Texas Moves to Finance New Flood Safety Mandates Following July 4th Tragedy

In the wake of the devastating July 4th floods that claimed 138 lives in the Texas Hill Country, state lawmakers are moving forward with a set of sweeping reforms aimed at preventing such a tragedy from happening again — and Houston Senator Joan Huffman is making sure the funding is in place to turn those reforms into reality.

As chair of the Senate Finance Committee, Huffman is the author of Senate Bill 3, the legislation that would provide the financial backbone for new flood preparedness measures. Her bill will allocate resources to implement and sustain the initiatives outlined in two other key pieces of legislation — SB 1 and SB 2 — covering everything from mandatory youth camp evacuation plans to advanced flood warning systems. It will also include relief funds for the communities hardest hit by the disaster.

“This is about protecting lives and ensuring that the lessons we’ve learned from this tragedy are put into action,” Huffman said. “We can’t pass meaningful policy without ensuring we have the funding to make it work.”

The measures backed by Huffman follow more than 26 hours of public testimony in Austin and Kerr County, where lawmakers heard directly from survivors, local officials, and emergency management experts. Those hearings painted a picture of where the state responded well — and where gaps in planning, communication, and resources cost lives.

SB 1, by Senate Select Committee on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding Chair Charles Perry of Lubbock, focuses on ensuring that youth camps in flood-prone areas are prepared for the worst. It requires detailed flood emergency plans, routine drills for campers and counselors, rooftop escape access in existing cabins, and mandatory evacuation to higher ground whenever a flood warning is issued. Perry said the changes are meant to remove hesitation from life-or-death decisions. “You’re going to make that call more than you’re going to need it,” he said. “I’m not going to apologize for that.”

SB 2, by Houston Senator Paul Bettencourt, would require strategically placed warning sirens and other autonomous alert systems in areas with the highest flood risks. These systems, triggered by sensors and rainfall data, are designed to wake residents and prompt them to seek higher ground — a critical improvement after the July 4th floods struck in the middle of the night while most people slept.

While those bills create the plans and systems, Huffman’s SB 3 makes them possible. The measure would direct funding to install alert infrastructure, support local emergency manager training, and develop a master fatality response plan at the Texas Department of Emergency Management. It would also cover the costs of a volunteer management system to better organize and deploy help in future disasters.

Huffman’s leadership is central to ensuring these reforms aren’t just proposals on paper. As the state’s chief budget writer in the Senate, she will determine how much money is set aside for each element of the response — and how quickly it can be deployed.

However, the bills face uncertainty. With the legislative session currently stalled due to a lack of quorum in the House, their fate may not be decided until a second called session later this year. If the current session ends without resolution on August 19, the Senate is expected to take them up again.

For Huffman, the work is about more than passing legislation — it’s about making sure that every dollar the state invests is aimed at preventing another disaster of this magnitude. “We owe it to the families who lost loved ones, and to every Texan living in harm’s way, to act decisively,” she said.