Bill Text: TX SCR1 | 2017 | 85th Legislature 1st Special Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requesting a joint interim committee to study the security of the Texas electric grid.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-07-10 - Filed [SCR1 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-SCR1-Introduced.html
85S10276 ALB-D | ||
By: Hall | S.C.R. No. 1 |
|
||
WHEREAS, Our food and water supplies, communications, | ||
banking, hospitals, law enforcement, and countless critical | ||
functions depend on the electric grid, and its protection is vital | ||
to homeland security; and | ||
WHEREAS, Numerous national publications have reported on the | ||
great danger to the electric grid from an electromagnetic pulse, or | ||
EMP; national experts regard a potential attack on our electric | ||
grid system, whether natural or manmade, as a grave threat to our | ||
American way of life; and | ||
WHEREAS, The risk of an EMP attack has been acknowledged | ||
since the 1960s, and the congressional EMP Commission warned in its | ||
2004 and 2008 reports that terrorists or state actors using | ||
relatively unsophisticated missiles armed with nuclear weapons | ||
could stage such an attack; in 2009, the congressional Commission | ||
on the Strategic Posture of the United States, led by former | ||
Secretaries of Defense William Perry and James Schlesinger, urged | ||
immediate action to protect the electric grid; and | ||
WHEREAS, Although the federal government has thus far | ||
neglected to take action, Texas is fortunate to have its own power | ||
grid; the state is thus capable of hardening its own electric system | ||
to ensure reliable electricity in a hostile environment for | ||
residents, businesses, and state and local government, as well as | ||
for U.S. military bases; and | ||
WHEREAS, Even if an EMP threat never materializes, protecting | ||
the grid would provide substantial economic benefits; as the | ||
federal government closes military bases around the country, Texas | ||
bases would likely survive closure, due to their enhanced energy | ||
security; moreover, companies considering relocation or expansion | ||
would clearly find the assurance of secure power immensely valuable | ||
and look to the Lone Star State; and | ||
WHEREAS, The protection of the electric grid is essential to | ||
the security and continued prosperity of our state and nation, and | ||
Texas is prepared to do its part to ensure that citizens can rely | ||
completely on the power system that sustains our society; now, | ||
therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas, | ||
1st Called Session, hereby request the lieutenant governor and the | ||
speaker of the house of representatives to create a joint interim | ||
committee to study the security of the Texas electric grid, | ||
including critical infrastructure and its vulnerability to | ||
electromagnetic pulse, geomagnetic disturbance, and cybersecurity | ||
threats; and, be it further | ||
RESOLVED, That the committee include members of the Electric | ||
Reliability Council of Texas and other relevant stakeholder groups; | ||
and, be it further | ||
RESOLVED, That the committee coordinate with the Commission | ||
to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic | ||
Pulse (EMP) Attack, the United States Department of Defense, the | ||
United States Department of Energy, and the United States | ||
Department of Homeland Security to apply research and information | ||
on electromagnetic, geomagnetic, physical, and cyber-attack | ||
threats; and, be it further | ||
RESOLVED, That the committee submit a full report, including | ||
findings and recommendations, to the 86th Texas Legislature in | ||
January 2019; and, be it further | ||
RESOLVED, That the committee's proceedings and operations be | ||
governed by such general rules and policies for interim committees | ||
as the 85th Texas Legislature may adopt. |