AUSTIN, Texas (KXXV) — Late Wednesday night, Texas lawmakers passed two bills in honor of “Heaven’s 27,” vowing to make summer camps better prepared and safer during emergencies. The legislation comes after the Fourth of July floods tore through Camp Mystic, claiming the lives of 27 girls.
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The tragedy has fueled a two-month push by grieving parents and lawmakers determined to prevent it from happening again.
“This legislation has been a long time coming. We got folks in the audience whose girls died at Camp Mystic. Thank you for your patience,” said State Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo.
“At the heart of this devastation was Kerr County, where the lives of over 100 men, women, and children were taken. Among those, the families of 27 young girls lost their precious children all too soon,” said State Sen. Pete Flores, R-Pleasanton.
Parents also shared their testimonies during an August 20 Senate hearing.
“Joy and growth can not exist without safety. Cile’s chance to experience camp only existed because I was ensured her safety was paramount. I ask you, ‘What could have been more important than that?’” said Cici Williams Steward, mother of 8-year-old Cile Steward, who remains missing.
“They did exactly what they were told to do that morning: stay in their cabins. Our daughters paid the ultimate price for their obedience to a plan that was destined to fail,” said Blake Bonner, father of Lila Bonner.
“These camps are going to be safe, and that is our commitment to you,” said Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston.
“The lives of these precious children, we will never unhear the stories, and we will make changes,” said Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham.
The “Heaven’s 27 Camp Safety Act,” Senate Bill 1, and the “Youth Camper Act,” House Bill 1, passed with overwhelming support. Both measures now head to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk. While in Waco on Wednesday, Abbott vowed to sign them immediately.
“There were tragedies. The most horrific of which is a parent losing a young little girl, swept away in the middle of the night. There is no way you can say anything, no way that you can fund anything that will replace that loss, but what we can do is to dedicate ourselves as those parents requested us to do,” Abbott said.
