Lawmakers urge special wildfire session

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Some lawmakers are urging Gov. Rick Perry to call a special session to address the wildfire devastation in the state. They sent a letter to the governor, hoping to revisit tapping the Rainy Day Fund for disaster use.

During the regular and special sessions earlier this year, Democrats argued for using the fund to ease education cuts. At one point, Perry stated the need to save the money for a possible future natural disaster like a wildfire.

“We don't know what the future holds,” said Perry's spokeswoman Lucy Nashed. “The Rainy Day Fund is definitely a backup and an option.”

Nashed said Texas will first have to evaluate the total cost of wildfire response and recovery before making a decision about the Rainy Day Fund or a special session.

“We can't budget for that ahead of time,” she added. “We need to know how much the federal government will reimburse, as well.”

In the past, additional costs beyond what was appropriated to the Texas Forest Service – the main agency behind the state's wildfire fight – have been addressed in future legislative sessions. TFS officials said they will likely ask lawmakers in the 2013 legislative session to pay for firefighting efforts now.

By the middle of last week, they estimated needing another $61.5 million to pay for firefighting costs that have piled up since the end of the legislative session in June.

“We have money in the bank that can help right now if the Legislature has the political courage to take responsible fiscal action and appropriate it, rather than being cowed by special interest rhetoric,” said Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, of the Rainy Day Fund.

Howard is one of 16 House members - all Democrats - who sent the letter to Perry. She also said $61.5 million in “unpaid, fire-related bills for fiscal year 2011” will put an unnecessary burden on many groups and individuals.

“Unless the Legislature meets in special session, other states and local governments will not receive repayment for the resources they have incurred by assisting with the Texas fires, forcing them to carry this debt on behalf of Texas until at least mid-2013, or later," Howard said.

More than $6 billion remains in the Rainy Day Fund. The state also has a Disaster Contingency Fund, which Perry's office said has about $49 million. That could also be an option.