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() Legislation barring Texas youth camps from building or maintaining cabins on floodplains is headed to Governor Greg Abbott’s desk to mixed opinions.
The soon-to-be laws House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 1 would require camps in the Lone Star State to eliminate any housing from being located in the floodplain of a river. It would also withhold state licensing if cabins remain in a dangerous flooding path.
The legislation also requires facilities to create expanded emergency procedures, like evacuation routes posted in each cabin and well-lit routes around the clock. Camp staff, including newly required emergency preparedness coordinators, must also hold orientations with campers about those procedures.
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A view of Camp Mystic, the site of where at least 20 girls went missing after flash flooding in Hunt, Texas, on July 5, 2025. Rescuers were on Saturday searching for more than 20 girls missing from a riverside summer camp in the US state of Texas, after torrential rains caused devastating flooding that killed at least 27 people — with more rain on the way. “So far, we’ve evacuated over 850 uninjured people, eight injured people and have recovered 27 deceased fatalities at this time. Of these 27, 18 are adults, nine are children,” said Kerr Country Sheriff Larry Leitha on July 5. (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP) (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images) -
A plush toy sits on the ground outside of a cabin at Camp Mystic, the site of where at least 20 girls went missing after flash flooding in Hunt, Texas, on July 5, 2025. (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images) -
Officials ride a boat as they arrive to assist with a recovery effort at Camp Mystic along the Guadalupe River, Sunday, July 6, 2025, in Hunt, Texas, after a flash flood swept through the area. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) -
A Sheriff’s deputy pauses while combing through the banks of the Guadalupe River near Camp Mystic after a flash flood swept through the area Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Hunt, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) -
A Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue (BORSTAR) officer conducts a search near the Guadalupe River in Kerrville County, Texas on Sunday, July 6, 2025. Devastating floods swept through Central Texas on Thursday evening and Friday morning, raising the death toll to 120 and countless more who remain missing, including 27 girls from Camp Mystic. (Photo by Desiree Rios for The Washington Post via Getty Images) -
A Camp Mystic mailbox is seen near the entrance to the establishment along the banks of the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept through the area July 5, 2025, in Hunt, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Proponents of the legislation include parents of the 27 campers and counselors killed during the flooding on July 4 that swamped much of central Texas and overtook Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp.
“Those families have made it very clear that they are living in the most unimaginable nightmare that they don’t want anybody else to suffer. They do not want this moment to go without action,” Democratic Texas State Rep. Ann Johnson told in late August.
But some camps including Camp Waldemar, Vista Camps and Camp Stewart, located near the Guadalupe River asked Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick last week to reconsider some of the legislation’s details.
The new, stricter requirements for camps would force them to rebuild cabins and install new safety features, potentially putting them at financial odds, according to a letter obtained by The Texas Tribune.
Camp owners told state officials there “must be meaningful financial support, whether through insurance, state grants, or other funding mechanisms, so that the burden does not fall solely on families, camps, and communities.”
State Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, told the Tribune on Aug. 20 there would be no such funding: “No, camps are private enterprises. The state’s not rebuilding private sector camps.”
