Representative Darby led the House in passing House Bill 1, a bill requiring every resident youth camp in Texas to create, maintain and submit a professional-grade emergency operations plan to the Department of State Health Services (DSHS). The House voted 136-1 to pass the measure to engrossment and final passage.

The bill’s sponsor said the legislation was driven by recent flood fatalities at overnight camps and aims to ensure camps are not “throw[n] together” in a crisis. Representative Darby said, “House Bill 1 is about 1 thing. Making sure every single youth camp in Texas has a rigorous, professional grade emergency plan to protect the children entrusted to their care.”

The bill requires annual plans that address at least 12 named emergency scenarios, including lost campers, internal fires, epidemics, serious injuries, unauthorized intruders and aquatic emergencies. Plans must set out evacuation or shelter-in-place procedures, traffic control, staff communications, minimum pre-session staff training, documentation of completed training, and instructions for notifying local emergency services, DSHS, fire and law enforcement.

A funding amendment adopted on the floor directs state money to DSHS so the agency can hire inspectors and staff to implement the law from day one. Representative Darby described that amendment as ensuring the bill “will fully fund inspectors and DSHS for the first time.”

Members adopted several safety-focused amendments during floor debate. Representative Howard’s amendment—adopted by record vote—would prevent construction of sleeping quarters within the 100-year floodplain; Howard argued the change would have reduced fatalities in the July floods and cited an inventory she said identified 13 camps along the Guadalupe River with varying amounts of buildings in the floodplain. Representative Ward Johnson won adoption of an amendment requiring evacuation maps and alternative routes be posted inside overnight cabins.

Supporters repeatedly framed the bill as an urgent response to the July floods. Representative Moody, speaking in favor, told families affected by the floods, “Nothing we do written on these papers can heal the hurt that y’all are feeling,” and added the House would continue to work with affected families.

Opponents raised concerns that some amendments expanded regulatory burdens on longstanding camps and could force closures. Representative Harrison said he initially planned to support HB 1 as filed but opposed the bill after what he described as “liberal big government Democrat amendments,” saying the changes “may have the potential to shutter countless camps.”

What the bill does not do: the House substitute does not itself ban all camps in floodplains statewide; the final text includes provisions for a multidisciplinary team to set minimum standards and for DSHS to administer enforcement, civil penalties and, ultimately, license revocations for serious noncompliance. The bill’s supporters said additional Senate measures (Senate Bill 1 and related bills) will address other camp safety issues such as prohibiting overnight camping in floodways.

Implementation will require DSHS rulemaking and the new funding authorized on the floor. Supporters said the statute creates a framework for minimum standards while allowing camps to tailor site-specific plans to their facilities and resources.

Representative Darby moved passage and the House adopted the bill to engrossment and final passage; several sponsor statements and amendments were ordered printed in the House Journal.