Texas Summer Camp Safety Acts: SB 1, HB 1, SB 3
Senate Bill 1, House Bill 1, and Senate Bill 3
On September 5th, 2025, Senate Bill 1(the Heaven’s 27 Camp Safety Act), House Bill 1 (The Youth CAMPER Act), and Senate Bill 3 were signed into Texas law. These passed in response to the catastrophic flooding in July 2025 that resulted in over 100 deaths, many of which were children at Camp Mystic in Kerr County, Texas.
Senate Bill 1 (the Heaven’s 27 Camp Safety Act)
The Heaven’s 27 Camp Safety Act strengthened the licensing process for youth camps, to ensure that camps must renew their license after constructing cabins or altering property boundaries. The Act also mandated that camps with any cabins in a floodplain will not receive a license. Licensed camps are to be tracked via an online youth camp registry on the Department of State Health Service’s (DSHS) website.
The Act also added required youth camps to develop emergency plans. Emergency plans must include a specified “muster zone” to gather during emergencies, and they must also designate an emergency preparedness coordinator. Plans must be submitted annually to the Texas Department of State Health Services for review.
House Bill 1 (The Youth CAMPER Act)
The Youth Camp Alert, Mitigation, Preparedness, and Emergency Response (CAMPER) Act amended the Health and Safety Code, directing the Executive Commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to establish emergency preparedness standards for youth camps. Under the amended standards, camps must post an emergency evacuation and relocation map near every interior door of a building that provides overnight accommodations, and must instruct campers and staff on their roles in the emergency plan before the first overnight stay of each camp session, with annual refresher training required for staff and volunteers.
The Act also requires camps to notify parents in writing of any floodplain risk on the property and obtain a signed acknowledgment, and to share their emergency plans with local emergency services. The DSHS is authorized to enforce compliance through inspections, complaint investigations, and license suspension or denial.
Senate Bill 3
While Senate Bill 1 and House Bill 1 are both specific to youth overnight camps, Senate Bill 3, Regarding Outdoor Warning Sirens in Flash Flood Areas, applies to general emergency preparedness. This legislation calls on the governor's office to establish a grant program to “assist municipalities, counties, and other governmental entities with covering the costs of installing outdoor warning sirens.”
Senate Bill 3 requires that outdoor warning sirens—defined as “system[s] that produce a sound designed to alert a person who is outdoors of an imminent disaster and encourage that person to immediately seek shelter or move to higher ground”—shall be established in flood-prone areas that the board designates. The designation criteria includes:
- A history of consistent or severe flooding;
- Loss of human life to flooding in the area;
- The existence of residences or other dwelling structures in the flood-prone area; and
- The potential damage to real or personal property resulting from a flood.
Once an area is designated, the board will require the appropriate municipality or county to install, maintain, and operate one or more outdoor warning sirens there. The board will also require these outdoor warning sirens to be regularly tested, and it is charged with developing best management practices for their operation, including guidance on backup power sources.
Beyond Texas
Although the legislation is a clear reaction to the events that occurred in Texas, Texas is not alone in its legislative response. In response to the tragedy, Alabama adopted its own version of the law. In April 2026, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed the Heaven's 27 Camp Safety Act, creating a comprehensive emergency response framework for Alabama youth camps.
Publication Date: September 2025
Related Organizations:
- State of Texas
Sectors:
Resource Category:
Resource Types:
- Laws
States Affected:
Impacts:
