Lt. Gov., House Speaker offer flexibility on new state requirement causing problems for summer camps to open this season
In response to complaints from summer camps and some state lawmakers about the state's new camp safety law, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, issued a joint statement aimed at providing some relief.
Among the requirements of the new law, camps must install a fiber-optic connection to the internet, which has caused problems for camps. In their announcement on Tuesday, Patrick and Burrows acknowledged that some camps are having difficulty complying and that there are other ways to obtain reliable, redundant internet access.
"We, the leadership of the Texas House and Texas Senate, support allowing camps to qualify for licensure through the Department of State Health Services to operate for the summer 2026 season if they have submitted a sufficient emergency action plan, meet all other safety requirements, and maintain a reliable communication system capable of operating during an emergency."
Camps face millions in upgrades, seek alternatives to fiber mandate
After the tragedy at Camp Mystic on July 4th, when 25 campers and two counselors were swept away in deadly floods, state lawmakers approved a new law with various requirements for summer camps to prevent this from happening again.
But State Rep. Wes Virdell, R-Brady, told CBS News Texas Tuesday that the law has caused obstacles for the camps.
"Only nine out of, I think maybe 300 camps have been approved for a license for this coming summer because of the new legislation," Virdell said. "The legislation is going to cost camps millions of dollars when there are other alternatives that work just as well."
Virdell said the main issue for camps is the requirement that they install a fiber optic connection to the internet, which is expensive. One of the authors of the legislation, State Sen.Charles Perry, R- Lubbock, told CBS News Texas that camps have complained to him about the cost and availability of materials and labor.
Camps file lawsuit to block internet requirement
Perry said that last October, he and Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, wrote to the Department of State Health Services, which oversees licensing for the camps, asking the agency to delay the requirement. Last month, some camps filed suit against the state to block the requirement. Perry said he hopes the judge will agree to do that.
"This needs to get fixed," he said. "Of all the regulations and things we did, I think this is the only one that's causing consternation, causing a challenge to both the department and the camps."
Lawmaker ask Gov. Abbott to call a special session
Virdell said he warned Burrows that the legislation would create obstacles for camps. Virdell offered amendments as lawmakers debated the bill, but they were defeated. Recently, he and 11 other state lawmakers wrote to Gov. Greg Abbott requesting that he call the legislature back for a special session to update the law and make it less onerous.
"We, as a legislative body, are the ones who created this problem, and we should be humble and go back and fix it, even if it's an inconvenience for us, because of the inconvenience we've caused for so many people across Texas," Virdell said.
Virdell said, despite Patrick and Burrows' joint statement, he still wants a special session, unless a judge grants an injunction in the camps' lawsuit against the state.
Perry said he will file a bill to update the requirement for a fiber optic internet connection when the next legislative session begins in January.
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