AUSTIN, Texas — Grief and anger from last year’s deadly July 4 flooding at Camp Mystic filled the Texas Capitol on Tuesday night, as parents urged state lawmakers to keep the camp from reopening and to deny renewal of its license.

The parents spoke during the second day of an investigative hearing before the General Investigative Committee, offering their perspectives on the future of Camp Mystic. The Eastland family, which runs the camp, was seated nearby.

“A daycare, with 27 dead children, and this evidence already on record, would have already been closed,” said Bolton Walters, a parent of a victim camper.

CiCi Steward, the mother of a missing Camp Mystic camper, told lawmakers, “No camp will be safe for any child as long as the Eastlands are associated with it.”

Parents recounted the trauma of the flooding that killed 27 campers and counselors. Malorie Lytal, a parent of a victim camper, described what happened to her child: “As her cabin filled with flood waters, she was left to fend for herself, and washed miles downriver to die the most horrific, gruesome death.”

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Steward called on the state not to renew the camp’s license.

“Camp Mystics’ license should not be renewed. If a child dies in a Texas camp this summer, it will not be because we lack the information to prevent it,” she said. “Those lies of safety, preparedness, and readiness cause the greatest mass casualty event involving children in the history of the state.”

Camp Mystic is hoping to reopen on May 30 at their Cypress location.

Last week, the Texas Department of State Health Services found 22 deficiencies in the emergency plan camp leaders submitted. The findings included gaps in the camp’s flood evacuation procedures and failure to submit a required floodplain map to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA.

Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd said camps need emergency plans that are formalized and coordinated with local authorities.

“It’s got to be written. It’s got to be trained. It’s got to be exercised. It’s got to be funded. It’s not a one-and-done. It’s not a destination, it’s a journey,” Kidd said.

Even with plans to reopen at the Cypress location, parents remained skeptical that the camp could operate safely under its current leadership. Julie Marshall, a parent of a victim camper, said, “The Eastland’s prayers didn’t save the girls that night. I worry the Eastland’s prayers going forward are not an appropriate safety plan.”

At the end of the hearing, Texas DSHS said they are actively implementing legislation for youth camp safety, and will not be approving any camp’s licenses if they do not have an acceptable emergency management plan.

AUSTIN, Texas — A three-day court hearing starting Tuesday morning at the Travis County Courthouse will determine whether Texas hemp businesses can keep operating under a temporary pause of new state health rules that restrict smokable hemp products.

Texas hemp advocacy groups are seeking a temporary injunction to block rule changes from the Texas Department of State Health Services that took effect at the end of March. The changes ban the sale of smokable hemp products, require other hemp products to be sold in child-proof packaging, and significantly increase costs for manufacturers.

David Sergi, an attorney for the hemp advocacy groups with Sergi & Associates PC, said, “We are going to be here tomorrow to bring justice to Texas hemp.” Sergi said the dispute centers on how the state redefined THC limits and testing requirements.

“What we disagree with is cutting the heart out of the hemp industry by redefining what the appropriate amount of THC is and how it’s calculated,” he said.

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Some anti-commercial marijuana groups support the rule changes. Iman Lohrasbi, a state policy associate with Smart Approaches to Marijuana, said, “Obviously, I think these products, the smokable hemp products, should be banned…These are not good for people of the country, especially not in Texas either.”

Hemp advocacy groups argue the changes could effectively end the industry. They filed a lawsuit on April 9, and a temporary restraining order was later granted. The order applies to a new testing requirement that created a 0.3% THC threshold, which eliminated smokable products

“We’re doing this for not only the industry but also our clients and our customers,” Sergi said.

He also said he believes a judge will quickly grant a temporary injunction to continue suspending the rule changes, arguing, “The Department of Health acted ultra vires or beyond its authority in redefining how to classify hemp.”

The temporary restraining order remains in place until May 1, leaving uncertainty about enforcement after that date if a temporary injunction is not granted.

Ahead of Tuesday’s hearing, the Texas Department of State Health Services said it does not comment on active litigation.

Tuesday’s hearing is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. If a temporary injunction is granted, the next step in the case would be an effort to permanently suspend the hemp rule changes.