At 3 p.m. on Wednesday, the Alabama House Committee on State Government will convene to hear House Bill 381, the “Sarah Marsh Heaven’s 27 Camp Safety Act.”
The legislation is named in honor of 8-year-old Sarah Marsh, a Mountain Brook resident and one of the “Heaven’s 27,” the 25 campers and two counselors who died while in the care of Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas, during the July 4, 2025 flash floods.
A livestream will be available here.
“We are grateful to Rep. Faulkner and Gov. Ivey for championing this bill, and to the committee for agreeing to hear this important legislation,” said Patrick Marsh, father of Sarah Marsh and a member of the Campaign for Camp Safety’s Advisory Council. “This bill introduces common-sense regulations that many parents assume are already in place. It restores peace of mind following the devastating flooding event in Texas, so the American tradition of summer camp can continue without preventable loss of life.”
The legislation, filed by Rep. David Faulkner, R-District 46, with the full support of Gov. Kay Ivey, will require camps to obtain an emergency preparedness license from the Alabama Emergency Management Agency. To obtain a license, camps will need to meet the following standards in alignment with our core pillars of Prevention, Detection, Training and Response, including:
- Inspections and accountability measures to ensure compliance with safety regulations, including criminal background checks on summer camp staff;
- Robust emergency warning and alert systems;
- Mandatory staff training for health, safety and emergency response;
- Emergency preparedness, including hazardous weather protocols and evacuation procedures; and
- Communication requirements, ensuring parents are properly informed about emergencies.
Currently, Alabama law does not require summer camps to be licensed or to have mandatory criminal background checks on summer camp staff.
