The Alabama House of Representatives passed legislation Tuesday to heighten safety regulations for overnight camps in the state.
House Bill 381, the “Sarah Marsh Heaven’s 27 Camp Safety Act,” would require Alabama camps to obtain an emergency preparedness license from the Alabama Emergency Management Agency.
To obtain the license, camps would need to adopt several standards, 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.
Representative David Faulkner, R-District 46, explained that the legislation is named after 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.
Faulkner said he was motivated to introduce the legislation to prevent similar tragedies from taking place in Alabama.
Faulkner added that the legislation’s provisions would only apply to overnight camps, and that day camps in the state would not be affected.
Several legislators applauded Faulkner’s bill Tuesday, thanking him for introducing the legislation.
State Representative Thomas Jackson, D-Thomasville, was among those to praise the bill. However, Jackson also took the opportunity to criticize the Trump administration’s response to the July flash floods, echoing critics who argued that the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security failed to appropriately handle the situation.
HB381 went on to receive unanimous support from the body, passing by a vote of 104-0; 101 members subsequently voted to have their names added to the bill as cosponsors. The legislation will now go to the Senate for further consideration.
