Gov. Rick Perry has developed a group to assist Texas communities with recovery efforts following natural disasters.

The group for Disaster Recovery and Renewel is an advisory panel of public and private sector experts.

Former Harris County Judge Robert Eckels has been appointed chair of the commission, it will consist of 31 members to be appointed by the governor in the coming weeks, including representatives from the private sector, foundations, and local and state government. County judges from Aransas,San Patricio,Kleberg, Brazoria, Calhoun, Cameron,Hidalgo, Chambers, Harris, Jackson, Jefferson, Kenedy, Liberty, Matagorda, Nueces, Orange, Refugio, Starr,Galveston, Victoria and Willacy counties will serve as ex-officio members.

“Two months after Ike’s landfall, Texans are still sleeping in cars or tents outside of padlocked trailers,” told by Perry in a statement. “Mounds of debris are piled up in coastal communities, creating health hazards while Washington remains mum about whether it will provide the same level of resources it did for Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina.

“These situations clearly shows that the federal government’s recovery system is completely broken. I am confident this new group will find solutions to all these challenges as well as create new plan to speed recovery and accelerate economic development.”

The group’s first project will be to search temporary housing alternatives for those left homeless after Hurricane Ike. It will help the state in seeking full federal reimbursemenbt for recovery, including debris removal.

The group will also be in charge of developing a report for communities to learn how to recover after a disaster and preplan for future disasters.

The group’s final report to the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the Texas House of Representatives is till June 30, 2009.

The governor also announced that he has directed the Texas Department of Transportation to immediately start assisting with debris removal in Southeast Texas.