Parents of Camp Mystic victims meet with Texas lawmakers, push for safety reforms

AUSTIN, Texas – Parents of the 27 Camp Mystic girls killed in the deadly Hill Country flooding last month met with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and other state leaders to push for youth camp safety reform.

The group met with Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Speaker Dustin Burrows on Thursday in Austin, sharing stories and pushing for preparedness, according to a news release.

Camp Mystic, situated along the Guadalupe River outside of Hunt, Texas, saw devastation after the July 4 flooding. Earlier this month, Kerr County officials named all of the 117 victims. Two are still missing, officials said.

“Our children’s deaths cannot be in vain,” said a spokesperson for the Campaign for Camp Safety. “We are here to make sure no other parent in Texas gets that phone call – the one that changes everything, but that could have been prevented.”

The families pushed for an investigation into the event, and urged lawmakers to consider specific “camp safety” measures in a second special session.

Abbott is likely to immediately call for a second session following the end of the first on Friday, Aug. 15.

Records obtained by KSAT Investigates in the days following the floods found that state officials verified Camp Mystic had an emergency plan in place two days before the floods.

The families’ recommendations include:

• Moving structures away from flood plains and hazardous areas
• Require camps to maintain emergency detection plans with 24/7 monitoring capabilities for alerts and adequate emergency notification systems.
• Establish standards for evacuation plans and require emergency drills for campers and staff.
• Require emergency management to formally trigger a campsite’s response.

Senate lawmakers passed several flood-related bills during the first legislative session; however, they are unlikely to pass, as the Texas House has not met a quorum due to some Democratic lawmakers leaving the state in protest of a redistricting bill.

The Texas Tribune reported on Aug. 1 that so far, nine bills had been proposed to address emergency plans and improve communication systems, among others.

Bills pertaining to camp safety were not explicitly included in Abbott’s directives before the first session began.

Read more:

• Camp Mystic confirms deaths of 27 campers, camp counselors after Hill Country floods
• State inspected Camp Mystic two days before deadly floods; camp had emergency plan
• Texas bills increasing youth camp safety face long odds, even after Hill Country floods
• 117 Kerr County flood victims identified by local officials
• FEMA removed dozens of Camp Mystic buildings from 100-year flood map before expansion, records show