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Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick (R) has formally asked the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) not to renew Camp Mystic’s youth camp license for the 2026 season.
In a February 23, 2026 letter to DSHS Commissioner Jennifer Shuford, Patrick stated that until all legislative investigations are completed and any corrective actions are taken, Camp Mystic should not be granted approval to operate. The letter references the July 4, 2025, flooding event that resulted in the deaths of 27 young girls and counselors at the Kerr County camp.
Patrick emphasized that the Texas Senate has established a General Investigating Committee on the July 2025 flooding events, which will meet jointly with the Texas House this spring. He argued that Texans deserve transparency and clarity before DSHS issues another seal of approval to a camp that experienced such catastrophic loss.
The letter does not itself suspend the license. That authority rests with DSHS, but it signals that Patrick believes renewal would be premature while investigations and litigation are ongoing.
Federal Lawsuit Targets DSHS Oversight
On the same day Patrick sent his letter, parents of nine deceased campers and counselors filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.
The complaint names six officials within the Texas Department of State Health Services in their individual capacities. The core allegation is that DSHS maintained and implemented a policy of not verifying whether youth camps had the evacuation plans required under Texas Administrative Code § 265.15.
Under Texas youth camp safety rules, camps must maintain a written emergency plan that shall include procedures for the evacuation of each occupied building. According to the complaint, DSHS inspectors verified only that a written emergency plan existed, not whether it contained evacuation procedures as mandated by rule.
The lawsuit alleges that Camp Mystic’s emergency instructions directed campers and counselors to stay in their cabins during flooding rather than evacuate. Despite this, the camp passed annual inspections for years and received license renewals, including shortly before the July 2025 tragedy.
Plaintiffs assert claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for alleged violations of substantive due process and bodily integrity. They argue that by licensing a camp that lacked the required evacuation plan, state officials created or enhanced a known and foreseeable danger to campers.
The complaint seeks survival and wrongful death damages under Texas law, along with attorney’s fees.
The case places a central question before the courts. Did DSHS fail to enforce existing Texas youth camp safety law, and if so, does that failure rise to the level of a constitutional violation?
Concerns About Fairness and Scope
Texas State Representative Wes Virdell (R-Brady), who represents the affected region, has publicly disagreed with Lt. Gov. Patrick’s position.
“While Dan Patrick and I do agree on many things, I strongly disagree with the Lt Governor’s position on this.”
“The camp is not reopening the same cabins that were in the flood. Also, the camp was hit with an unprecedented flood that has not been seen in centuries ….and Camp Mystic is the first camp to install the new flood warning systems way ahead of help from the government.”
“I have strong concerns that the Kerrville area and camps won’t get a fair investigation if this is the position of the Lt. Governor. I offered amendments that would have fixed the camp safety bill, and instead, we are facing a lot of camp closures that have zero flood risk. I am strongly of the belief that this bill was directly targeted at shutting Camp Mystic down, and the charge was led by some very strong political influencers behind the scenes. Now that Camp Mystic has managed to make it through the excessive requirements of the bill, it looks like they are trying to take the camp down through another route.”
Source: State Rep. Wes Virdell (R-Brady), X Post 2.23.2026
His position highlights an emerging divide within Texas leadership. One side favors a pause on licensing pending a full investigation. The other cautions against regulatory or political overreach before facts are fully established.
Enforcement Failure or Regulatory Expansion
The Camp Mystic licensing dispute is unfolding alongside broader legislative action.
During the second special legislative session in 2025, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 1 and House Bill 1, imposing new flood response mandates, emergency planning requirements, and expanded enforcement authority over youth camps. Texas Policy Research opposed both measures, raising concerns about regulatory overreach and unintended consequences for small nonprofit, religious, and rural camps.
That distinction is critical.
The lawsuit alleges that DSHS failed to enforce existing evacuation requirements already embedded in Texas administrative rules. The special session legislation, by contrast, represents an expansion of regulatory authority and compliance burdens.
The question now facing policymakers is whether the tragedy reflects a failure of enforcement of existing law or whether it justifies sweeping new layers of regulation across the entire sector.
Texas Policy Research previously examined how proposed flood response laws could affect nearly 200 youth camps statewide and how dramatic licensing fee increases could threaten small operators. Those analyses focused on economic sustainability and private property concerns. The current dispute, however, centers on whether the state carried out its existing statutory duties. These are related but separate issues.
The Regulatory Decision Now Facing DSHS
Camp Mystic’s license expires March 6, 2026. For the camp to reopen, DSHS must renew that license.
The lawsuit contends that DSHS had no discretion to issue or renew a license to a camp that lacked the evacuation plan required by rule. The complaint further alleges that DSHS officials testified after the flood that inspectors verify the existence of a plan but do not evaluate whether the plan includes evacuation procedures.
If DSHS denies renewal, Camp Mystic will not operate this summer. If it grants renewal, it will do so amid pending federal litigation and legislative investigation.
The agency’s decision will signal whether it views the July 2025 tragedy as evidence of internal enforcement failure or as a matter to be resolved solely through judicial proceedings and new statutory mandates.
Broader Implications for Texas Youth Camp Regulation
Beyond one camp, this controversy touches larger structural questions about administrative oversight in Texas.
When statutes and administrative rules impose mandatory safety requirements, does the enforcing agency have discretion to interpret those requirements narrowly? If inspection protocols diverge from regulatory text, where does accountability ultimately lie?
At the same time, policymakers must determine whether the appropriate response to tragedy is targeted correction of enforcement practices or broad expansion of regulatory authority.
The answer carries implications not only for Camp Mystic but for every youth camp operating in Texas.
Accountability, Clarity, and the Path Forward
The July 2025 flood was a devastating event that claimed 27 young lives. Grieving families deserve clarity, accountability, and transparency.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has urged DSHS to withhold license renewal pending investigation. Representative Wes Virdell, the lawmaker whose district includes Camp Mystic, has cautioned against premature conclusions and broad overreach. A federal lawsuit now alleges that state officials failed to enforce evacuation plan requirements already embedded in Texas law.
Two separate but related questions now confront Texas.
First, did DSHS faithfully enforce the evacuation requirements already required under Texas youth camp safety rules?
Second, should the response focus on correcting enforcement practices, or on expanding regulatory authority across the entire youth camp sector?
The coming months will determine not only whether Camp Mystic receives a 2026 license, but how Texas balances enforcement, accountability, and proportionality in the face of tragedy.
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