Texas emergency officials told the House State Affairs Committee on September 14 that first responder agencies still cannot reliably talk to one another during a disaster, and that the delay in getting everyone onto a single communications plan can make the emergency worse.
Nim Kidd of the Texas Division of Emergency Management said there is no single statewide, state owned radio system, and that it takes roughly 36 hours for all responding agencies to align on one communications plan. Kyle Mills of the Texas A&M Forest Service called interagency communications the top problem in the aftermath of a disaster, and Col. Freeman Martin of the Department of Public Safety pointed to the training burden of moving officers onto new systems. Community Impact reports that Texas runs more than 50 incompatible radio systems across responder agencies.
Rep. Ken King, R-Canadian, told the committee he will again file a bill creating a statewide interoperability council to coordinate communications strategy. The measure passed the House in the 2025 regular session and in a 2026 special session but did not clear the Senate either time. King said he plans to reintroduce it when the 90th Legislature convenes in mid January 2027. Officials at the hearing cited the 2024 Panhandle wildfires and the 2025 Hill Country floods as examples.
