Local infrastructure bill by Rep. Erin Zweiner passes out of committee

On April 29, the House Committee on State Affairs passed State Representative Erin Zwiener’s (D-Driftwood) House Bill 2275 in a 7-4 vote, with 2 members absent. The bill would create a grant program for projects that improve the resiliency of local water, electric, and health care infrastructure.

“During the winter storm, we witnessed cascading infrastructure failures,” said Rep. Zwiener. “Texans found themselves in the dark with no water or heat. Modernizing technology and investing in our local infrastructure will help reduce the impact of future weather disasters or power failures.”

During the Texas Blackout, an estimated 194 Texans died largely du to hypothermia and carbon monoxid poisoning. At its peak, at least 4.5 million Texas homes and businesses were left in the dark and 14.9 million Texans faced water disruptions. In some cases, neighborhoods were without power for days, and water outages continued for weeks. 28 nursing homes around the state had to be evacuated, and hospitals were overwhelmed with dialysis patients because of closed dialysis centers.

“The State of Texas has over $16 billion of federal funds from the American Rescue Plan to spend,” said Rep. Zwiener. “Investing in our local infrastructure is both overdue and fiscally responsible. We have a responsibility to Texans to make sure that nothing like the blackout ever happens again.”

House Bill 2275 would issue grants to support resiliency improvements to local infrastructure including electric, water and wastewater providers, hospitals, nursing homes, and dialysis centers for items such as onsite generation, energy storage systems, covering wells, building connectivity to neighboring water suppliers, smart metering, demand response technology, and energy efficiency programs.