It's been months since three people in Texas were diagnosed with Ebola, causing a nationwide scare about infectious disease preparedness.

Now state lawmakers want to make sure the state is ready if something like that happens again.

Senate Health and Human Services Committee Chairman Charles Schwertner was one of several who pitched Senate Bill 538 Wednesday.

It would allow the governor to declare a state of infectious disease emergency and grant health officials more authority to detain those who may be affected. It would also create a stockpile of protective equipment that could be accessed if an outbreak occurred.

Officials say last summer's scare made people lose confidence in the public health system and it's important to earn that trust back.

"Senate Bill 538 represents the next step in protecting Texans from infectious disease threats like Ebola, and Texas is not going to rest just because the crisis of the moment has abated,” Schwertner said.

The bill would also keep the infectious disease preparedness task force established by then-Gov. Rick Perry last year as an advisory board to the current leadership.

Based on that task force's recommendations, two Ebola treatment facilities were established in the state last October.