Overview
- Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows, in a Tuesday statement, endorsed licensing camps for summer 2026 if they file a solid emergency plan, meet other safety rules, and maintain a reliable system that works in crises even without fiber.
- A state list shows only nine of more than 330 camps had new licenses through May 4, and the health department says camps with pending applications may keep operating under existing licenses as one lawmaker posted that no camp will close due to broadband gaps.
- In April, 19 camps sued in Travis County to block the fiber mandate, saying the rule is undefined on “end-to-end,” infeasible in many rural areas, costly, and likely to stop some camps from opening.
- Cost estimates cited in the suit included a $1 million build and $3,500 per month for Camp Liberty and more than $1.2 million for Camp Longhorn, which highlights why camps report fiber is unavailable or too expensive in remote areas.
- Several lawmakers are urging a special session to change the statute, while sponsors say they plan to file fixes in the next regular session, and camps like Camp Longhorn are turning to Starlink and multiple providers to create backup links.