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Those trying to take advantage of people in the wake of last week’s devastating winter storm will face consequences from the state, according to members of the Senate Finance Committee.
Meeting Monday for the first time since the storm shut down the state, senators expressed anger at media reports of price gouging and electric bills in the multiple thousands of dollars.
“Hopefully the discussion we had in this committee will go out to those that are gouging and those that are contemplating that, that we’ll use the full force of available statutes, and see what additional laws need to be made to address this,” said Houston Senator John Whitmire.
“Gouging should end immediately or you will be held accountable.”
Saturday Governor Greg Abbott held a call with key members of the Senate and House regarding this issue.
Finance Committee chair and Flower Mound Senator Jane Nelson, who was on that call, said addressing price gouging is a top priority for state leadership.
“Other than ensuring that people are safe and have food to eat and water to drink, it is the number one priority this week to make sure that stops right now.”
Sunday, Abbott announced that the state’s Public Utility Commission had temporary halted all electric service disconnections for nonpayment while the state looks at this issue. Those who see or experience price gouging can report it to the Office of the Attorney General.
Also Monday, the Finance Committee got an update on potential budget impacts of last week’s storm from Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) Director Nim Kidd.
The governor requested a disaster declaration, and the access to federal aid funds that comes with it, for all 254 counties in the state.
Only77 were initially approved, with a further 31 added late Monday afternoon.
“I genuinely believe, based on my personal experience, that they’re all going to qualify,” said Kidd.
One reason that hasn’t happened yet, he said, is that damage reporting has been limited.
Following a disaster, FEMA assessors would normally comb the state looking for storm damage, but COVID protocols are hampering those efforts.
Kidd said that almost all reports of damage from the winter storm have come through a new self-assessment tool TDEM released earlier in the year.
This could be hiding the true scope of the disaster to federal assessors.
“I think there’s a belief that homes built in the south are built like in the north and a little bit of cold weather won’t have the same impact,” he said.
“We’re going to continue to flood them with data and that’s why this self-reporting tool is so important.” The application can be used to take photos of busted pipes, fallen trees or other storm-related damage and submit them to FEMA for review.
Besides the impact on drawing down federal funds, Kidd said the reporting tool allows for quick turnarounds on disaster aid requests.
As of 7:30 a.m. Monday, he said, 114,000 homes had been registered with FEMA through this tool, and more than $600,000 in disaster aid had already been distributed from the agency.
“If they do another $400,000 today, we will have hit a million dollars of FEMA funds into Texas households within three days,” said Kidd.
“In all past disasters, it takes three days to get people into the field to start doing damage assessments.”
The self-reporting application, titled “Texas Individual Assistance Reporting Tool” can be accessed at tdem.texas.gov/warm.
As millions of Texans were stranded in their homes without power and water, others had to brave the icy roads and single digit temperatures of the harshest winter storm ever to hit the state.
In session Tuesday, the Senate officially recognized the vital contributions of police, firefighters, EMTs, utility line workers and grocery store employees that helped Texas get through a chaotic week.
“Texas first responders were on the front lines,” said Conroe Senator Brandon Creighton. “They answered the call of duty and saved many lives fighting through the worst of conditions.”
Senators shared personal stories of the storm and of the men and women who helped Texans get through a dark, cold week like none in memory.
“On the west side of Houston, we have Engine 57, it’s within earshot of my house,” said Senator Paul Bettencourt. “The siren never stopped for a week, it was constant. They were on one mission after the next ... that’s one group that can’t stay home. They have to go out.”
Senator Donna Campbell of New Braunfels, an emergency room physician by trade, spent five straight nights working in the ER. She said the state relies on these first responders who have had to persevere through some of the most difficult times the state has ever faced.
“They’ve been there for us through the hurricanes, through COVID, through this apocalyptic arctic weather ... we can’t thank them enough,” she said.
Lt. Governor Dan Patrick said that he spoke with a DPS state trooper in Lubbock where the wind chill pushed the temperature into the negative numbers.
“I said, ‘how long were you off the road?’ and he said, “Well I wasn’t off the road,” said Patrick.
“Our state troopers, our local police, our sheriffs, our constables, our firemen, our EMTs, all of these folks didn’t want to leave anyone out there, but all did their duty, putting their life on the line for people who were in harm’s way.”
Police, national guard, healthcare workers, and firefighters weren’t the only ones who had to risk life and limb to ensure that Texans could still get food and water and help get the lights — and heat — back on.
Utility line workers had to work 24 hours a day in brutal conditions to try and maintain and restore the state’s ailing electrical grid.
“These linemen and generation workers across Texas left their own families in the cold and dark to go out and work and repair damaged power lines and restore generation facilities to ensure our families, our hospitals, and our communities had electricity,” said Georgetown Senator Charles Schwertner. “We owe these brave individuals a great deal of respect and gratitude, and I have been disheartened to hear of stories of these linemen being harassed by frustrated customers.”
Schwertner added that while people’s anger at the outage was justified, the workers on the ground weren’t at fault.
North Richland Hills Senator Kelly Hancock wanted to highlight the precarious situation these workers found themselves in.
“The very people that were trying to return power to homes and to areas across the state...they felt their lives were in danger because of the threats that were taking place here at this time.”
Senators also wanted to ensure the contributions of grocery store workers didn’t go unnoticed.
Senator Dawn Buckingham of Lakeway thanked them for their round-the-clock work to keep vital supplies on the shelves while they themselves were without power at work and at home.
“These Texans epitomize the definition of being ‘Texas Strong’ and I could not be filled with more pride today than to join my colleagues in honoring them for their brave work and courageous sacrifices,” she said.
Lt. Governor Patrick echoed these sentiments. “I’ve always said that the grocery workers were the first and earliest heroes, with our healthcare workers, and COVID,” he said.
“When everyone was unsure of where the virus was heading, they were there. The grocery stores never closed.”
The Senate will reconvene Tuesday, March 2nd at 3 p.m.