and violent crime, will continue to pose a threat not only to border communities, but
to the state and nation as a whole. The influence of organized crime on local governments and
businesses creates additional risk for local economies and the rule of law. Potential entry of
international terrorists into the state and continued organized crime-terrorism convergence will
remain as significant threats. Soft targets such as schools, commercial facilities, and public
gatherings will be a significant vulnerability across the state, particularly in areas of large
population growth. Finally, criminal or terrorist cyber threats will grow in terms of number of
actors, number of attacks, and consequences.
In short, the Texas homeland security environment of 2020 will become even more dynamic and
challenging. Securing Texas will demand a thorough understanding of threats and hazards,
vulnerabilities, and consequences as the foundation of effective risk management. In a resourceconstrained environment, we must focus our efforts on the activities and investments that will
pay the highest dividend in terms of risk reduction. We must also enhance our resilience, with
the knowledge that attacks and disasters will inevitably take place. Success will require
unprecedented levels of multi-agency and multi-jurisdictional planning and coordination,
technology integration, information sharing, a commitment to constant improvement, and a
vigilant and prepared public.

23

SECTION III: GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

INTRODUCTION
The Goals and Objectives listed and described in this section are aligned with the five homeland
security mission areas: Prevent, Protect, Mitigate, Respond, and Recover. They reflect the
states most significant homeland security priorities and will serve to focus our homeland
security activities, to include investment and resourcing efforts. It is important to note, however,
that these Goals and Objectives do not constitute an exhaustive list of all important actions
within each mission area; for example, preparedness activities such as planning, training,
exercises, and public outreach provide a foundation for long-term success across all mission
areas.
Goals are the general strategic ends toward which Texas will continually work; they serve to
orient our long-term homeland security efforts.
Objectives support each Goal and describe a result, event, or outcome to be achieved over the
next five years. Objectives serve to focus the application of resources.
In almost all cases, achieving Objectives will require coordinated effort among multiple state
agencies, jurisdictions, and the private sector.

EVALUATION PLAN
For the guidance in this strategy to be meaningful, the strategy must remain a dynamic document
used to assess progress and guide course corrections. The Texas Office of Homeland Security
will be responsible for developing and managing a system to assess statewide implementation of
the THSSP. This process will include dissemination of Priority Actions for each Objective.
These Priority Actions will describe specific initiatives and activities needed to accomplish the
Objective. The Office will work with stakeholders to develop metrics to gauge progress on each
Objective and Priority Action and will develop and share with them an annual summary.
To facilitate this ongoing assessment, Section III of the THSSP assigns a lead agency for
reporting on each Objective. While these leads are not solely responsible for achieving all
aspects of the designated Objective, they are expected to maintain a statewide perspective on
THSSP implementation in the assigned functional area through coordination with all
stakeholders.

24

GOAL 1: PREVENT
Prevent terrorist attacks and organized criminal
activity in Texas.

1.1

Objective
Expand and enhance the statewide intelligence capability that reduces the threat of
terrorism and criminal enterprises.
Lead for reporting: Texas Department of Public Safety

Among the clear risks to the citizens of Texas are terrorist attacks, which may take the form of
organized and sponsored attacks by countries or terrorist organizations or individual lone wolf
actors. Attacks could range from use of weapons of mass destruction to complex active shooter
events to cyber-attacks. Terrorists and criminal enterprises require many of the same support
systems, including funding, weapons, safe houses, and transportation. Criminal enterprises will
continue to operate in more sophisticated ways, to include adopting traditionally terroristic
tactics of assassination, bombings, and arson to pursue money and power. Criminal and terrorist
groups will become harder to distinguish, particularly in the cyber realm. Over the next five
years, Texas must grow its capability to counter this spectrum of threats through deliberate
planning and coordination.
Texas will improve its network of law enforcement relationships through developing advanced,
common approaches to targeting terrorist and criminal threats. Texas seven recognized fusion
centers and other intelligence nodes will interact daily to share threat information, support
criminal investigations, and organize intelligence collection in the states area of interest. Smart
resource allocation and prioritization within this network of state and local law enforcement
intelligence professionals will enhance the development of information sharing requirements, the
management of collection assets, and the quality of analysis.
By adapting proven technology across this network of law enforcement agencies, Texas will
create an information sharing network complete with a common operational picture, such as
TxMAP, to provide shared situational awareness down to the mobile device level. Building on
human relationships and technology linkages, specific organizations such as the Border Security
Operations Center and the Highway Security Operations Center will target terrorist and criminal
threats in their functional areas of responsibility.
Interpersonal and network relationships will expand beyond the traditional law enforcement
community to include public health, agriculture, animal health and other critical agency partners.
Texas will encourage strong coordination relationships with the private sector through adding
value to their business security environment, while improving the security of the state as a whole
through increasing public-private information exchange. One specific initiative will be the
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GOAL 1: PREVENT
creation of a statewide network of Threat Liaison Officers and Infrastructure Liaison Officers,
linking local networks, to gather appropriate information to counter terrorism and criminal
enterprises.
To enhance all intelligence activities, Texas will continue to develop law enforcement
intelligence training initiatives such as the Texas Department of Public Safetys Intelligence
Analyst Professional Development Program. This series of courses provides a baseline level of
training for law enforcement intelligence analysts throughout the state, promoting common
language, processes, and networks and providing professional certification. Texas will expand
this concept to include law enforcement officers and other agency leaders to support an
integrated statewide intelligence-led policing approach.
Texas will also expand its ability to provide deployable intelligence surge support for law
enforcement and emergency operations, making focused intelligence support available for high
priority issues such as border security, disaster response, high crime areas and social unrest.
Intelligence teams will be able to support joint operations among many levels of law
enforcement agencies and jurisdictions.
Over the coming years, the amount of information available and required for effective and
efficient law enforcement operations will increase exponentially. Texas must have the
technology to organize, store and constantly analyze this data, including new hardware, software
and the bandwidth to move data where needed. All of this must be accomplished with strict and
thorough attention to individual privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties, which will remain the
foundation of our data policies and structure.

26

GOAL 1: PREVENT
1.2

Objective
Enhance investigative capability to address terrorism and criminal enterprises.
Lead for reporting: Texas Department of Public Safety

Experience has demonstrated that effective counter-terror and crime-fighting efforts must be
coordinated among agencies and jurisdictions. Links between terrorism and criminal enterprises
are a growing concern; even without direct linkages, criminal enterprises such as transnational
gangs engage in activities that pose a daily threat to Texans, such as drug trafficking, kidnapping,
human smuggling, sex trafficking, murder, assassinations, racketeering, blackmail, extortion and
immigration offenses.
Texas investigators at the state and local levels will continue to target the leadership and
financial networks supporting these criminal enterprises and work with law enforcement partners
from across the United States and around the world to dismantle criminal organizations and
identify, deter, and disrupt their activities. The highest priority cases are those that identify and
target known or suspected terrorist organization cells and actors and criminal enterprises such as
domestic and transnational gangs acting as agents of Mexican cartels. By using the most
advanced technology, law enforcement agencies will be able to efficiently and effectively
cooperate and collaborate on intelligence, investigative, and operational activities to combat
these shared threats. These efforts will be supported through implementation of the National
Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) standards by local law enforcement agencies
throughout Texasthe 84th Texas Legislature directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to
establish a goal that all local law enforcement agencies implement NIBRS reporting by
September 2019. This will provide a more comprehensive understanding of all crime, including
transnational and organized crime, that occurs within communities.
The creation of multi-agency Texas Anti-Gang (TAG) Centers in Texas Department of Public
Safety regions across the state will further the ability of law enforcement agencies to identify,
deter, disrupt and dismantle criminal organizations operating in or impacting communities in
Texas. The TAG Centers facilitate the collaboration of the regions most knowledgeable and
experienced federal, state, and local anti-gang investigators, analysts, and prosecutors to fight
violent criminal gangs and transnational criminal organizations.
Texas intelligence and information sharing capability that supports investigations is coordinated
through the states network of fusion centers and intelligence nodes. This network assists law
enforcement agencies in conducting investigations and planning and conducting focused
operations to prevent terrorist attacks and degrade the capabilities of criminal enterprises.
Development and careful management of human intelligence sources has consistently proven
critical to the success of terrorism and organized crime investigations, and this function must be
a focus of effort at all levels of law enforcement statewide.
Preventing a terrorist attack requires law enforcement, security personnel, and volunteers trained
to recognize the suspicious activities, tradecraft, and precursor crimes that may indicate a
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GOAL 1: PREVENT
potential attack. Examples of these activities include theft of explosives or materials used in
explosives, surveillance activities, rental of self-storage space to store bomb-making materials,
signs of chemical fires or toxic odors in hotels or apartment complexes, the modification of
vehicles to handle heavier loads, and small test explosions in remote areas. The goal is to
provide the right training to the right individuals and organizations, ensuring that training
programs account for emerging threat trends. Recognizing, responding to, and reporting
precursor activities and crimes must be incorporated into law enforcement and homeland security
personnel training and activities across Texas.
Human trafficking by criminal enterprises is a serious and growing threat to Texas, and
combating it requires law enforcement officials, security personnel, and citizens who can
recognize indicators and respond appropriately. Conducting training to increase awareness of
common indicators, developing language skills for communicating with all victims and suspects,
increasing knowledge of the immediate needs of and resources available for victims, and
enhancing investigators understanding of the legal challenges involved in these investigations is
essential. Additionally, law enforcement agencies should employ the Community Policing
Model by collaborating with their communities on human trafficking indicators and reporting
procedures.

28

GOAL 1: PREVENT
1.3

Objective
Prevent terrorists and criminal enterprises from exploiting Texas' international borders,
including land, air, and sea.
Lead for reporting: Texas Department of Public Safety

The most serious vulnerability Texas faces is an unsecured border with Mexico; border-related
crime poses a significant threat to the entire state and the nation as a whole. Mexican Cartels and
affiliated trafficking organizations and gangs exploit this vulnerability and dominate drug and
human trafficking in the border region, and their networks have become entrenched throughout
the country. These criminal organizations are ruthless and adaptive in pursuing their goals of
money and power.
In order to successfully combat border threats, Texas must deter, detect, and interdict borderrelated crime and simultaneously dismantle the command and control networks of the Cartels
and affiliated criminal organizations operating in the state. The key to effectiveness is taking a
multi-agency state, federal and local approach that builds strong partnerships and ensures
coordinated action. To support border security operations and investigations, we must enable the
collection and seamless sharing of information and intelligence; develop surge capabilities to
ensure rapid response to new or growing threats; develop enhanced marine, air and ground
tactical capabilities; maximize the use of proven force multiplying technologies; conduct
thorough after action reviews of all operations; and continually adjust tactics to maximize the
impact of available resources.
Texas will conduct intelligence-driven, multi-agency law enforcement operations that coordinate
local, state and federal land, air and maritime interdiction capabilities through unified command
structures. These operations, such as Operation SECURE TEXASwhich began September 1,
2015, and builds on the successes of Operation STRONG SAFETY and other past efforts using
an influx of permanent, more efficient resourceswill deny Mexican Cartels access to
smuggling routes, disrupt trafficking and smuggling activities, and target mid-level command
and control networks through enhanced enterprise investigations.
The varied terrain in the Texas-Mexico border region poses significant challenges to detecting
illegal activity, and Texas must maximize the use of available technology to support detection
efforts. As part of Operation SECURE TEXAS, we will strive to achieve 100% detection at the
borderparticularly in remote areasthrough implementation of cost-effective devices capable
of detecting and responding to physical stimuli such as movement. One such program that has
proven its utility is Operation Drawbridge. The low-cost Drawbridge camera array uses motion
activated game cameras to capture and report drug and human smuggling events in real time,
with instant target confirmation. Over the course of the next five years, Texas will further
expand Operation Drawbridge, which currently includes over 1500 cameras, by adding up to
4000 new cameras and supporting infrastructure throughout the border region. In addition, the
84th Texas Legislature directed the Soil and Water Conservation Board to develop and

29

GOAL 1: PREVENT
implement a program to eradicate Carrizo cane along the Rio Grande River, which will facilitate
enhanced detection and law enforcement response operations in the border region.
Advances in thermal and other detection capabilities, open data architectures, and related
technology offer clear potential benefits for border security operations as well as counter-crime
and counter-terror operations around the state. In order to find the most efficient technologies,
Texas must develop an effective security technology testing and evaluation capability. Security
and law enforcement systemsincluding event-driven detection devices, correlation engines,
and information storage and sharing toolscan include multiple options that must be considered
in light of performance, cost, and building compatible, statewide solutions. The Texas
Department of Public Safety will coordinate with statewide law enforcement agencies,
intelligence fusion centers and nodes, and qualified vendors to seek advanced but proven
technologies, test them, and share results across the law enforcement community.
Texas faces a shortfall in judicial prosecution of drug cases due to the ever-increasing number of
drug offenses in the border region, and it also faces the constant risk of public corruption due to
the high volume and profitability of Cartel trafficking and smuggling activity. The states border
prosecutor initiative has been an effective program to help ensure that once criminals are
captured, they can be brought to justice, and it has also been effective in identifying public
corruption. Texas will work to expand this program to meet the growing demand resulting from
increasing trafficking and smuggling apprehensions.
Texas Gulf Coast presents another significant vulnerability due to its physical size, the presence
of critical seaports and the Intracoastal Waterway, and the magnitude of goods flowing into and
out of the state. Port security must be achieved through a collaborative effort among private
sector organizations and partner agencies at the federal, state, and local level. Texas will
enhance the security of its seaports by increasing multi-jurisdictional participation on local
planning and security committees, actively sharing threat and vulnerability information among
all stakeholders, providing support as required to port managers and operators, and investing in
proven technology to assist with early detection and interdiction of potential threats.

30

GOAL 1: PREVENT
1.4

Objective
Increase public awareness and reporting of suspicious activities related to crime and
terrorism, with emphasis on drug trafficking, human trafficking, and chemical, biological,
radiological, nuclear, and high-yield explosives (CBRNE) threats.
Lead for reporting: Texas Department of Public Safety

Criminals and prospective terrorists operate among the public every day, leaving indicators of
their plans and trails of their actions in plain view. The ability to gather and analyze this
information in an organized way, then act on intelligence as appropriate, is essential to public
safety in Texas. Through building a technology structure and implementing awareness training
for first responders and citizens, Texas will increase reporting of suspicious activities statewide.
A well-trained staff must then separate valuable intelligence from distractions and insignificant
reports. It will be critical to maintain positive control over this information, as protection of
privacy and civil rights must be at the core of all reporting systems.
Texas will increase suspicious activity reporting by implementing programs to promote public
awareness and by providing easily accessible technology for citizen reporting, such as the
Suspicious Activity Reporting Network using the iWatch system, the Crime Stoppers program,
and the Cash for Stash program. In addition, the Suspicious Activity Reporting Network will be
expanded to include all six regional fusion centers in the state. Threat Liaison Officers from the
first responder community will train their peers and work within their geographic and functional
areas to provide assistance in ensuring the right information is reported up the right chain for
proper evaluation. First responders are witnesses to many suspicious actions, and this training
will simply increase their power of observation and provide a structured reporting system.
Human trafficking, often including children for use in the sex trade, represents one of the fastest
growing threats to Texas. As part of a multi-faceted effort to combat human trafficking, the state
must eliminate the anonymity and refuge of the individuals and organizations who participate in
it. The state will continue its efforts to train law enforcement personnel and community
members to recognize trafficking indicators and use the common iWatch reporting system to
identify suspicious activities and perpetrators.

31

GOAL 2: PROTECT
Reduce the state's vulnerability to terrorist and
criminal attacks and natural and technological
disasters.

2.1

Objective
Enhance the security and resiliency of Texas critical infrastructure systems, networks,
facilities, and assets, with particular emphasis on the lifeline sectors of communications,
energy, transportation, water, and financial services.
Lead for reporting: Texas Department of Public Safety

The many risks to critical infrastructure in Texas will never be eliminated, but they can be
reduced and effectively managed. Management of risk to critical infrastructure systems is a
shared responsibility between the private sector and government agencies. Effective partnerships
and a more thorough understanding of critical infrastructure risk will help maximize the
effectiveness of risk reduction activities, with a priority on the lifeline sectors essential to basic
community functionality.
The Texas critical infrastructure protection program is coordinated by the Office of Critical
Infrastructure Protection within the Texas Department of Public Safety. The success of the
program hinges on effective multi-agency and public-private coordination efforts involving all
stakeholders. To facilitate coordination, Texas will implement a Public-Private Partnership
Model that establishes statewide Sector Working Groups in each of the critical infrastructure
sectors. These Sector Working Groups will focus on identifying operational issues and concerns
impacting their sector and developing strategies and operational solutions to ensure the ongoing
security and resilience of their facilities, networks, systems, and assets. The Sector Working
Groups will serve as the states focal points for gathering and sharing information, disseminating
best practices and lessons learned, and assisting with prioritization of critical infrastructure
protection activities.
We will ensure the availability of timely, relevant and actionable information to critical
infrastructure stakeholders through the expanded use of the Homeland Security Information
Network (HSIN) and other secure information platforms. At the state and local levels, Texas
will expand outreach to critical infrastructure owners and operators and foster a reliable two-way
exchange of information with these partners. We will also exercise this information
dissemination capability through the broadcast of timely situation awareness information,
actionable intelligence products, and strategic threat assessments, as appropriate.
In order to enhance awareness and understanding of critical infrastructure risk, Texas will
embark on a multi-year inventory of facilities, systems, and assets across the 16 critical
infrastructure sectors by integrating existing data and building a data set from existing sources
and information that is voluntarily submitted by the private sector. The Texas Department of
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GOAL 2: PROTECT
Public Safety will establish a secure database to capture inventory results and additional
information critical to effective risk management and response operations. This information will
be made available as needed to law enforcement and emergency management personnel. The
information and data base will be protected to the fullest extent allowed by law.
Texas will maximize participation in training, exercise, and analysis opportunities offered by the
federal government (e.g. Chemical Defense Demonstration Project, Regional Resilience
Assessment Program, and the Resiliency Implementation Process). In addition, we will
encourage implementation of a cyclical series of discussion-based exercises designed to enhance
understanding of regional critical infrastructure risk, with an emphasis on dependencies,
interdependencies, points of vulnerability, and cascading effects within and across sectors.
In addition to enhancing our systems for sharing threat information in order to enable protective
actions, Texas will encourage the prioritization and implementation of critical infrastructure riskreduction measures such as improving physical security (for example, through implementation of
the tenets of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design), improving cyber security,
enhancing resilience through effective business continuity planning, and incorporating critical
infrastructure concerns into mitigation, response, and recovery plans and exercises. These
activities will mitigate the impact of incidents and help ensure the continued delivery of essential
services to our communities.

33

GOAL 2: PROTECT
2.2

Objective
Reduce the risk of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high-yield explosives
(CBRNE) incidents by enhancing control and early detection capabilities.
Lead for reporting: Texas Department of State Health Services and Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality

The potential devastation resulting from a major chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or
high-yield explosives (CBRNE) attack in Texas is enormous. Health care workers, first
responders, and other authorities in Texas must be fully prepared to detect, confirm, respond to,
and recover from a biological, nuclear, or chemical attack; infectious disease outbreak; or other
public health threat or emergency. Early detection of these events is essential to minimizing loss
of life.
Biological attacks and hazards can initially be difficult to detect because pathogens can lie
dormant or cause delayed effects. Texas participates in and provides critical infrastructure
support for the National BioWatch network to monitor for intentionally-released biological
agents. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) oversees and coordinates
BioWatch field activities in conjunction with private sector partners, local jurisdictions, and the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security. There are multiple BioWatch network sites in key areas
throughout the state. Texas will continue to work with federal and private sector partners to
expand and improve the capabilities of the BioWatch Program and our broader detection efforts,
including securing improved technologies for detecting a wide range of highly toxic biological
agents. Texas must also ensure sufficient laboratory space and analytical capabilities for
chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives detection in order to support rapid
response when there is an actual threat. As the effects of an incident involving a biological agent
may not be apparent for some time after the actual event, it is also essential to maintain sufficient
lab facilities and human capital for epidemiological research and epidemic identification.
TCEQ is the lead state agency for hazardous materials and oil spill response in Texas and works
closely with other response agencies such as the Texas General Land Office, Texas Railroad
Commission, Texas Military Forces, and the Office of the State Chemist to ensure a safe,
effective, and comprehensive approach to natural or manmade disasters involving chemicals.
The management of highly toxic or dangerous chemicals that can be used for domestic terrorism
or, if mishandled, cause loss of life, is a key priority over the next five years. Federal, state,
local, and private sector partners will increase and expand upon chemical facility and fertilizer
plant inspections to improve safety and security of dangerous chemicals. State agencies are also
reviewing and improving the states Tier II Chemical Reporting Program, which protects public
health and the environment by providing information about hazardous chemicals and their health
effects, in order to enhance the knowledge and safety of local first responders during manmade
or natural disasters.
Health-related emergencies are a homeland security focus area because rapid detection and rapid
response at the local and state levels can protect citizens from loss of life or long-term adverse
health effects. Disease surveillance allows us to predict, observe, and minimize the effects of an
outbreak, which may prevent the disease from spreading to become an epidemic or pandemic.
An example of this is the rapid response to the Ebola incident in Dallas in 2014. To aid in
34

GOAL 2: PROTECT
surveillance, Texas employs several human and animal disease surveillance capabilities
including the Public Health Information Network (PHIN), the National Electronic Disease
Surveillance System (NEDSS), the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN), and
the National Wildlife Disease Surveillance and Emergency Response System (SERS).
Disease surveillance is enhanced when data is consolidated and analyzed with the aid of
information technology, including geospatial mapping information, related to a public health,
animal, or plant disease outbreak. For optimal response in the event of an outbreak or attack,
Texas will integrate and expand existing information technology systems into a single human
and animal health surveillance system. This will allow us to rapidly identify threats to public
health and locate and follow the spread of diseases affecting agriculture production. Currently,
there are multiple stove-piped disease surveillance systems in the health, medical, and veterinary
communities. Better consolidation of surveillance information, shared mutually across these
disciplines, will improve Texas ability to recognize and respond to disease threats. For
example, consolidation will enable rapid detection of Foreign and Emerging Animal Diseases
(FEADs) or high-risk zoonotic diseases like anthrax and plague. It will also contribute to early
detection of agricultural threats such as foot-and-mouth disease, pests, and plant diseases. The
system must allow medical practitioners, school nurses, veterinarians, and other professionals to
supply data and access relevant information in real time. Early detection and rapid information
sharing combine to protect citizens and reduce the risk of wider consequences.
Our technology-empowered detection and alert systems will only be as effective as the
professionals who use them. Success requires more than technical proficiency; it requires close
coordination between local and state emergency management, law enforcement, border
protection, public health, veterinary, and medical professionals. Texas will ensure sufficient
training for all disease detection stakeholders to make certain they have the skills needed to
identify and report diseases and trends of concern.
The detection, proper control, and disposal of radiological materials in Texas must be assured.
Texas will employ a multi-agency approach that draws upon the Texas Department of Public
Safety (DPS), Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), TCEQ, local law
enforcement, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) resources to detect radiological
material, particularly at ports of entry along the Texas-Mexico border and the Gulf Coast. DSHS
serves as the states lead radiation control agency. TCEQ oversees the Low Level Radioactive
Waste disposal site near Andrews, Texas, and utilizes state-of-the-art technology to safeguard the
waste. DPS has equipped troopers and investigative personnel with radiological detection
devices at key locations across Texas, particularly along the border. The state will continue to
build the radiological detection capabilities of law enforcement officers and ensure that assets are
strategically deployed for optimal coverage of the state. This law enforcement effort
complements the efforts of DSHS and TCEQ, which have trained health physicists who serve as
inspectors and also staff radiological incident response teams. DSHS inspectors work closely
with CBP officials to deploy detection and inspection equipment at all ports of entry in Texas.
The DSHS Radiation Control program also calibrates and distributes state-owned radiological
detection instruments to local governments and provides radiological training for local and state
responders on how to use those instruments. Support from this program occurs along
Department of Energy radiological waste shipment routes; occasionally, the training is provided
in other areas of the state as well.
35

GOAL 2: PROTECT
2.3

Objective
Reduce vulnerability to natural hazards and manmade threats to the agriculture industry.
Lead for reporting: Texas Animal Health Commission and Texas Department of
Agriculture

Texas is committed to preventing disease outbreaks and disasters impacting the agriculture
industry. The growth of human and animal populations, transportation and industrial
infrastructures, and cargo entering through Texas ports fuels the potential for accidental or
intentional introduction of animal and/or plant pests, non-native invasive species, pathogens, and
pesticides, along with the microbial, radiological, and/or chemical contamination of Texas
agriculture.
The Texas Department of Agriculture, the Texas Animal Health Commission, and the
Department of State Health Services lead a cooperative effort to reduce the vulnerability of
Texas agriculture to such threats. This endeavor requires a multi-faceted approach, engaging
local, state, and federal agencies and officials; regulatory agencies; animal owners and
producers; landowners and managers; and associated manufacturing and marketing businesses.
Currently, Texas agency officials routinely coordinate and communicate threat and vulnerability
information with these stakeholders through a variety of methods.
The Texas Department of Agriculture will continue to lead efforts to provide high speed
broadband internet access in rural communities to allow for improved alerting and information
exchange. The Texas Animal Health Commission and the Texas Department of Agriculture, in
coordination with their U.S. Department of Agriculture partners, will explore various
technological avenues to improve threat and hazard reporting and notification systems, such as
establishing and/or enhancing web-based, secure alerting and notification systems. Real-time
reporting and notifications using targeted communication between emergency management
personnel and the impacted stakeholders is our ultimate goal.
Threats to Texas agriculture change as organisms evolve and adapt to pesticides and other
eradication and control methods. State agriculture laboratories and officials must be able to
rapidly respond to threats and vectors. The capability for surveillance, monitoring, detection,
identification, analysis, and response and containment actions must be enhanced to keep pace
with industry growth and new challenges. Texas agriculture officials and partner agencies will
explore opportunities to increase the capabilities of our agriculture laboratories and personnel to
detect, identify, and analyze threats to Texas agriculture, including the acquisition of proven new
technologies. Personnel must be trained and exercised on new technology and processes to
provide the greatest quality assurance and control.
The explosive growth of Texas transportation corridors and infrastructure necessitates the
operation of permanent and temporary road stations to protect Texas agriculture from the
accidental or intentional introduction of threats to the agriculture industry. Currently, agriculture
36

GOAL 2: PROTECT
officials establish temporary road inspections stations based on identified threats and funding
availability. Texas will explore opportunities to integrate geographic information systems to
capture and analyze transportation data to better identify potential threats. Texas will also
explore development and implementation of a web-based system to link permanent and
temporary road stations with centralized monitoring centers to enhance agricultural threat and
hazard identification. This system would provide for real-time data, alerts, and information
exchange, along with live-streaming of video identification and surveillance capabilities.

37

GOAL 2: PROTECT
2.4

Objective
Enhance the Safety of Schools in Texas.
Lead for reporting: Texas School Safety Center

Texas schools must provide a safe place for learning throughout K-12 and higher education
settings. School safety remains a high priority for homeland security preparedness in Texas
because of the inherent vulnerabilities of schools. These are the places at which large groups of
individuals gather daily in communities around the state.
The Texas School Safety Center (TxSSC) is a nationally-recognized organization in supporting
school safety and emergency management. In addition, partners such as the Parent Teacher
Association, Office of the Attorney General, local first responders, Disaster District
Coordinators, Emergency Management Coordinators, and school districts contribute to the
overall safety and security of school environments.
To further Texass efforts to provide safe learning environments, the TxSSC continues to
develop and refine resources for school districts and junior colleges to evaluate the
vulnerabilities, threats, and hazards that may impact an educational institution, as well as to
better develop a culture of preparedness for students and staff. These resources empower
schools to resolve gaps, build upon promising practices, and enhance schools multi-hazard
emergency operations plans in collaboration with first responders, emergency management
personnel, and other key stakeholders.
To assess school districts progress on safety and security issues, the Texas Education Code
requires districts to complete safety and security audits of their facilities once every three years.
The results of the district audits are submitted to the TxSSC and incorporated as aggregate data
into a statewide report. In 2014, a total of 1,013 out of 1,027 districts (98.6%) reported
completing safety and security audits on all of their instructional facilities. In addition, 919
(89.5%) reported having a functioning School Safety and Security Committee that meets
regularly. A total of 998 districts reported having a Multi-Hazard EOP, and an overwhelming
majority of school districts reported conducting evacuation, lockdown, weather, shelter-in-place,
and reverse evacuation drills. With a majority of districts taking the necessary steps toward
ensuring safe learning environments, the state will continue to expand upon its existing resources
by successfully executing several initiatives.
Through collaboration with state, regional, and local partners, Texas will enhance and expand
school-centered emergency preparedness activities by providing training, technical assistance,
and outreach to school districts. The core of this effort will be built upon the Texas Unified
School Safety Standards, a set of standards developed by schools, first responders, and
emergency management partners from throughout the state. The Standards were developed as
universally applicable criteria and will be regularly reviewed with partners to ensure the
continuing evolution of effective safety and emergency management programs.
Training initiatives include those geared toward preparedness, such as a program created and
passed by the Texas Legislature in 2015, requiring the TxSSCamong othersto establish and
implement education and training for school peace officers on pertinent issues such as adolescent
38

GOAL 2: PROTECT
development, de-escalation techniques, mental health needs of children, and positive behavioral
interventions.
Through training, assistance, and outreach, the state and its partners will develop effective,
integrated, and high-quality programs that will be delivered in multi-modal formats to school
leaders, staff, and students. This process will serve to support the needs of the geographically,
culturally, and demographically diverse school and junior college districts in the state.
The effort to develop integrated partnerships among school districts, first responders, and
community stakeholders is a comprehensive process that includes planning, training, and
exercises to establish collaboration and a coordinated capability to prevent, protect against,
mitigate the effects of, respond to, and recover from all hazards. This process supports the
inclusion of school resources and school safety considerations in a communitys emergency
management program, as well as the awareness in schools of local law enforcement and
emergency management plans and processes. Texas will encourage and support the appropriate
integration of school and community drills and exercises to focus on specific objectives that
enhance communication, tactical protective action measures, and functional collaboration. Texas
will also work with local law enforcement agencies and partners to ensure provision of
specialized training for law enforcement officers to meet the safety and security challenges
unique to educational institutions.
Texas will continue to support the TxSSCs Youth Emergency Preparedness Camp, where
Community Emergency Response Team and leadership skills are taught. This program, which
has been recognized as a national model by FEMA, allows teams of youth led by an adult
sponsor to receive emergency response training and participate in community specific action
planning aimed at increasing overall community resilience. This program is currently
appropriate for students in middle and high school; the TxSSC will seek to develop and/or
support expanded preparedness activities and programs that encompass students of all gradelevels and will actively integrate students with disabilities and access and functional needs.
Students in Texas schools are increasingly being targeted for recruitment by gangs and
transnational trafficking organizations for drug distribution and other functions, with schools in
urban areas and the border region at particular risk. Texas Department of Public Safety Safety
Education Troopers currently deliver anti-gang recruitment education to schools and students,
and several similar programs are in place in communities throughout the state. Texas will
encourage expansion of these types of programs and support them by providing training and
sharing best practices. Programs should include age-appropriate education for students at all
levels and should be developed in partnership among law enforcement agencies, schools, parent
groups and other stakeholders.

39

GOAL 2: PROTECT
2.5

Objective
Enhance statewide cyber security efforts to protect information assets.
Lead for reporting: Texas Department of Information Resources

Texas faces an ever increasing threat from cyber-attacks and intrusions into the information
assets of government agencies, critical infrastructure, and private sector entities. The expanse
and complexity of efforts to protect Texas information assets will only become more difficult
over time. While the state has been able to counter or mitigate these threats to date, we must be
vigilant against emerging cyber challenges. Each day, information resources that the people of
Texas depend upon face threats that could significantly impact their confidentiality, availability,
or integrity. Creation of an effective defense and response to cyber-attacks or intrusions requires
the joint efforts of Texas state, regional, and local government agencies and employees,
institutions of higher education, and private sector entities.
Led by the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR), Texas will develop and expand
upon a comprehensive cyber security strategy that will be implemented by government agencies
and will extend assistance to and enhance coordination with the private sector. This Texas Cyber
Security Strategy will seek to clarify and coordinate public and private sector responsibilities and
expectations, to include identification of key personnel, agencies, and vendors that would
manage the states response to a significant cyber-attack. This strategy will seek to maximize
integration of Federal resources available through the National Cybersecurity and
Communications Integration Center, the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Teams
(US-CERTs), the FBI, Infragard, and the United States Secret Service.
Key to increased and coordinated cyber response by public agencies and private sector entities is
the adoption and expansion of the Texas Cybersecurity Framework, developed by DIR. The
framework, a set of 40 critical controls for protecting information resources, is implemented by
state agencies. Texas will encourage the optional use of Texas Cybersecurity Framework in the
private sector through the use of a self-evaluation tool and a vendor alignment template.
Over the next five years, Texas will significantly increase its cyber security intelligence
capabilities. DIR will work with federal, state, and private sector entities to improve the states
information gathering, analysis, and dissemination capabilities, gathering and evaluating
information on cybersecurity threats and threat actor groups and sharing information to create
profiles to enhance monitoring and detection of attacks and campaigns against state agencies.
Leveraging commercial and DHS partners, Texas will also ensure the availability of timely,
relevant, and actionable information to agencies, institutes of higher education, and critical
infrastructure stakeholders through the expanded use of the Homeland Security Information
Network (HSIN).
Texas has established an InfoSec Academy to ensure information security officers at state
agencies and institutions of higher education are trained on the Texas Cybersecurity Framework
and its principles in order to use it to assess and improve their agencies cybersecurity
40

GOAL 2: PROTECT
capabilities. Course curriculum at the InfoSec Academy includes incident preparedness training,
intelligence processing, cyber incident management protocols, and the design and conduct of
cyber-focused training exercises.
Over the next five years, Texas will enact a robust cyber exercise program incorporating both
discussion-based and operations-based cyber exercises. Many of these exercises will focus on
high-risk state agencies and municipalities. State agencies and institutes of higher education will
be encouraged to implement monthly incident response tabletop exercises developed by DIR to
evaluate their own cyber response capabilities. The state will also make a concerted effort to
incorporate cyber security exercise objectives in future emergency response exercises. In
addition, Texas will continue to participate in national-level cyber exercises. Cyber-trained
representatives of Texas state agencies will seek to monitor and observe cyber exercises
conducted in Texas and other regions of the United States in order to identify and later
incorporate suitable best practices and lessons learned.

41

GOAL 3: MITIGATE
Minimize the impact of terrorist and criminal attacks
and natural and technological disasters through
proactive mitigation planning and programs.

3.1

Objective
Use mitigation planning to reduce the threats disasters pose to people, property, and
critical functions throughout the state.
Lead for reporting: Texas Department of Public Safety

It is not feasible to eliminate the risk of each individual threat and hazard; rather, it is the goal of
Texas to minimize their impact. Mitigation planning can support effective response and
recovery operations by prioritizing actions that reduce or eliminate damage and loss of life
resulting from attacks and disasters. Planning partnerships among state agencies and local
jurisdictions are essential to maximize the effectiveness of mitigation activities. These
partnerships should be based on routine communication and coordination among urban planning,
transportation, infrastructure, and emergency management stakeholders.
At the state level, mitigation strategies will be coordinated through the Texas Department of
Public Safetys Division of Emergency Management (TDEM). TDEM is supported in this role
by the Texas State Hazard Mitigation Team (SHMT), an advisory group of service and
regulatory agencies that play an active role in the mitigation process. The SHMT researches
potential mitigation activities throughout the state and makes recommendations for projects and
changes in legislation. While the Texas Hazard Mitigation Plan must be formally updated every
five years, the state will be more proactive in informally updating the plan to account for
changing conditions (e.g. updating flood plain maps) and emerging hazards such as drought.
Much of the data for the states plan is extracted from local mitigation plans, which address
specific vulnerabilities for each political subdivision and provide a basis for the development of
new mitigation strategies. Texas will work to improve data quality by increasing the use of
computer modeling and simulation at all levels, sharing tools and best practices with local
partners. As part of this initiative, Texas will increase the presence and engagement of academic
institutions in the SHMT to assist in research, simulation, and modeling activities, such as
dissemination of climate projections for consideration in hazard mitigation planning. Increased
education and communication opportunities among local and state mitigation partners will help
minimize impacts from future disasters.
Texas will also enhance state-local collaboration on mitigation planning by increasing training
and technical assistance within the state, including making maximum use of FEMA and Texas
Division of Emergency Management training, certification, and technical assistance programs.
We will use conferences, workshops, and other forums to highlight the importance of mitigation
planning, discuss challenging issues such as planning for vulnerable populations and critical
42

GOAL 3 : MITIGATE
infrastructure, and ensure awareness across all jurisdictions of available training and tools.
Overall, mitigation planning should involve a continuous, proactive conversation among experts
at the federal, state, tribal, county, and municipal levels.

43

GOAL 3 : MITIGATE
3.2

Objective
Enhance the resilience of mission critical systems and infrastructure through vulnerability
identification, community engagement, and coordination on potential legislative action.
Lead for reporting: Texas Department of Public Safety

The positive impact of mitigation planning depends in large part on the implementation of
effective mitigation projects that are prioritized through the planning process. Most mitigation
projects are funded and implemented at the county and municipal levels, and these investments
can more than pay for themselves by limiting the consequences of disasters.
Federal programs such as the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant Program and Hazard Mitigation
Grant Program, which provides funding for mitigation projects following disasters, are critical to
supporting mitigation activities statewide. In administering these programs within the state,
Texas will work to ensure that mitigation projects at all levels are cost-effective and focused on
activities that will do the most to reduce risk. For post-disaster grants, the general priorities will
be to meet the needs of impacted communities, address mitigation activities focused on the same
type of hazard in other communities, and then address mitigation activities focused on other
frequent hazards. We will expand the implementation of proven mitigation measures such as the
Texas Safe Shelter Initiative, which provides funds for construction of community centers that
can serve as safe rooms during storms and tornadoes, and the Texas Individual Safe Room
Rebate program, which reimburses homeowners and developers for half the cost (up to $3000) to
install an individual safe room in homes.
Texas will also expand outreach activities to local jurisdictions on urban planning issues in an
effort to ensure that understanding of potential disasters informs building codes, insurance
regulations, and land use regulations (e.g. restrictions on building in flood plains). Sharing
information on mitigation best practices and facilitating an active dialogue among governments,
community organizations, and private sector businesses such as insurance companies and
builders will promote a more mitigation-aware culture throughout the state. When appropriate,
local jurisdictions may review current legislation and codes to identify any potential areas for
improvement related to disaster mitigation. The state will continue to provide education and
outreach to local emergency management coordinators to support any potential reviews.

44

GOAL 3 : MITIGATE
3.3

Objective
Enhance the social resilience of Texas communities.
Lead for reporting: Texas Department of Public Safety

Social resilience is the ability of communities to absorb, cope with, and adjust to external shocks.
Communities with strong social resilience are better able to react to threats and hazards, rebuild
social infrastructure, reorganize following incidents, and learn from these experiences.
Communities with low social resilience are more vulnerable to threats and hazards, suffer greater
impacts when they occur, and face more challenges during the recovery process. Social
resilience varies widely across Texas; communities that face particular challenges often include
unincorporated areas and smaller cities, areas such as the border region that tend to have lower
tax bases, and areas with significant language diversity.
Like other mitigation measures, investments that support social resilience often deliver outsized
returns when incidents take place. Texas will work to strengthen the social resilience of its
communities by encouraging whole community preparedness initiatives, enhancing awareness of
risks and potential mitigation measures, and ensuring that communities consider the needs of
their most vulnerable groups. The foundation of community resilience is individual and family
preparedness. Citizen Corps programs and other individual and community preparedness
programs enhance the resiliency of communities by harnessing the power of every individual
through education, training, and volunteer service to make communities safer, stronger, and
better prepared to respond to the threats of terrorism, crime, public health issues, and disasters of
all kinds. Currently, the state has 83 active reporting programs that engage in the following
activities: Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT), Volunteers in Police Service
(VIPS), Fire Corps, Medical Reserve Corps, and Neighborhood Watch. Over 195,475 volunteer
hours were reported in FY2013. At the state level, Citizen Corps programs are coordinated by
the Texas Association of Regional Councils through the 24 Councils of Government. Over the
next five years, we seek to prepare and train more individuals in local communities to assist their
families, communities, and first responders. We will do this through proactive efforts to raise
awareness of the value of these programs, delivery of quality training, and providing grant
support to programs where feasible.
Texas will also enhance outreach efforts to citizens, community organizations, and the private
sector to build a more risk-conscious culture and emphasize the value of preparedness activities.
Voluntary organizations, faith-based organizations, educational institutions, and private sector
businesses can contribute significantly to social resilience by engaging in homeland security
planning and exercises along with public sector partners, and their active participation should be
encouraged and facilitated at all levels. As one example of this type of outreach, TDEM will
continue to coordinate Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD), develop Long-term
Recovery Groups, and train local organizations on coordinating services and managing
volunteers and donations during incidents.

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GOAL 3 : MITIGATE
Finally, Texas must ensure that communities are proactive in understanding and supporting the
needs of vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, individuals with access and
functional needs, non-U.S. citizens, and individuals with a primary language other than English.
Local governments and community organizations play a critical role in including these
populations in their plans and other preparedness activities, and state agencies will encourage
and support these efforts by sharing information and best practices.

46

GOAL 4: RESPOND
Increase the capability of the state's response system
to minimize damage and loss of life from terrorist and
criminal attacks and natural and technological
disasters.

4.1

Objective
Maximize response capabilities by enhancing statewide regional response resources and
the state and regional mutual aid network.
Lead for reporting: Texas Department of Public Safety

Timely, well-coordinated operations in response to all threats and hazards limit damage and save
lives. The effectiveness of response operations, which may be managed at the local, regional,
and/or state level depending on the scope of an incident, depends on many factors including
awareness of available response team and resources; readiness to provide mutual aid from other
jurisdictions; use of common terminology and processes for describing response capabilities;
establishment of a common operational picture among all responders during incidents; and
integration of community capabilities into public sector response activities.
Threats, hazards, and corresponding needs vary regionally across the state of Texas. Because of
this variation, each region must be appropriately equipped and supported to deal with its own
unique challenges. Over the next five years, the state will continue to develop a regionally
focused, multi-discipline, all-hazards response system that ensures regions statewide have the
necessary response teams and resources. This system will provide a response support
infrastructure tailorable to the specific needs and threats of a given region. Regional teams will
be organized, trained, and supported with the appropriate knowledge, skills, and abilities to
effectively accomplish time-sensitive and personnel-intensive missions such as search and
rescue. Requirements for teams and resources will be determined based on gaps identified by
the annual State Preparedness Report and other regional capability assessments completed by the
Councils of Governments and Disaster District Committees.
The Resource Typing Library Tool (RTLT), which is being expanded by FEMA, provides a
national standard for describing and classifying response resources in accordance with the
National Incident Management System (NIMS). In the interest of enhancing statewide
understanding of capabilities and increasing the use of common terminology among all
jurisdictions, Texas will promote the use of RTLT at all levels and provide guidance and
assistance when needed.
Each state agency and local jurisdiction maintains its own inventory of resources for day-to-day
operations and emergency situations. The complexity of inventory management systems varies;
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GOAL 4 : RESPOND
formats may include spreadsheets, databases, and internet-based systems. Over the next five
years, Texas will work to enhance the understanding of inventory management systems used by
state agencies and local jurisdictions, with a primary objective of improving information sharing
and shared awareness of available resources during emergency situations. This awareness will
have a positive impact on the states ability to satisfy urgent, time-sensitive resource requests for
available equipment and supplies. Logistics personnel trained in inventory management are
available to assist with the evaluation and assessment of new or existing inventory management
systems. In addition, Texas will maintain a statewide database of significant response teams,
including NIMS typing information, locations, and contact information. The state will work with
COG regions to update this inventory periodically in order to ensure information is current and
available to support response operations.
In addition to understanding existing inventory systems, Texas will continue to work toward
integrating the crisis information management systems currently used throughout the state in
order to ensure a common operational picture of resources and data is available to responders at
all levels. As an example of this effort, TxMAP is now integrated with WebEOC. Integration of
systems with disparate roles, functions, and data has proven challenging in the past, particularly
during emergency situations. Through integration, each crisis management system will maintain
the same amount of control over its processes and data, but the systems will work together more
seamlessly to facilitate shared awareness and timely decision making during an incident.
Finally, Texas will continue to use trained and vetted volunteers from a variety of sources,
including non-profit, faith-based, and civic organizations, in emergency response operations.
Whether Texas is affected by a natural or man-made disaster, volunteers are crucial to the
response and recovery of communities. The state will prepare and exercise with Texas
Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) members and draw on their capabilities,
experience, and knowledge. Disasters often prompt an outpouring of public donations and the
presence of spontaneous volunteers, which can lead to significant complications if improperly
managed. During the next five years, we will work to ensure the implementation of plans for
managing unsolicited donations and spontaneous volunteers. Texas will also develop a five-year
plan to expand the states Voluntary Agency Liaison (VAL) program to include better
coordination between regional VALs and local volunteer groups.

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GOAL 4 : RESPOND
4.2

Objective
Improve coordination structures, support systems, and teams for managing all hazards
response operations.
Lead for reporting: Texas Department of Public Safety

Various support systems and teams within the state of Texas contribute to the coordination and
management of emergency response operations. Over the next five years, Texas will continue to
improve upon these assets to increase the states robust response capabilities.
Planned improvements include ensuring response personnel at all levels maintain proficiency on
the incident management systems employed throughout the state. These systems are constantly
evolving, with new technologies emerging each year. Each upgrade necessitates changes in
operational procedures; it is therefore vital that staff maintain up-to-date knowledge of how these
systems function.
Incident Management Teams (IMTs) assist jurisdictions at all levels in coordinating the
planning, operational, logistical, and administrative aspects of response operations by
augmenting existing staff with specially trained personnel. Texas will increase its focus on the
development of IMTs across the state through funding, training, and exercise. Ideally, this will
result in the development of IMTs in each DPS region, aligned with Disaster Districts. With the
training and qualification of additional individuals, the size and capabilities of the teams will
expand and improve. We will also develop a plan to enable the creation of Texas Emergency
Management Assistance Teams, which will support the Disaster Districts by providing additional
personnel trained in Incident Command System (ICS) roles. In addition, we will work to ensure
that response agencies and jurisdictions establish appropriate standards for the
training/credentialing of their personnel on ICS and that adequate training opportunities are
available to them.
Developing an Application Programming Interface (API) will improve upon existing response
systems by providing a secure and standardized link between those systems at the state, regional,
and local. Using an API will allow existing systems to function with each other without having
to replace those systems with a new singular platform. Similarly, it is important for
communication capabilities at the state, regional, and local levels to interact with one another
during an emergency. This is particularly true of communication between the regional and state
emergency operation centers (EOCs) that manage and support incident response. Over the next
five years, Texas will work to develop and maintain communication capabilities that ensure
regional and state EOCs are fully connected during an incident.
Over the next five years, the state will also work to enhance the functionality of the Texas
Business Emergency Operations Center (BEOC), primarily through implementation of the Texas
Business Emergency Operations Center Program Management Plan. The BEOC provides a
mechanism for the rapid dissemination of information, determination of resource needs and
solutions, and fulfillment of critical requirements to support the private sectors ability to return
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GOAL 4 : RESPOND
to normal business operations following an incident. The BEOC will assist with public-private
coordination of response activities and facilitate two-way exchange of information with the
states key industries. The Texas Business Emergency Operations Center Program Management
Plan focuses on two major areas: the implementation of the Texas BEOC virtual platform and
implementation of a training and evaluation program to identify program strengths and
weaknesses.

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GOAL 4 : RESPOND
4.3

Objective
Achieve statewide communications operability and interoperability in Texas.
Lead for reporting: Texas Department of Public Safety

All levels of responders from the more than 5,300 public safety and public service agencies in
Texas must have operable and interoperable communications to perform their normal daily
functions. Reliable, resilient communications capabilities are also needed on a regional and
statewide level to respond to natural, technological, and human-caused threats and hazards across
the state, supporting the communications needs of multiple agencies, units, and teams that must
operate together. Achieving and maintaining statewide communications operability and
interoperability is challenging due to the size and complexity of the states terrain and the need
for sustained funding for the design, planning, and build out of the radio system infrastructure,
along with maintenance and upkeep of current equipment and assets.
Texas is moving forward with its goal to fully implement the Texas Statewide Communications
Interoperability Plan so that all public safety and critical infrastructure responders from all
agencies and jurisdictions have the highest level of real-time direct interoperable voice and data
radio communications utilizing Shared Standards-Based Systems.
Texas adopted the
Department of Homeland Security Office of Emergency Communications Interoperability
Continuum as a guide to assist emergency response agencies and policy makers to plan and
implement communications interoperability solutions. The continuum covers governance,
standard operating procedures, technology, training and exercises, and usage. Texas is
promoting its interoperable communications strategy to create partnerships among emergency
response agencies, public/private organizations, and executive leadership to build and maintain a
cost-effective interoperable communications network using shared resources.
Over the next five years, Texas will also work to implement the Statewide Communications
Interoperability Plan goals and initiatives for interoperable communications in both Land Mobile
Radio and the National Public Safety Broadband Network. Texas will continue building solid
interoperable communications through committed partnerships with regional radio system
owners across the state, especially along the Texas-Mexico border. More than ten regional radio
systems across Texas are designed to provide interoperability solutions. Several state and federal
agencies already partner with regional radio systems to augment communications, especially in
the south Texas area for border security operations.
Communications planning and homeland security response operations will be enhanced through
the Communications Coordination Group, which facilitates public and private collaboration and
planning and delivers communications support during large-scale, multi-agency incident
responses. The goal of the CCG is to optimize the use and effectiveness of government and
commercial communications systems and resources. The Mobile Communications Command
Program and regional mobile command and communications vehicles will be able to respond
within hours to establish interoperable communications in any part of Texas.
Texas will continue to enhance established redundancies in the event of a catastrophic loss of
communications by using certified amateur radio personnel provided through the Amateur Radio
Emergency Service, Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service, Military Auxiliary Radio System,
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GOAL 4 : RESPOND
and the Mobile Communications Command Program. In addition to state efforts to provide
communications redundancy, the Urban Areas Security Initiative jurisdictions and most regions
of the state have communication systems with stocks of replacement parts, backup generators,
alternate towers or working sites, and radio sites on wheels.
Texas will continue to move towards the future of interoperable communications under the
auspices of the Office of the Texas Statewide Interoperability Coordinator and the Texas
Interoperable Communications Coalition, which is the governing body responsible for all
decisions regarding both land mobile radio and long term evolution broadband in Texas. The
long-range goal is to create a statewide, fully interoperable voice communications system-ofsystems. Plans are underway to find a permanent location for the master core. This hybrid
system will be multi-band, shared, and standards-based, and will leverage existing assets and
radio systems.
In addition, the Commission on State Emergency Communications and Texas Department of
Public Safety will leverage the collective state and regional Emergency Services IP Network
backbone to achieve long-haul radio communications interoperability with Radio over Internet
Protocol. This initiative will provide more accessibility, resiliency, and interoperability between
disparate public safety networks, and more capability to receive voice, text, data, and images for
first responders.
Important areas of focus for the state are the continued partnerships with regional radio systems;
planning and initial build-out of the public safety broadband network with FirstNet; end user
training; and compliance with the Statewide Communications Interoperability Plan. Emphasis
will also be placed on testing, training, and equipment exercises so that mobile assets and
personnel are deployment-ready. Continued progress in all areas will depend on sustainable and
reliable funding to ensure the consistent operation and enhancement of state and regional radio
systems.

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GOAL 4 : RESPOND
4.4

Objective
Ensure continued enhancement of public health and medical emergency response
systems.
Lead for reporting: Texas Department of State Health Services

Texas continually strives to coordinate a superior public health and medical emergency response
system across all levels of government. The desired end state of our public health and medical
emergency response systems is to provide the highest quality service possible during public
health emergencies and disasters, and to provide it at the lowest level of government
engagement. This requires continuing collaboration with public and private local, regional, and
state preparedness and response partners. For example, public health officials and elected
officials must be engaged in preparedness activities to clarify roles, responsibilities, and
authorities related to issues such as quarantine and isolation. Hospitals must coordinate with
healthcare facilities across their region to plan for patient surge during major disasters.
Emergency Medical Services agencies must coordinate preparedness and response activities
beyond their jurisdictions for mutual aid, regional response, and state support for a variety of
emergencies and disasters.
Through the effective use of public communications and information sharing, Texas has
incorporated non-pharmaceutical community interventions such as social distancing techniques
including self-isolation and quarantine procedures for hospital staff, first responders, and the
public. Recent events have shown some weakness related to public health risk communication
and personal protective equipment selection. Social media and messaging services have
increased the ability to reach the public audience; however, the state has not used these tools
frequently in the past and is slowly incorporating their use. Texas will continue the development
of communications processes that incorporate all aspects of mass and social media in order to
reach first responders, healthcare workers, and other partners, as well as to communicate with the
public. Additionally, communications systems must have the ability to engage the public sector
with reverse messaging capabilities allowing for enhanced public health surveillance and early
warning notifications. A key to future public health and medical emergency communications
success is the development and implementation of the new digital 9-1-1 system. This digital
9-1-1 system will incorporate GIS mapping and social media communications capability that will
allow for easier and quicker access to emergency medical services and public health surveillance
integration. Public health officials and elected officials must also be engaged in preparedness
activities to clarify roles, responsibilities, and authorities related to issues such as quarantine and
isolation.
For the past 10 years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has used the Technical
Assistance Review process to pinpoint specific issues in order to focus state and local Strategic
National Stockpile planning efforts. The Strategic National Stockpile Program will assess the
current status of each regional and local jurisdiction and provide assistance to ensure each
jurisdiction is able to plan, train, and exercise their Strategic National Stockpile distribution and
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GOAL 4 : RESPOND
dispensing capabilities. Additionally, future regional and local full-scale exercises will be
planned and conducted to validate operational requirements. The Texas Department of State
Health Services (DSHS) Medical Countermeasure Operational Readiness Strategy was
distributed in August 2014, outlining the major initiatives for material management and medical
countermeasures. To optimize mass medical countermeasure dispensing strategies, the Strategic
National Stockpile Program will focus on closed points of dispensing (PODs) operated by
private businesses, hospitals, and government agencies serving their own populations in order to
minimize the impact on local governments resources. The Medical Countermeasure
Operational Readiness Strategy has established a threshold of 20% of dispensing operations to be
conducted through closed POD operations. The program seeks to implement medical and nonmedical points of dispensing models. This will enhance scalability of the program to quickly
respond to a variety of public health emergencies requiring vaccinations, prophylactic
medications, and other countermeasures.
Statewide information technology and interoperable communication/coordination solutions will
be continually evaluated to ensure maintenance of future interoperability as federal funding
declines. Through the continued use of and upgrades to information sharing platforms to reflect
real-time operational needs, Texas is able to monitor the status of healthcare facilities during
emergencies or disasters. These systems are interconnected and provide a mechanism to respond
to information requests from DSHS and partner response organizations.
Redundant
communication through alternate devices ensures connectivity and continued communications
during response activities. Established in partnership with state emergency management and
public health and medical response partners, there is an increasingly effective structure in place
to maintain situational awareness of healthcare facility status and needs, public health issues, and
resource requests via integration of information sharing systems linking state operations centers,
regional health and medical operation centers, and city/county Emergency Operations Centers
(EOCs). Regional health and medical operation centers across the state will continue to be
reinforced to ensure effective coordination of local, regional, and state emergency operations.
There are a variety of initiatives that will move the state forward in public health emergency
planning and response capacity. There are eight Emergency Medical Tasks Forces (EMTFs)
across the state, bringing together medical response assets to operate in a coordinated structure.
These EMTFs include Ambulance Strike Teams, Ambulance Buses, Mobile Medical Units, and
Nurse Strike Teams. They are capable of responding to local, regional, and state level incidents.
Additionally, the creation of the Texas Disaster Medical System (TDMS) provides guidance
across Texas, coordinating public health and medical functions by bringing together subject
matter experts from across the state to collaborate on best practices, current challenges, and long
range operational planning. For medical material management, distribution, and optimization, the
state will review and evaluate Receiving, Staging, and Storing Sites and transportation assets.
There will be ongoing evaluation of the statewide public health and medical preparedness
posture to assure sufficient caches of equipment and supplies, including personal protective
equipment, are in place for first responders and hospitals. Also, the SNS program will support
local efforts in managing medical material by using a statewide inventory management system.
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GOAL 4 : RESPOND
Training and exercising response personnel and systems will help ensure the ability to rapidly
provide the right response to emerging threats. In addition, resources to support the publics
ability to be self-sustained until support services of local or regional agencies and responders are
available will be further enhanced through public engagement and interaction, including
initiatives such as the Texas Ready-or-Not Program and the www.texasprepares.org website.

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GOAL 4 : RESPOND
4.5

Objective
Integrate and coordinate multiple methods to warn and keep the public and local leaders
informed about emergencies in their communities.
Lead for reporting: Texas Department of Public Safety

Before and during homeland security incidents, effective communications and warning to the
public, along with the ability of the public to quickly report issues requiring public safety and
emergency response, can save lives and limit damage by enabling protective actions and making
response operations more efficient. New technologies and methods of communication have
created more opportunities for timely two-way information exchange. In some cases, they also
create a challenge in ensuring coordinated messaging and information accuracy. Over the next
five years, Texas will upgrade its public information and warning capabilities in several ways in
order to ensure that accurate emergency information is available to all who need it.
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission operates the 2-1-1 Texas Information
Referral Network, which has 24 regional Area Information Centers to deliver state-of-the-art
information and referral services to the people of Texas. Currently, individuals can access
general disaster-related information and referral by dialing 2-1-1. Expanding public access
options by incorporating emerging technology will ensure that the 2-1-1 system remains as
responsive as possible.
Providing warning to individuals with disabilities and functional and access needs is vitally
important and often a challenge.
Local governments should work with professional
organizations and other resources to maintain a voluntary list of individuals in their communities
who have disabilities and/or functional and access needs or who may otherwise need additional
assistance during emergency events. All efforts must be made to ensure the confidentiality and
privacy of this information. The State of Texas Emergency Assistance Registry (STEAR)
provides local governments a voluntary system to identify individuals, nursing homes, assisted
living facilities, and hospitals that require additional assistance during emergency events. The
STEAR system is available to all local governments and individuals free of charge. All nursing
homes, assisted living facilities, and hospitals must maintain emergency evacuation and
transportation plans. Local government emergency planners and response organizations should
develop a working relationship with commercial, state, city, and county facilities where
individuals with disabilities and functional and access needs reside to ensure the facility
managers have established plans to respond to emergency events. Local emergency responders
should be aware of the needs of these vulnerable populations in order to facilitate care during
events.
The ability to notify affected citizens in the event of an emergency is a public safety imperative
and can minimize loss of life. Public officials statewide fight a constant battle against time to get
the right message to the public during emergency events. With the emergence of social media as
an avenue to communicate and share information with the public, wider use of social media by
governments at all levels, along with training for public information officials on social media
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GOAL 4 : RESPOND
best practices, is essential. Many local jurisdictions in the state have local systems that provide
rapid notification to their citizens in the event of an emergency. Integration and use of the
FEMA Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) will ensure that various alert and
warning technologies and devices can reach a wider audience, to include those with special
communication access needs, in order to provide critical alert and warning information. Texas
will establish guidance and direction on how IPAWS will be implemented throughout the state.
The state will also maintain redundant, multi-modal alert notification systems that may use
multiple means of transmitting information in the event of system failure. These systems may
include, but are not limited to, email, the Emergency Alert System, IPAWS, commercial off-theshelf emergency notification systems, and the Texas Law Enforcement Telecommunication
System (TLETS). All emergency notification systems should be subject to emergency exercises
to test effective communication with people with functional and access needs that may have a
communication barrier. Finally, as state and local governments invest in new electronic and
information resources systems including websites, software applications, and communications
systems, these systems must follow state administrative rules for accessibility to ensure
employees and members of the public with disabilities can receive the same information,
perform the same tasks, and receive the same services as people without disabilities.
During any type of homeland security incident, information is needed to support effective
decisions at all levels. The public needs consistent, accurate, easy-to-understand information
delivered in a timely manner; information can save lives, assist in protecting property, or avoid
potential panic. During a large-scale crisis, a Joint Information System (JIS) and Joint
Information Center (JIC) can assist in providing concise, coordinated information to the public
and the news media. A JIS is a unified, coordinated public information network with common
resources and agreed-upon procedures that links participants through technological means when
geographic restrictions, incident management requirements, and other limitations preclude
physical attendance at a central location. The JIS allows public affairs staff to communicate
effectively and make joint announcements as if they were located in the same facility. Typically,
a JIC is a central location to facilitate operation of the JIS. Through the collocation of public
information and public affairs staff from multiple agencies, the JIC enhances information
coordination, reduces misinformation, maximizes resources, and helps build public confidence in
response efforts. It is important to remember that the JIC is a tool to support the JIS, and the
primary function of the JIS is to keep information flowing in all directions.
Several jurisdictions across the state have a well-developed JIC in place during an incident.
Over the next several years, Texas will continue to develop a state-level JIC to operate as needed
during an incident anywhere in the state to manage state-level information for the Texas
Emergency Management Council and support local-level JICs when requested. The state will
complete a set of standard operating guidelines to coordinate a state-level JIC and will exercise
this capability whenever possible at all levels, including the national 2015 Mass Care Exercise
held in Texas.

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The people of Texas rely on the states 9-1-1 system to request assistance from and provide
emergency information to law enforcement and emergency management response agencies. The
analog technology supporting the current system is outdated and in need of significant upgrades.
Texas will enhance its 9-1-1 system by implementing Next Generation 9-1-1 through a phased
approach. This digital system will include major improvements in data sharing capability and
call location information and will enable text to 9-1-1. For areas of the state served by the
Commission on State Emergency Communications, the Commissions Next Generation 9-1-1
Master Plan calls for completing implementation of the system by 2019, with the connection of
the 322 Public Safety Answering Points within the Regional Planning Commission 9-1-1
programs. As for the rest of the state, Emergency Communication Districts are working on
implementing similar plans within a similar timeframe.

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4.6

Objective
Ensure updated and validated emergency plans are in place at public agencies that
provide vital public services, and encourage such planning within private entities.
Lead for reporting: Texas Department of Public Safety

Effective planning for emergency operations at all levels clarifies roles and responsibilities,
defines key tasks, and synchronizes activity among organizations. In many cases, a quality
planning process, by facilitating stakeholder coordination and increasing awareness of
capabilities and challenges, can be at least as important as the plan it produces. During the next
five years, Texas will continue to facilitate planning projects through continued engagement with
organizations that participate in threat and hazard prevention, protection, mitigation, response,
and recovery operations.
New federal guidelines for emergency operations plans prompted Texas to expand the scope of
the State of Texas Emergency Management Plan to include annexes for five additional
emergency functions and all hazards that could potentially impact the state. These new hazard
annexes will improve statewide preparedness for all types of threats. Texas will continue to
update the Emergency Management Plan and annexes on a recurring basis to ensure accuracy,
revisit assumptions, and validate roles and responsibilities.
It is critical to the implementation and success of emergency management plans that they be
accurate, accessible, and actionable. In 2012, Texas defined a new planning process with the
goal of ensuring full stakeholder buy-in and whole community involvement. A new format and
structure for state planning documents was created to promote effective communication, clarity,
and ease of use. In the coming years, Texas will continue the process of developing new plan
document templates that reflect new guidance and best practices. We will also institute
processes and best practices for maintaining and updating these tools, with special emphasis on
responding to local and regional planners' needs. Developing the most effective, efficient, and
user-friendly tools possible will require a focused multi-jurisdictional effort. Work on this
initiative has already begun with the creation of a representative panel of local and regional
planning stakeholders to provide essential input to the revision of the state's current local and
regional guidance and templates. The Texas Division of Emergency Management will also
conduct timely reviews of local emergency plans, providing guidance and assistance when
needed.
Continuity of operations planning enables government agencies and other organizations to
continue delivery of essential services when normal operations are disrupted. In 2013, Texas
provided guidance to all state agencies on continuity planning standards and established Texas
Essential Functions to capture the broad responsibilities of state government during emergencies.
State agencies will implement this guidance, maintaining current and actionable continuity of
operations plans and conducting annual validation exercises. The State Office of Risk
Management will facilitate this process by providing feedback and additional guidance as
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required. In addition, Texas will support state and local agency planning by providing continuity
of operations training for state, regional, local, and tribal level staff.

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4.7

Objective
Ensure access to and adequate support for homeland security and emergency
preparedness and response training across all agencies, jurisdictions, and disciplines.
Lead for reporting: Texas Department of Public Safety

Comprehensive, focused training programs ensure that individuals and teams build and maintain
the knowledge and skills required to respond effectively to emergencies and operate in
coordination with partner agencies and jurisdictions. Texas supports state and local agencies by
establishing and implementing a training program that produces skilled and practiced first
responders, emergency management leaders, and other homeland security personnel. The states
training strategy is designed to provide tailored training for first responders and leaders at every
level, including those in the private sector, in order to produce a corps of homeland security
personnel who are prepared to meet the unique needs of their specific communities and integrate
with leaders and responders throughout the state.
Texas state agencies will work with their federal counterparts, including FEMA, to ensure that
training opportunities are available and sufficient to meet the states requirements,
recommending changes and augmenting federal efforts when needed.
The
www.preparingtexas.org portal will continue to be used to list available training, support
registration, and share information about training opportunities. In addition, Texas will follow
national standards for emergency response training and preparedness, ensuring that designated
individuals complete required coursework to maintain certifications in order for local
jurisdictions to receive grant funding.
Training and Exercise Planning Workshops (TEPWs) provide an important forum for agencies
and jurisdictions to evaluate training requirement and gaps and program training opportunities to
address those gaps. At a minimum, Texas will conduct annual TEPWs at the state, Texas
Department of Public Safety region, and Urban Areas Security Initiative levels, to develop threeyear training and exercise plans. As one example of an initiative resulting from this
coordination, Texas will increase alternative delivery methods for training, to include online and
distance learning courses along with just in time training resources available when new
requirements emerge. Overall, the state will work to ensure that tailored, updated training is
available in a timely and affordable fashion to all individuals and teams who will benefit from it.

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4.8

Objective
Conduct exercises across the state that include tribal, regional, and local entities and
support the National Exercise Program (NEP) Principals Objectives.
Lead for reporting: Texas Department of Public Safety

As plans are developed and updated and new capabilities are fielded, it is essential to ensure key
personnel are trained on them and then conduct realistic exercises to validate those plans and
capabilities. Texas maintains a robust exercise program that helps stakeholders throughout the
state plan, conduct, and evaluate response activities based on realistic scenarios of all types,
including natural disasters, criminal and terrorist attacks, and other catastrophic events. The aim
of the program, which is implemented in part through Training and Exercise Planning
Workshops, is to make exercises that reflect the complexities of the current homeland security
environment available across the state. These realistic exercises should strive to include
individuals with functional and access needs to ensure emergency management staff and first
responders are adequately trained to deal with the emergency needs of the whole community.
When exercises take place at the state, regional, and local levels, observations and lessons
learned must be captured in a rigorous way through After Action Reviews. In addition,
Improvement Plans must assign specific tasks, with regular follow-up to ensure completion.
Future exercises should revisit functional areas where assessments of previous performance and
capabilities found deficiencies. At the state level, Texas will enhance its efforts to gather and
analyze After Action Reviews and Improvement Plans to monitor statewide trends and promote
sharing of best practices.
Exercises in Texas are designed to support the National Exercise Programs Principals
Objectives and the goals and objectives of the Texas Homeland Security Strategic Plan 20152020. Texas will increase awareness of these objectives and the tenets of the Homeland Security
Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) through training and outreach. Exercises at all levels
should be planned, conducted, and evaluated using HSEEP principles, and jurisdictions should
seek to include non-traditional partners such as private sector and community organizations in
exercises where possible.
Coordinated through the Texas Division of Emergency Management, Texas will hold at least one
major state-level exercise each year, addressing high-risk scenarios and functions that are
essential to effective response across multiple scenarios. The location of these exercises will
rotate through Texas Department of Public Safety regions to ensure statewide participation and
benefits.

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GOAL 5: RECOVER
Ensure rapid, effective, and comprehensive
community recovery following terrorist or criminal
attacks and natural or technological disasters.

5.1

Objective
Support effective, community based post-incident recovery by ensuring plans, structures
and processes are in place at all levels of government and coordinated with private sector
partners, as appropriate.
Lead for reporting: Texas Department of Public Safety

Recovery from disasters and other catastrophic incidents is a complex process that takes
significant planning, time and resources. Depending on the scale of an incident, the recovery
process can take years. It involves all aspects of a community including housing, private
businesses, public infrastructure, health and community services, and natural and cultural
resources. The level of pre-incident planning and preparedness greatly impacts the ability of
communities to quickly and effectively rebuild, restore full functionality, and enhance readiness
for future incidents.
Short-term recovery efforts should provide guidelines for shelter and housing needs, community
security, public information, public assistance, damage assessment, debris management,
restoration of public facilities and services, and the coordination of public and private resources.
Long-term recovery plans should address the repair or reconstruction of communications
infrastructure and damaged public facilities and infrastructure; the facilitation of efforts to restore
residential and commercial structures; the restoration of the communitys economic base through
support of business resumption and employment opportunities; and the identification and
implementation of mitigation projects and programs to reduce damage in future incidents.
The success of recovery initiatives is highly dependent upon the efforts of local government
agencies, community organizations, and private sector stakeholders working in concert with a
variety of regional entities such as Councils of Governments and Urban Areas Security Initiative
(UASI) Working Groups along with professional and trade organizations, state and federal
emergency management partners, and other state and federal agencies.
Historically, greater planning emphasis has been placed on the mission area of response than on
recovery, as life and property saving measures are a first priority. As an example, there is no
requirement for a recovery plan at local or regional levels. Effective recovery planning,
however, can have significant impact on the long-term health and resilience of communities. To
place greater focus on recovery issues, Texas will develop a comprehensive strategy to
encourage long-term recovery planning at the regional and local levels. These plans should
identify structures, processes, priorities, available resources, and responsibilities for coordinating
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GOAL 5 : RECOVER
recovery efforts. The state will work to provide necessary technical assistance to support the
development and enhancement of regional and local recovery plans.
Texas will encourage the inclusion of community stakeholders in the recovery planning process
and establishment of Long Term Recovery Committees at the regional and/or local level. We
will also encourage the development of strong community networks to foster a more complete
understanding of potential recovery challenges and priorities, including the recovery needs of
vulnerable populations. Local leadership and the identification of local community groups,
governmental organizations, and non-governmental organizations to engage in the process will
be critical to success. Involving the local business community, charitable groups, and others in
the health, social, and community services can greatly enhance understanding of the diverse set
of factors at play when a local community is impacted by a catastrophic event.

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GOAL 5 : RECOVER
5.2

Objective
Strengthen preparedness for whole community recovery through outreach programs,
training, and exercise. Lead for reporting: Texas Department of Public Safety

Preparedness for timely and effective recovery operations and initiatives depends upon the
combined efforts of state, regional, local, and tribal government, non-governmental agencies, and
private sector partners. We will work to develop public outreach that focuses on whole
community recovery and provides tools to local jurisdictions to develop a culture of recovery
preparedness.
Texas will help raise awareness of the need for recovery planning and preparedness by
integrating recovery issues into state-level exercise programs. The focus of emergency
management planning, training, testing, and exercises has traditionally been placed on
preparedness and response. Typically, exercises address response operations but stop short of
incorporating recovery objectives. Texas will encourage state, regional and local training and
exercises focused on post-incident recovery in multi-jurisdictional/multi-agency groups,
beginning with workshops and/or tabletop exercises for community leaders and increasing in
scope and complexity to include local businesses, community networks, non-governmental
organizations, and others involved in providing health, social, and community services.
Following these exercises, The Texas Division of Emergency Management will share insights
and best practices in order to encourage additional consideration of recovery challenges.
Texas will provide training to local officials on recovery preparedness activities by developing
training and exercise workshops that focus on disaster recovery. This includes making use of
FEMA training and online courses where available. The state will also develop other outreach
materials such as guides, handouts, and training videos to assist local communities in preparing
for effective post-incident recovery.

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GOAL 5 : RECOVER
5.3

Objective
Coordinate rapid and effective delivery of post-incident recovery assistance to impacted
communities.
Lead for reporting: Texas Department of Public Safety

A robust recovery effort is imperative to the process of returning local jurisdictions services to
normal, ensuring the economic viability of the impacted community, and reestablishing the tax
base of local governments. Currently, state, regional, and local post-incident recovery assistance
is largely dependent upon FEMA funding. If an incident is not a Presidentially-declared disaster
where Federal funds are made available, local governments will absorb the costs. State agencies
are able to provide assistance to local jurisdictions, but this assistance is limited. Texas will
continue to explore ways to assist local jurisdictions with costs related to non-Stafford Act
disasters.
Texas will work to coordinate rapid and effective delivery of post-incident recovery assistance to
impacted communities through several initiatives. Dependent upon the size and scope of the
incidents, state and local assets can conduct rapid damage assessments in order to prioritize
recovery efforts. In major catastrophes and Presidentially-declared disasters, Texas may request
assistance from FEMA and other supporting federal agencies to ensure rapid deployment of
recovery personnel to provide communities appropriate levels and types of relief with minimal
delay. This includes quickly reviewing and evaluating preliminary damage assessments
submitted by local entities and assessing interim and long-term housing, infrastructure, public
health, and other recovery needs.
At the state level, we will assist local communities in identifying sources of public and private
funding and direct aid following an incident and bring together recovery capabilities of state and
federal agencies and other supporting organizations. We will strengthen relationships with
partner agencies to ensure effective coordination, efficient operations, and seamless transition
between recovery phases. This includes ensuring adequate locally-based strategies, supported at
the state level, to address funding needs during each phase.
Following catastrophic incidents, it is important for communities to consider opportunities to
implement new mitigation measures and other actions that enhance resilience and sustainability
in the face of future incidents. State-level recovery subject matter experts will work with local
leaders to assist them in implementing recovery plans by providing best practices and guidance
related to housing, public health, and economic recovery. As an example, the housing and
infrastructure of many Texas communities was built before the implementation of the Americans
with Disabilities Act. Rebuilding efforts should include plans that optimize accessibility for
residential and commercial development to strengthen resiliency for vulnerable populations.
This may include builder incentives or building code changes. We will also work to restore and
ensure the protection and resilience of infrastructure and other systems impacted by disasters and
address long-term environmental and cultural resource recovery needs.

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CONCLUSION
The Texas Homeland Security Strategic Plan 2015-2020 provides the strategic framework to
guide the states development and employment of homeland security capabilities. The
Objectives and Priority Actions listed and described in Section III represent an ambitious but
achievable homeland security agenda for the state for the next five years. Performing the many
tasks required to implement each Priority Action and achieve each Objective will demand
continuous leadership and management, along with comprehensive multi-agency, multijurisdictional, and public-private coordination across a wide variety of issues. The dangerous
and complex threats and hazards Texas faces will continue to evolve; we must monitor and
assess them and evaluate the impact of our activities as part of a responsive risk management
program.
Working together, we will maximize our ability to prevent, protect against, respond to, and
recover from these threats and hazards, furthering our vision of a secure and resilient Texas that
actively manages homeland security risk while safeguarding individual liberty.

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