Press Release

PRESS RELEASE
Aransas County ● 2840 Hwy 35 N ● Rockport, TX, 78382
Emily Guerrero, Public Information Officer, pio@aransascounty.org, (361) 790-0174
Senate Concurrent Resolution 44 Approved by Legislature
and Signed by Governor
June 12, 2023 – Rockport, TX
On May 19, 2023, Governor Abbott signed Senate Concurrent Resolution 44, which enables Aransas County to sue the Regional Pool Alliance (“RPA”) to recover insurance proceeds that it is still owed for the property damage the County suffered from Hurricane Harvey in 2017. The measure, which was previously approved by the Texas Senate and the Texas House of Representatives, was made possible through the resolute support of State Senator Lois Kolkhorst and State Representative Todd Hunter.
RPA is an intergovernmental risk pool that served as an insurance provider for Aransas County in 2017 when the County was impacted by Hurricane Harvey. After the storm, RPA was further engaged to help the County with disaster recovery by handling insurance claims, contracting directly with various contractors and vendors for needed work and supplies, and fulfilling other duties as needed for construction management. But RPA failed to carry out its obligations.
For years, Aransas County has tried to work with RPA to complete all of the work necessary for a full recovery from the effects of Hurricane Harvey. Those efforts have been unsuccessful.
RPA has argued in other lawsuits filed against it that it has immunity, resulting in lengthy delays. Realizing that the County may need to seek legal remedies and to prevent such delay, the County worked with State Senator Lois Kolkhorst and State Representative Todd Hunter to pass SCR 44, which explicitly waived any potential claim of immunity RPA might argue.
Now that the Legislature has acted, Aransas County can move forward with litigation against RPA to recover what the County is legally due.
The Aransas County Commissioners Court would like to recognize the efforts of State Senator Lois Kolkhorst and State Representative Todd Hunter and their dedicated staff in facilitating this approval and to thank Governor Abbott and the Texas Legislature for approving Senate Concurrent Resolution 44 and showing their continued support of Aransas County.