A bill addressing who can serve on the Youth Camp Advisory Committee has passed the Texas House and is now in the Senate.
House Bill 265 was filed by State Rep. Lacey Hull/(R) Dist. 138.
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"Late Thursday night, the House overwhelmingly passed my youth camp safety bill, HB 265. This bill will bring experts in child health and safety to the youth camp advisory committee, and calls for a review of camp regulations before the next camp season. I want to thank the Campaign for Camp Safety, Crime Stoppers, the Water Safety Coalition, and my constituents for their support and advocacy. It is horrible that it has taken the recent heartbreaking tragedy to shine a light on the need for camp safety reforms, but I am hopeful that we have the momentum to make changes necessary to protect Texas kids," Hull wrote in a statement to KPRC.
The Texas Youth Camp Advisory Committee works with the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to develop standards, procedures and rules for how youth camps are regulated by the Department of State Health Services (DSHS). Currently, seven of the nine members of the Camp Advisory Committee are camp operators.
Members of the committee are appointed by the HHSC executive commissioner. Hull’s bill seeks to reduce the number of camp operators serving on the committee.
“We need child professionals on there, people who understand child development, child safety, beyond the camp owners,” said State Rep. Lacey Hull/(R) Dist. 138. “This is about youth camp safety as a whole.”
Hull’s bill would increase the number of members on the Camp Advisory Committee from nine to eleven. The bill also calls for the members of the Advisory Committee to be composed of an emergency management coordinator or director, law enforcement professional, a pediatrician or pediatric registered nurse or pediatric physician’s assistant, a child psychologist, a child abuse prevention expert, a water safety expert, two youth camp operators, a parent of a camper and two members of the general public.
Hull’s bill would also require all camp staff to undergo at least one hour of first aid and CPR training by an accredited organization or licensed health care provider. Hull’s bill would also repeal a portion of the Health and Safety Code that currently allows camps to correct violations during an inspection to avoid penalties or a record the infraction showing up on an inspection report.
CEO of Crime Stoppers of Houston, Rania Mankarious testified in support of this bill. Mankarious has been pushing for this type of change in oversight and regulation since 2018, following the sexual abuse of a young camper.
“We’re very thankful that people are starting to look at the rules and the plans and how camps run,” said Rania Mankarious, CEO of Crime Stoppers of Houston. “This gives you a holistic, an opportunity to have a holistic review, of camp rules and governances and policies, procedures with the only goal that children are safe.