AUSTIN (KXAN)—Dozens of families packed inside a small room at the Texas Capitol Monday shared tragic stories — and where their lives now — after learning their daughters died in July floods at Camp Mystic.
“My anguish is as infinite as the stars in the sky…a black hole of pain,” 8-year-old Virginia Hollis’ mother said. “We don’t know when she died, we don’t know how, we really don’t know anything…all we do know is our daughter was at camp, she was not protected, she was not safe.”
After 27 campers and counselors were swept away by fast-rising water, lawmakers are looking to pass legislation to create uniform flood safety measures, protocols and standards. This, after Camp Mystic, along the Guadalupe River, has been criticized by parents and officials for not doing enough to keep kids safe.
Senate Bill 1 relates specifically to camp ground and youth camp safety. It would require a number of changes:
- An online list of licensed youth camps
- Prohibit the state from issuing renewing a license to a youth camp that operates one or more cabins located in a floodplain
- Additional health and safety standards, including making sure staff and volunteers are trained on the camp’s emergency plan
- Camp emergency plans would be required to be stored in a state data base that the Texas Department of Emergency Management can access
- Give parents access to the emergency plan upon request
- A mandated safety orientation conducted by a camp operator or staff no more than 48 hours into camp for all campers
The reality for families who lost their girls is dark, as they work to honor their daughters who were lost in what has been deemed a preventable loss.
West Harris County Sen. Paul Bettencourt, who co-authored SB 1, said the bill does have bipartisan support. He told KXAN he expects changes to be implemented before any other child attends a summer camp in the state.
This story will be updated by Reporter Jala Washington.