89S20310 JDK-D     By: Eckhardt S.B. No. 44       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to a study by the Department of Public Safety on emergency   alert notification systems in this state.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  DEFINITION. In this Act, "department" means the   Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas.          SECTION 2.  STUDY ON EMERGENCY ALERT NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS.   The department, in coordination with the Department of State Health   Services, the Texas Division of Emergency Management, the Texas   Commission on Environmental Quality, and the Texas Department of   Transportation, shall conduct a study on the efficacy of emergency   alert notification systems in this state, including the alert   notification systems established under Subchapters K-1, L, L-1, M,   P, and Q, Chapter 411, Government Code, and any other alert   notification systems operated by the Texas Division of Emergency   Management. In conducting the study, the department shall:                (1)  analyze the means by which emergency alerts are   communicated to the public, including roadside dynamic message   signs and phone alerts;                (2)  analyze the appropriateness of the geographic   regions to which emergency alerts are broadcast, including whether   the size of those geographic regions should be increased or   decreased;                (3)  consider whether there are too many emergency   alert notification systems in use and the extent to which members of   the public have deactivated emergency alert notifications on their   cell phones; and                (4)  determine, as applicable, the percentage of   instances in which the activation of an emergency alert   notification system successfully resolved an emergency after the   alert was issued and the time it took from the issuance of the alert   to the successful resolution.          SECTION 3.  REPORT AND LEGISLATIVE RECOMMENDATIONS.  Not   later than September 1, 2026, the department shall prepare and   submit a written report summarizing the results of the study to the   governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of   representatives, and each standing committee of the legislature   with jurisdiction over an emergency alert notification system. The   report must include recommendations for legislation to address the   findings of the study.          SECTION 4.  EXPIRATION. This Act expires September 1, 2027.          SECTION 5.  EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect on the   91st day after the last day of the legislative session.