It took a little fine-tuning, and a couple of name changes, to get where we are today, but the origins of a new department were sparked during the Cold War.
While some Texans were planning bomb shelters, the Texas Legislature in 1951 unanimously passed the Civil Protection Act in the shadow of World War II, according to the Texas State Historical Association.
Civil defense was its prime objective, coordinating state and local efforts.
In 1981, after a couple of name changes, the Legislature settled on the Texas Division of Emergency Management.
The division has come to the aid of Texans many times throughout the years, including the 1954 flood along the Rio Grande, the spring 1957 Panhandle blizzard, the 1979 Wichita Falls tornado, and droughts, hailstorms and hurricanes, according to the historical association.
According to its website, the division is “charged with carrying out a comprehensive all-hazard emergency management program for the state and for assisting cities, counties, and state agencies in planning and implementing their emergency management programs. A comprehensive emergency management program includes pre- and post-disaster mitigation of known hazards to reduce their impact; preparedness activities, such as emergency planning, training and exercises; provisions for effective response to emergency situations; and recovery programs for major disasters. Chapter 418 of the Texas Government Code lays out an extensive set of specific responsibilities assigned to the division.”
In May 2019, the Legislature “passed legislation to transfer the Texas Division of Emergency Management to the University of Texas A&M System as its eighth state agency,” according to a news release from the university.
It continued: “The transfer, which Gov. (Greg) Abbott supports, will allow for better coordination between the Texas Division of Emergency Management and Texas A&M System’s disaster response operations such as Texas A&M Task Force 1, the Texas A&M Forest Service and the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.”
The division has between 201 and 500 employees who serve six regions.
Its budget varies from year to year based on federal funds. In the 2020-21 biennium, for example, the department had a budget of $3.63 billion, $2.7 billion of which came from the federal government for COVID-19 relief.
It had $975,677 for IT spend in 2020.
Profiles in Government: This Texas Division Was Born of Cold War Fears
In 1951, when some Americans were considering building bomb shelters, this agency was created to work with the federal government for civil defense.
FEMA
