Texas lawmakers received testimony in April 2026 outlining failures in local emergency coordination following deadly floods in July 2025. Nim Kidd, Chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, spoke to a state committee investigating the disaster.

More than 130 people died in the July 2025 floods. The vast majority of these deaths occurred in Kerr County. William "Dub" Thomas, the Kerr County Emergency Management Coordinator at the time, was absent on the morning of July 4, 2025. Thomas had been feeling unwell since July 2, 2025, and took July 3, 2025, off, according to his testimony. Legislative investigators found no evidence that a Kerr County representative participated in a state emergency preparation call on July 3, 2025. Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly was at his Austin-area lake house for the July 4 holiday, according to his testimony.

Texas currently has no required training for all local emergency management coordinators. Leaders in the state's 254 counties and cities can hire emergency management coordinators without formal training. Kidd emphasized the need for change in training standards for individuals appointed to these positions. "I do think it’s time that we as a state decide there needs to be a baseline for people that get appointed into that position." Kidd also stated, "To be an emergency management coordinator in the state of Texas, you need the signature of a mayor or judge. Period. That needs to change."

Two bills aimed at addressing emergency coordinator training and other recommendations failed during the final special legislative session of 2025. State Senator Charles Perry, who authored one of these failed bills, acknowledged the necessity of further legislative action. "We have work to do next session. We just don’t have to start from ground zero," Perry said. Texas state lawmakers are scheduled to return to the Capitol for their regular session in January 2027.

State lawmakers mandated the installation of flood warning sirens in areas affected by the 2025 summer disaster and with a history of flooding. Six of the initial eight planned flood warning sirens are now in place in Kerr County. County commissioners hired Shorey Harmon to replace William "Dub" Thomas as the Kerr County Emergency Management Coordinator. Thomas retired from his post at the end of March 2026, and Judge Kelly did not seek reelection in 2026.