Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed sweeping new measures on Friday aimed at tightening youth camp safety and strengthening the state's flood preparedness. The legislation was crafted in direct response to the July 4 weekend floods that left more than 130 people dead.
The bills, which passed during the state Legislature's second special session, mark the most sweeping camp safety regulations in decades.
During Friday's ceremony at the governor's mansion in Austin, Abbott was flanked by children and families still grieving loved ones lost in the floods. The governor said the new laws were meant to spare others from the heartbreak they had endured.
"Through these laws, we're doing more than just changing campgrounds in Texas," Abbott said. "We're changing the future for our children and their families."
One measure, the Heaven's 27 Camp Safety Act, bars cabins in floodplains unless they meet strict standards. It also requires camps to have state-approved emergency plans, regular evacuation drills and disaster alert systems, and mandates rooftop exits for cabins in high-risk areas.
Lawmakers approved nearly $300 million to boost flood preparedness, including $200 million to match federal disaster aid, $50 million for local grants to purchase flood warning equipment and $28 million to improve weather forecasting. A companion bill adds youth camp oversight, creating a safety team, enforcing stricter camper-to-counselor ratios and allowing state inspections.
The legislation follows one of the deadliest weather disasters in state history. Torrential rains caused rivers in the Hill Country to rise more than two dozen feet, sweeping away campsites, homes and roads. At Camp Mystic along the Guadalupe River, 27 children were killed when floodwaters engulfed the site, and nearly 40 children in total died across the region.
Abbott said he met with grieving parents before the start of the state's second special session last month, parents who "pleaded for swift action" as they told him of the heartbreak losing their children caused, according to the governor.
"They shared the beauty of their daughters' souls," Abbott said. "They dropped their daughters off at camp expecting to be able to see them again very soon. They had no clue they would never see those daughters again."
State lawmakers faced delays at the Capitol last month when House Democrats staged a quorum break during the first special session to block a Republican-backed redistricting plan, halting all legislative work — including flood relief bills. The absent Democrats returned two weeks later, after Abbott called a second special session. Lawmakers quickly passed the redistricting plan before turning to flood-related legislation.
On Friday, just over two months after floodwaters ravaged the Hill Country, a brief moment of silence lingered as grieving families watched Abbott sign the bills into law. Finally, he held up the signed measures.
"Camp safety is now law in the great state of Texas," he said. "A law that will save lives."
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