By Rita Cook
Correspondent
Texas Metro News
AUSTIN – There is still no word on whether Texas Gov. Greg Abbott will call a third special session.
A few weeks ago, he was noncommittal regarding the topic and said merely “stay tuned.”
One topic that made it through the second session with bills signed into law related to flood safety in Texas.
Disaster preparedness and flood response laws that passed after the July 2025 floods were bipartisan.
HB 1 (Texas camp emergency preparedness): This bill requires Texas camps to have emergency plans for staff and campers highlighted a variety of potential disasters and emergencies.
SB 1 (Camp cabin placement): This bill is about regulating the placement of cabins at camps in response to the floods.
SB 5 (Disaster relief funding): This is a supplemental funding bill related to disaster response, relief, and recovery efforts.
HB 20 (Charitable solicitation fraud): A bill to prevent fraudulent solicitations during disasters also including program for legitimate disaster relief nonprofits and financial institutions.
The July floods in Central Texas killed 130 people, including the 25 girls at Camp Mystic.
Several of the new laws require changes to camps in flood zones with an emphasis on emergency plans and the installation of emergency warning systems.
The policies also prohibit cabin locations from being in a floodplain.
However, there were three Kerr County youth camps; Camp Waldemar, Vista Camps, and Camp Stewart that pushed back on these bills stating the legislation banning camps from having cabins in a floodplain would require costly changes that many camps cannot afford.
The camps believe the required rebuilding would cost millions on top of existing flood repairs.
A letter written by the three camps read “Collectively, our camps would face millions of dollars in mandated rebuilding costs for cabins subjected to the prohibition that did not sustain damage caused by recent flooding. These additional burdens would come on top of already significant flood repairs, operational expenses, and existing loans.”
Rep. John McQueeney (R-Fort Worth) told one news outlet regarding the bills that House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 1 would ban camps from getting a license to operate if they have housing in a floodplain.
He said the cabins at these camps need to be moved or rebuilt away from the river’s edge.
To that end, the Kerr County camps have asked Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick for financial help since these laws have now passed.
McQueeney later said he believe the camps will figure it out citing “future generations” of Texans.
It is important to remember that Central Texas has flooded many times over the years. In fact, the region is known as “Flash Flood Alley.”
The major floods mentioned in recent history that were part of the Guadalupe River flooding include 1987 and 2025, and there was also the 2015 Blanco River flood, and historic flooding in 1998.
Abbott signed the bills on the flooding on September 5 and at the bill-signing ceremony said, “No parent should ever have to outlive their child or endure this kind of loss”.
There was also flood relief and preparedness funding signed by Gov. Abbott on September 19, with a press release indicating legislation included $200 million for rebuilding and general relief and $50 million for flood warning sirens.
