In the days and weeks following the death of his 9-year-old daughter, Lila, at Camp Mystic in the Texas Hill Country, Blake Bonner found himself wondering whether the tragedy was simply an unstoppable act of God, or if something could have been done to prevent it.
Lila was one of 27 Camp Mystic campers and counselors swept to their deaths when fast-rising floodwaters of the Guadalupe River roared through the girls’ summer camp. All told, the destructive flooding in Texas on the Fourth of July killed at least 136 people and washed away homes and vehicles.
“It just became clear to me that this incident was 100% preventable,” Bonner said, “and for a lot of reasons, I was going to do everything in my power, and I was hoping the other parents would as well, to make sure that our girls' legacy wasn't in vain.”
Bonner and many other parents and family members of the girls who died at Camp Mystic were in the Texas House and Senate gallery this week during a special session to see lawmakers give final approval to a series of bills aimed at preventing similar tragedies. Many of them shared hugs, handshakes and tears after they passed.
Gov. Greg Abbott, who was flanked by family members as he signed several of the bills into law Friday, recalled the grieving parents visiting with him and his wife and urging swift action before the start of the special legislative session.
“They pleaded that their daughters did not die in vain. They wanted laws to be passed so that other parents would not experience the hell that they had been through,” Abbott said. “The Legislature understood that mission ... they tapped into empathy and they delivered laws that will be in effect when camps open this next summer, laws that make youth camps safer.”
The measures aim to improve the safety of children's camps by prohibiting cabins in dangerous parts of flood zones and requiring camp operators to develop detailed emergency plans, to train workers and to install and maintain emergency warning systems. One allocates $240 million from the state's rainy day fund for disaster relief, along with money for warning sirens and improved weather forecasting.
“All the key tenets that we were looking for were addressed in these bills,” Bonner said.
Matthew Childress, whose 18-year-old daughter Chloe was one of two counselors killed, said the effort by the families to pursue legislation began with a bond that developed through shared grief. As they mourned together, sometimes attending other children's funerals, they grew closer.
When Abbott announced plans to address flooding disaster relief as part of a special session, Childress said, some parents raised concerns that camp safety might get overlooked. Parents started becoming more organized and discussed what their priorities would be for lawmakers to consider.
“That was something that was really important to me, that we move as one, that we have as much unity as possible,” Childress said. “I’m trying to make something positive that can give me purpose, that can give my family purpose, that we can honor Chloe, that we can honor our girls for something that’s positive.”
Many of the families delivered gut-wrenching testimony to lawmakers during hearings in Austin, urging them to pass legislation to help keep campers safe.
Despite their unified voice and the compelling accounts from the parents, there was no guarantee that all the bills would make it to the governor's desk. Childress acknowledged that conservative legislators are typically not eager to impose government regulations on private businesses.
The owners of at least three Kerr County youth camps urged lawmakers to reconsider some of the new proposals, saying the legislation would cause financial hardship, according to a letter to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick obtained by the Texas Tribune.
Childress said he made it clear to legislators that he supports youth camps and wants them to thrive. He believes the new laws will ensure that, and he hopes the legislation becomes a model for other states.
“Our hope is that this win for millions of campers in Texas is potentially something that could be leveraged for the tens of millions of campers in other states across the country,” Childress said.