AUSTIN — Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that it will soon publish Federal Register notices for disaster mitigation funds. The first notice will include funds for Texas, Louisiana, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, California, Missouri and Georgia; and the second will include funds for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Once the first Federal Register Notice is published, the Texas General Land Office will be able to begin drafting an action plan for how the state will use $4.3 billion in mitigation funds.

“Today’s announcement that HUD will soon release rules for Texas’ long awaited mitigation funds is welcome news,” said Commissioner George P. Bush. “These rules will determine how we can use our funds to better protect Texans living along our coast. Our hope is that these rules will be limited, allowing for the greatest flexibility to best protect coastal communities as quickly as possible. We are now in the third month of the 2019 Hurricane Season – these funds cannot come quickly enough.”