TX lawmakers push to drop fiber-optic rule for summer camps

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows urged lifting the state requirement that youth camps install end‑to‑end fiber-optic facilities to qualify for licensure, arguing other reliable connectivity could meet the rule’s goals after a lawsuit by 19 camps; the mandate was enacted following the July 4 Hill Country floods that killed campers, and critics say fiber costs can be prohibitive or impractical for rural camps, with lawmakers planning to revisit camp safety standards in 2027 while there was no immediate comment from the Department of State Health Services.