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--- version:Introduced+++ version:(document, no version)@@ -1,143 +1,94 @@-UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 2101-Page 1 of 5-XXXX 2/9/2026 9:31 AM Jacketed-A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION reestablishing the Disaster Prevention and 1-Resiliency Task Force to study preparedness, mitigation, response, recovery, risk 2-assessment, inf rastructure resilience, and planning for natural disasters that impact the 3-Commonwealth. 4-WHEREAS, the Legislative Research Commission established the Disaster 5-Prevention and Resiliency Task Force during the 2025 Interim of the General Assembly 6-to study, review, and make recommendations regarding current and future policy needs to 7-address risk assessment, strategic planning, prevention of natural disasters, response 8-efforts, temporary housing, and relief strategies in the Commonwealth, and to submit 9-recommendations based on its findings to the Legislative Research Commission; and 10-WHEREAS, the task force held six meetings, received testimony from state 11-agencies, disaster readiness organizations, long -term recovery groups, state universities, 12-research instituti ons, and insurance associations, and discussed the Commonwealth's 13-current challenges in facing natural disasters, including risk assessment, strategic 14-planning, prevention of natural disasters, response efforts, temporary housing, and relief 15-strategies; and 16-WHEREAS, the Commonwealth has experienced an increase in the occurrence and 17-severity of natural disasters, as well as other disaster threats, including infectious 18-diseases, hazardous materials incidents, and man -made disasters that impact humans, 19-wildlife, and agricultural animals; and 20-WHEREAS, the Commonwealth ranks among the most disaster -impacted states in 21-the nation, with eight of the ten counties with the highest number of federal major 22-disaster declarations between 2011 and 2023 located in the Commonwealth; and 23-WHEREAS, preparedness efforts to prevent and mitigate natural disasters are 24-crucial to ensuring the safety and protection of the citizens of the Commonwealth in 25-future weather-related calamities. Additionally, research shows that every dollar spent on 26-disaster mitigation and resilience can return up to $13 in benefits through avoided 27-UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 2101-Page 2 of 5-XXXX 2/9/2026 9:31 AM Jacketed-damages, reduced disruptions, and faster recovery; and 1-WHEREAS, the General Assembly recognizes a continued need to study the 2-Commonwealth's current disaster readiness plans, as well as resilience models from other 3-states similar to that of Kentucky, in order to continue bettering the Commonwealth's 4-preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery, and to plan for future disasters; and 5-WHEREAS, one of the recommendations of the Disaster Prevention and Resiliency 6-Task force was to continue the work of the task force during the 2026 Interim; 7-NOW, THEREFORE, 8-Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the General Assembly of the 9-Commonwealth of Kentucky, the Senate concurring therein: 10-Section 1. The Legislative Research Commission shall reestablish the Disaster 11-Prevention and Resiliency Task Force in order to: 12-(1) Study, review, and make recommendations regarding current and future 13-policy needs to address risk assessment, strategic planning, p revention of natural 14-disasters, response efforts, temporary housing, and relief strategies in the 15-Commonwealth; 16-(2) Evaluate preparedness and mitigation approaches employed by other states 17-with comparable population and economic characteristics to forecast and manage natural 18-disasters and determine effective governance, administration models, and policies that 19-may be suitable for adoption in the Commonwealth; 20-(3) Analyze fiscal aspects of various prevention, replacement, infrastructure, and 21-mitigation costs to identify cost -sharing opportunities and maximize the use of state and 22-federal funds allocated to disaster preparedness, mitigation, and relief; 23-(4) Analyze the role of the legislative and executive branches in preventing and 24-protecting against natural disasters as well as collaboration between federal, state, and 25-local governments and their respective agencies in preparedness, mitigation, and relief 26-efforts; 27-UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 2101-Page 3 of 5-XXXX 2/9/2026 9:31 AM Jacketed-(5) Review the functionality, duties, structure, independence, effectiveness, and 1-efficiency of the Commonwealth's various agencies, offices, and departments that engage 2-in activities intended to increase resilience to current and future disasters; 3-(6) Review publications, reports, and analyses of governance strategies relating to 4-statewide disaster resilience and risk reduction activities; 5-(7) Hear testimony from entities with experience in research on and expertise in 6-the structures, policies, and governance specific to statewide disaster resilience and risk 7-reduction activities; stormwater manageme nt and use; risks associated with drought, 8-wildfire, and extreme heat; urbanization impact; project and operational financing; 9-affordability; available grants; and appropriate partnerships; 10-(8) Hear testimony from individuals who have relevant professional, academic, or 11-research expertise, or who otherwise have significant experience in relevant areas, 12-including engineering, disaster preparedness and response, public planning, hydrology, 13-environmental protection, or climatology; 14-(9) Hear testimony from citizens from across the Commonwealth whose lives and 15-livelihoods have been affected by flooding, tornadoes, drought, fires, or other extreme 16-weather events; 17-(10) Assess available relevant data sources and identify data gaps relevant to 18-current and future mult i-hazard risks, including but not limited to data describing 19-precipitation patterns, stream flows, and riverine and flash flood risk; 20-(11) Review relevant past efforts to build disaster resilience across the 21-Commonwealth, including but not limited to activ ities and outcomes associated with the 22-Council for Community Recovery and Resilience created following the catastrophic 2022 23-flooding in eastern Kentucky; 24-(12) Review how other states have implemented or put in place state resilience 25-offices, chief resilie nce officers, and statewide resilience plans and assess whether these 26-models may be replicable in the Commonwealth; 27-UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 2101-Page 4 of 5-XXXX 2/9/2026 9:31 AM Jacketed-(13) Assess the need for any other alternative governance structures, operations, 1-management, and policy models designed to advance disaster resilience and risk 2-reduction outcomes across the Commonwealth; 3-(14) Explore options for expanded Commonwealth -wide resilience functions and 4-their potential impact on: 5-(a) Federal, state, and local funding; 6-(b) Commonwealth-owned real property and facilities; 7-(c) Commonwealth-owned construction; 8-(d) Insurance availability and affordability; 9-(e) Transportation infrastructure; 10-(f) Critical infrastructure and key resources; 11-(g) Stormwater management and use; 12-(h) Urbanization; 13-(i) Economic development and opportunity; 14-(j) Out-migration and labor force; 15-(k) Affordable housing availability; 16-(l) Assessment and accountability; 17-(m) Personnel and tenure; 18-(n) Transition and startup timelines; 19-(o) Implementation costs; 20-(p) Compliance with existing state and federal laws; and 21-(q) Any other issue; 22-(15) Identify and recommend a framework for a comprehensive, executable 23-strategy for long-term disaster resilience and risk reduction and identify the stakeholders, 24-partners, and top ics necessary to create a plan for long -term disaster resilience and risk 25-reduction; and 26-(16) Develop recommendations that include suggestions for proposed legislation or 27-UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 2101-Page 5 of 5-XXXX 2/9/2026 9:31 AM Jacketed-administrative action. 1-Section 2. The Disaster Pr evention and Resiliency Task Force shall be 2-composed of the following members, with final membership of the task force being 3-subject to the consideration and approval of the Legislative Research Commission: 4-(1) (a) Three members of the House of Representat ives to be appointed by the 5-Speaker of the House, one of whom the Speaker shall designate as co-chair; and 6-(b) Two members of the House of Representatives to be appointed by the 7-Minority Floor Leader of the House; and 8-(2) (a) Three members of the Senate to be appointed by the President of the 9-Senate, one of whom the President shall designate as co-chair; and 10-(b) Two members of the Senate to be appointed by the Minority Floor Leader of 11-the Senate. 12-Section 3. The Disaster P revention and Resiliency Task Force shall meet 13-monthly during the 2026 Interim of the General Assembly. The task force shall submit 14-findings and recommendations to the Legislative Research Commission for referral to the 15-appropriate committee or subcommittee thereof by December 1, 2026. 16-Section 4. Provisions of this Resolution to the contrary notwithstanding, the 17-Legislative Research Commission shall have the authority to alternatively assign the 18-issues identified herein t o an interim joint committee or subcommittee thereof, and to 19-designate a study completion date. 20+HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES++KENTUCKY GENERAL ASSEMBLY AMENDMENT FORM++2026 REGULAR SESSION++Amend printed copy of HCR 66++Amendment No. HFA Rep.++Committee Amendment Signed:++Floor Amendment LRC Drafter:++Adopted: Date:++Rejected: Doc. ID: XXXX++Page 1 of 3+ On page 4, line 7, after "(b)" insert the following:+"Commonwealth budget planning, disaster fiscal exposure, and opportunities to reduce+long-term costs;+(c) Interagency coordination and data-sharing to support risk-informed decision making;+(d) Partnerships and funding pathways, including opportunities to leverage non -+Commonwealth resources;+(e)"; and+On page 4, line 8, delete "(c)" and insert "(f)" in lieu thereof; and+On page 4, line 9, delete "(d)" and insert "(g)" in lieu thereof; and+On page 4, line 10, delete "(e)" and insert "(h)" in lieu thereof; and+On page 4, line 11, delete "(f)" and insert "(i)" in lieu thereof; and+On page 4, line 12, delete "(g)" and insert "(j)" in lieu thereof; and+On page 4, line 13, delete "(h)" and insert "(k)" in lieu thereof; and+On page 4, line 14, delete "(i)" and insert "(l)" in lieu thereof; and+On page 4, line 15, delete "(j)" and insert "(m)" in lieu thereof; and+On page 4, line 16, delete "(k)" and insert "(n)" in lieu thereof; and+On page 4, line 17, delete "(l)" and insert "(o)" in lieu thereof; and+On page 4, line 18, delete "(m)" and insert "(p)" in lieu thereof; and+HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Rep.+2026 REGULAR SESSION Doc. ID: XXXX+Amend printed copy of HCR 66++Page 2 of 3+On page 4, line 19, delete "(n)" and insert "(q)" in lieu thereof; and+On page 4, line 20, delete "(o)" and insert "(r)" in lieu thereof; and+On page 4, line 21, delete "(p)" and insert "(s)" in lieu thereof; and+On page 4, line 22, delete "(q)" and insert "(t)" in lieu thereof; and+On page 4, lines 23 to 26, delete subsection (15) in its entirety and insert in lieu thereof:+"(15) Develop a Commonwealth resilience framework. The framework shall include:+(a) A community risk and resilience assessment that, at a minimum:+1. Characterizes hazard and disaster risks and vulnerabilities across the Commonwealth,+including historical experience and projected future conditions, where applicable;+2. Identifies regional or community clusters within the Commonwealth that are, or could+be in the future, disproportionately impacted by natural disasters and are less able to recover;+3. Identifies vulnerabilities affecting critical infrastructure, housing, community+services, and economic systems, including cascading and compounding risks; and+4. Identifies existing best practices and exemplar projects that may be scaled across the+Commonwealth;+(b) A disaster spending baseline report that, at a minimum:+1. Identifies resource needs and gaps that limit long -term planning and implementation+capacity at the Commonwealth, regional, and local levels; and+2. Includes a summary of spending over the last 10 years based on available data and+agency inputs, which identifies Commonwealth and non -Commonwealth funding sources and+distinguishes by:+a. Major disaster management function, including mitigation preparedness, response,+and recovery; and+b. Funding source, including but not limited to federal funds and other sources;+(c) A preliminary funding roadmap that, at a minimum, inventor ies and evaluates public+HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Rep.+2026 REGULAR SESSION Doc. ID: XXXX+Amend printed copy of HCR 66++Page 3 of 3+and private funding and financing options relevant to resilience investments, identifies barriers+and opportunities, and provides short, feasibility -screened recommendations for future funding+and financing options to invest in future resilience activities;+(d) An initial inventory of high -priority resilience actions submitted by executive branch+agencies, with local and regional submissions routed through the appropriate agencies; and+(e) A proposed scope, methods, and workplan for completion of a future comprehensive+Commonwealth Plan; and"; and+On page 5, line 14, after "Assembly." insert "Two task force meetings shall be held in+regions of the Commonwealth that have been disproportionately impacted by natural disasters.";+and+On page 5, line 15, after "recommendations" insert ", including the Commonwealth+resilience framework and proposed legislation or administrative action,"; and+On page 5, line 20, after "date." insert "Moreover, the Legislative Research Commission,+on behalf o f the task force, may procure professional services and technical assistance and may+provide staff support necessary to carry out provisions of this Resolution, in accordance with+applicable procurement law and Commission policies.+ Section 5. By adoption of this Resolution, the House of Representatives of the General+Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the Senate concurring therein, recognizes that+provisions of this Resolution require general cooperation and a ssistance from executive branch+agencies. Therefore, this Resolution encourages executive branch agencies to actively participate+in furtherance of this Resolution and make themselves available at the request of the task force as+is required to carry forth the provisions described herein.".
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