A group of Texas summer camps have filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas, seeking to block the new camp safety law that requires certain internet connections. The law’s requirements have raised concerns among camp directors due to the high installation costs.
The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday in the 126th District Court in Travis County against the Texas Department of State Health Services and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. Nearly two dozen camps expressed that they were unable to meet the requirement before the deadline due to lack of service in the area or cost prohibitions.
As previously reported, the safety requirements were passed last summer following the devastating Kerr County floods and include requirements for summer camps to have two specific types of internet service—fiber-optic and a separate broadband service.
Camp directors voiced concerns over the requirement, saying that fiber-optic is not always available in rural locations.
Although the law does not provide any exceptions, camp directors argue that satellite internet should have been acceptable where fiber-optic does not exist.
In addition, estimates as high as $1.5 million for fiber-optic installation have been given to camp directors.
Several state lawmakers warned of the consequences and suggested amendments to fix the legislation, but the changes were not adopted while the bill was still under consideration in the Texas House.
Besides the fiber-optic internet requirement, camp directors have also voiced concerns over the rise in fees for licenses from the Department of State Health Services. Licensing fees had previously been about $400, but camp directors were informed last fall that the fees would increase to repay the state funds used to implement the laws.
Fees were estimated to increase between $2,000 and $15,000, based on the camp’s capacity.
Mt. Lebanon Camp Executive Director Ed Walker previously told Texas Scorecard that camps across the state will be forced to close because of expenses unrelated to campers’ safety.
