By: Perry, et al. S.B. No. 1

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to campground and youth camp safety.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the Heaven's 27 Camp Safety Act.

SECTION 2. Section 141.002, Health and Safety Code, is amended by amending Subdivision (1) and adding Subdivisions (1-a), (2-a), (2-b), and (2-c) to read as follows:

(1) "Cabin" means a structure used to provide temporary sleeping quarters for campers.

(1-a) "Camper" means a minor who is attending a youth camp on a day care or boarding basis.

(2-a) "Floodplain" has the meaning assigned by Section 762.001.

(2-b) "Floodway" means an area identified on the most recent flood hazard map published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. Section 4001 et seq.) as a regulatory floodway.

(2-c) "Governmental entity" means this state or a state agency or political subdivision of this state.

SECTION 3. Section 141.005(a), Health and Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) A person holding a license issued under this chapter must:

(1) renew the license annually by submitting a renewal application on a date determined by department rule on a form provided by the department; and

(2) submit a renewal application not later than the 30th day after the date the person:

(A) alters the boundaries of a youth camp operated by the person;

(B) completes construction of one or more new cabins located on the premises of a youth camp operated by the person; or

(C) completes any renovation to one or more existing cabins located on the premises of the youth camp operated by the person that:

(i) increases or decreases the number of beds in an affected cabin; or

(ii) alters the method of ingress or egress to an affected cabin.

SECTION 4. Chapter 141, Health and Safety Code, is amended by adding Sections 141.0052, 141.0056, 141.0091, and 141.0092 to read as follows:

Sec. 141.0052. PROHIBITED LICENSURE OF YOUTH CAMPS WITHIN FLOODPLAIN; EXCEPTION. (a) The department shall not issue or renew a youth camp license for a youth camp that operates one or more cabins located within a floodplain.

(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the department may issue or renew a license to a youth camp described by Subsection (a) only if:

(1) each cabin location within a floodplain is a result of the cabin's proximity to a lake, pond, or other still body of water that:

(A) is not connected to a stream, river, or other watercourse; or

(B) is dammed; or

(2) each cabin is at least 1,000 feet from a floodway.

Sec. 141.0056. ONLINE YOUTH CAMP REGISTRY. The department shall post, maintain, and update on the department's Internet website a list of each youth camp with an active license issued under this chapter.

Sec. 141.0091. ADDITIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY STANDARDS. (a) As part of the health and safety standards established under Section 141.009, the executive commissioner by rule shall make applicable to a youth camp the requirements of Chapter 762 in the same manner as those requirements apply to a campground under that chapter.

(b) The executive commissioner by rule shall require a youth camp operator in the emergency evacuation plan the operator develops for a youth camp as required under Section 762.002 to:

(1) specify muster zones for campers and camp staff to gather in an emergency event that requires evacuation from any location within the premises of the camp;

(2) establish procedures for responding to an emergency event, other than an event addressed by Section 762.002, including:

(A) a lost camper;

(B) a fire on the premises of the camp;

(C) a severe injury, severe illness, or death of one or more campers, visitors, camp staff, or camp volunteers that occurs:

(i) on camp premises; or

(ii) while under the supervision of camp staff;

(D) an aquatic emergency if the camp borders a watercourse, lake, pond, or any other body of water; and

(E) any other natural disaster or emergency event required under department rules;

(3) establish procedures to identify and account for each camper affected by the emergency event;

(4) establish procedures to notify and communicate with:

(A) local emergency management services, including the emergency management director or coordinator designated under Section 418.1015, Government Code, by the political subdivision within which the camp is located;

(B) camp administrative and medical services staff; and

(C) the parents or legal guardians of each camper identified under Subdivision (3); and

(5) designate a camp emergency preparedness coordinator.

(c) The executive commissioner by rule shall require a youth camp operator to:

(1) maintain an operable radio capable of providing real-time weather alerts issued by the National Weather Service or a similar professional weather service at the camp;

(2) install and maintain at the camp an emergency warning system that:

(A) is capable of alerting all campers and camp occupants of an emergency; and

(B) includes a public address system operable without reliance on an Internet connection;

(3) monitor safety alerts issued:

(A) by the National Weather Service or a similar professional weather service; and

(B) by local river authorities, if applicable to the camp, or through other local emergency notification systems; and

(4) certify the operator's compliance with this subsection.

(d) In developing an emergency plan under Subsection (a), a youth camp operator must annually submit the initial or updated plan to the department for approval in the form and manner the department prescribes.

(e) If the department determines an emergency plan submitted under this section or Section 762.002 does not meet the minimum standards prescribed by department rules under this section, the youth camp operator shall revise and resubmit the plan not later than the 45th day after the date the operator receives notice from the department of the plan's deficiencies.

(f) A youth camp operator shall include any updated emergency plan as an attachment to each application to renew the operator's license under Section 141.005.

(g) Notwithstanding Section 762.002(c), not later than the 10th business day following the date the department approves a youth camp operator's emergency plan or, if the department determines the plan is deficient under Subsection (e), the operator's revised emergency plan, the operator shall provide a copy of the plan to:

(1) for a campground located in a municipality, the emergency management director or coordinator designated under Section 418.1015, Government Code, for the municipality; and

(2) the emergency management director or coordinator designated under Section 418.1015, Government Code, for the county.

(h) In developing an emergency plan under this section, a youth camp operator may consult with an emergency management director or coordinator described by Subsection (g).

(i) The department shall store in a digital database each emergency plan submitted under this section or Section 762.002 and provide access to that database to the Texas Division of Emergency Management.

(j) A youth camp operator shall:

(1) make available the most recent version of an emergency plan submitted under this section to the parent or legal guardian of:

(A) a camper who is participating in a camp session; or

(B) a prospective camper who is registered to participate in a future camp session; and

(2) notify the parent or legal guardian of a camper or prospective camper described by Subdivision (1) if any part of the camp is located within a floodplain.

(k) Not more than 48 hours after each camp session begins, the youth camp operator or a camp staff member shall conduct a mandatory safety orientation that:

(1) notifies each camper of the camp's boundaries and any hazards present on the camp premises;

(2) instructs each camper on behavioral expectations in an emergency event; and

(3) trains each camper on the appropriate actions and procedures to follow in an emergency event, in accordance with the camp's emergency plan required under this section and Section 762.002.

(l) At least once a year, a youth camp operator shall:

(1) provide each camp staff member and volunteer with a copy of the camp's most recent emergency plan;

(2) train each camp staff member and volunteer on the contents of the camp's emergency plan;

(3) instruct each camp staff member and volunteer on the proper procedures to follow in an emergency event under the camp's emergency plan; and

(4) maintain written records documenting each camp staff member's and volunteer's successful completion of the training required under this subsection.

(m) A youth camp operator shall:

(1) conspicuously post in each cabin the proper evacuation route described in the camp's emergency plan under this section and Section 762.002; and

(2) ensure each evacuation route on the camp premises, described in the emergency plan under this section and Section 762.002, is illuminated at night.

(n) Notwithstanding Section 141.0025, the department shall not grant a waiver from a requirement prescribed under this section or Chapter 762.

(o) An emergency plan submitted to, received by, or accessed by the department, the Texas Division of Emergency Management, an emergency management director or coordinator designated under Section 418.1015, Government Code, or any other governmental entity under this section is confidential and not subject to disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code.

Sec. 141.0092. REDUNDANT INTERNET CONNECTIONS REQUIRED. (a) In this section, "broadband service" has the meaning assigned by Section 490I.0101, Government Code.

(b) A youth camp operator shall provide and maintain for a youth camp:

(1) Internet services through a broadband service that connects to the Internet using end-to-end fiber optic facilities; and

(2) a secondary Internet connection through a broadband service distinct from the service described under Subdivision (1).

SECTION 5. Section 141.008(a), Health and Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) The executive commissioner may adopt rules to implement this chapter. In adopting the rules the executive commissioner shall comply with Subchapter B, Chapter 2001, Government Code, including Sections 2001.032(b) and 2001.033, Government Code. [In developing the rules to be adopted by the executive commissioner, the department shall consult parents, youth camp operators, and appropriate public and private officials and organizations.]

SECTION 6. Subtitle A, Title 9, Health and Safety Code, is amended by adding Chapter 762 to read as follows:

CHAPTER 762. CAMPGROUND SAFETY

Sec. 762.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) "Cabin" means a structure used to provide temporary sleeping quarters for transient overnight guests.

(2) "Campground" means, regardless of profit:

(A) a commercial property designed to provide cabins for transient overnight guest use; or

(B) a recreational vehicle park, as defined by Section 13.087, Water Code.

(3) "Campground operator" means a person who owns, operates, controls, or supervises a campground, regardless of profit.

(4) "Floodplain" means any area within a 100-year floodplain identified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. Section 4001 et seq.). This term includes any area removed from the 100-year floodplain by a letter of map amendment, a letter of map revision based on fill, or a substantially similar administrative process conducted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

(5) "Governmental entity" means this state or a state agency or political subdivision of this state.

Sec. 762.002. FLOODPLAIN SAFETY REQUIREMENTS. (a) A campground operator shall:

(1) install and maintain in each campground cabin located within the floodplain an emergency ladder capable of providing access to the cabin's roof; and

(2) develop an emergency evacuation plan for:

(A) evacuating on issuance of a flash flood or flood warning campground occupants who are at a campground area within the floodplain;

(B) evacuating campground occupants on issuance of an evacuation order by the emergency management director or coordinator designated under Section 418.1015, Government Code, for the county or, if applicable, the municipality in which the campground is located, due to a wildfire, hurricane, or other disaster; and

(C) sheltering campground occupants in place on issuance of:

(i) a tornado warning; or

(ii) an order to shelter in place issued by the emergency management director or coordinator for the county or, if applicable, the municipality in which the campground is located.

(b) A campground operator shall:

(1) implement the emergency evacuation plan developed under Subsection (a)(2)(A) on issuance by the National Weather Service of a flash flood or flood warning for an area of the campground; and

(2) implement the emergency evacuation plan developed under Subsection (a)(2)(C) on issuance by the National Weather Service of a tornado warning for an area of the campground.

(c) A campground operator shall send a copy of an emergency evacuation plan developed under Subsection (a)(2) to:

(1) for a campground located in a municipality, the emergency management director or coordinator designated under Section 418.1015, Government Code, for the municipality; and

(2) the emergency management director or coordinator designated under Section 418.1015, Government Code, for the county.

(d) An emergency plan submitted to, received by, or accessed by an emergency management director or coordinator under Section 418.1015, Government Code, or any governmental entity under this section is confidential and not subject to disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code.

Sec. 762.003. FIRE PROTECTION STANDARDS. (a) This section does not apply to a campground owned or controlled by a governmental entity.

(b) A campground must comply with the National Fire Protection Association 1194, Standard for Recreational Vehicle Parks and Campgrounds, 2021 Edition, other than Sections 1.1.1 and 5.1.1.1.

(c) A governmental entity may adopt a policy, rule, ordinance, or order to regulate environmental health and sanitation, electrical distribution system safety, liquefied petroleum gas storage and dispensing safety, or fire protection only if the policy, rule, ordinance, or order does not impose standards more stringent than the standards described under Subsection (b).

SECTION 7. Section 141.0035(b), Health and Safety Code, is repealed.

SECTION 8. Not later than January 1, 2026, the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission shall adopt the rules required by Section 141.0091, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act.

SECTION 9. Notwithstanding Section 141.0091, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, a youth camp operator is not required to submit an emergency plan to the Department of State Health Services until April 1, 2026.

SECTION 10. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the legislative session.