On the one hand, states usually are grateful for federal assistance after a disaster, but dealing with the recovery for a decade or so is frustrating. See: Paperwork, rules and toads slow down disaster recovery .

Texas has more major disaster declarations than any other state in the nation; thirty two statewide disasters since 1998, including three just this year.

But awarding grants needed to rebuild after those disasters can sometimes take more than a decade. Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Relations met to discuss speeding up a process bogged down by paperwork, rules and an endangered species.