AUSTIN, Texas (KAUZ) – Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered the Texas Legislature to weigh a number of issues during a special legislative session set to begin on Monday, July 21.

After severe flooding in Central Texas, Abbott directed that flood safety measures – including improving warning systems and strengthening emergency communications – be the top issues on the special session agenda.

The governor is also asking legislators to consider eliminating the STAAR test, regulate hemp production, limit taxpayer-funded lobbying and lower property tax. The governor’s office provided the following list of agenda items:

• FLOOD WARNING SYSTEMS: Legislation to improve early warning systems and other preparedness infrastructure in flood-prone areas throughout Texas.
• FLOOD EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS: Legislation to strengthen emergency communications and other response infrastructure in flood-prone areas throughout Texas.
• RELIEF FUNDING FOR HILL COUNTRY FLOODS: Legislation to provide relief funding for response to and recovery from the storms which began in early July 2025, including local match funding for jurisdictions eligible for FEMA public assistance.
• NATURAL DISASTER PREPARATION & RECOVERY: Legislation to evaluate and streamline rules and regulations to speed preparedness for and recovery from natural disasters.
• ELIMINATE STAAR TEST: Legislation to eliminate the STAAR test and replace it with effective tools to assess student progress and ensure school district accountability.
• CUT PROPERTY TAXES: Legislation reducing the property tax burden on Texans and legislation imposing spending limits on entities authorized to impose property taxes.
• PROTECT CHILDREN FROM THC: Legislation making it a crime to provide hemp-derived products to children under 21 years of age.
• REGULATE HEMP-DERIVED PRODUCTS : Legislation to comprehensively regulate hemp-derived products, including limiting potency, restricting synthetically modified compounds, and establishing enforcement mechanisms, all without banning a lawful agricultural commodity.
• PROTECT UNBORN CHILDREN: Legislation further protecting unborn children and their mothers from the harm of abortion.
• BAN TAXPAYER-FUNDED LOBBYING: Legislation prohibiting taxpayer-funded lobbying, including the use of tax dollars to hire lobbyists and payment of tax dollars to associations that lobby the Legislature.
• PROTECT HUMAN TRAFFICKING VICTIMS: Legislation, similar to Senate Bill No. 1278 from the 89th Legislature, Regular Session, that protects victims of human trafficking from criminal liability for non-violent acts closely tied to their own victimization.
• POLICE PERSONNEL RECORDS: Legislation that protects law enforcement officers from public disclosure of unsubstantiated complaints in personnel files.
• PROTECT WOMEN’S SPACES: Legislation protecting women’s privacy in sex-segregated spaces.
• ATTORNEY GENERAL ELECTION POWERS: Legislation proposing a constitutional amendment allowing the Attorney General to prosecute state election crimes.
• REDISTRICTING: Legislation that provides a revised congressional redistricting plan in light of constitutional concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Justice.
• TITLE THEFT & DEED FRAUD: Legislation, similar to Senate Bill No. 648 from the 89th Legislature, Regular Session, that provides strengthened protections against title theft and deed fraud.
• WATER PROJECT INCENTIVES: Legislation, similar to Senate Bill No. 1253 from the 89th Legislature, Regular Session, that authorizes political subdivisions to reduce impact fees for builders who include water conservation and efficiency measures.
• STATE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT: Legislation, similar to Senate Bill No. 2878 from the 89th Legislature, Regular Session, relating to the operation and administration of the Judicial Department of state government.

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More than 100 people died in Central Texas after historic flooding over the July Fourth weekend.

Most of the deaths were in Kerr County, two hours west of Austin. That includes roughly two dozen campers attending an all-girls’ Christian camp along the Guadalupe River. At least two of these girls were from Austin.

The Austin area also experienced catastrophic flooding, claiming at least 14 lives. Here’s what we know about the flood victims from Austin and the surrounding towns:

Braxton Jarmon

Braxton Jarmon, 15, was a rising sophomore at Glenn High School in Leander, just north of Austin. The school principal confirmed his death in an email to students and families.

“The void he leaves behind is immense, and he will be deeply missed,” reads an Instagram post on the school’s marching band account.

Linnie McCown

Linnie McCown, 8, was among the 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic who died in the Kerrville floods. Her father, Michael McCown, confirmed her death to the Austin American-Statesman. According to the Statesman, he wrote on Instagram that Linnie “filled our hearts with so much joy we cannot begin to explain.”

Linnie had been a student at Casis Elementary. Hundreds of people attended a vigil at the Austin ISD campus Sunday to pray for the flood victims and their families.

Mary Stevens

Eight-year-old Mary Stevens, a camper at Camp Mystic, attended Highland Park Elementary, according to KXAN.

The station reported that Mary’s mother confirmed her death in a social media post.

“Our world is shattered, but I have peace getting your letters and knowing you were having the time of your life at camp and had a dance party with all of your friends before the Lord decided to take you from us,” Stacy Stevens wrote.

Sherry Richardson 

Sherry Richardson, 64, was the office manager and human resources director for Hope House, a long-term residential home for children and adults with profound intellectual disabilities in Liberty Hill.

David Gould, the executive director of Hope House, said Richardson “was the glue that kind of held everybody together.” He described her as the “office mom.”

“She was lit up with being able to work on this mission of taking care of kids and giving them the best life ever,” he said.

Gould said Richardson was living in a cabin on the property when it flooded. He said first responders were able to evacuate 12 children and two staff members on the main campus, which is farther from the creek.

He said Richardson’s death is a huge loss for the organization.

“She was the one that set the tone as far as how we’re going to take care of each other and how we are going to be kind and how collectively we’re going to take care of this mission together by taking care of each other,” he said.

Courtesy Betty West family

Betty West

Betty West, 84, was “hilarious and blunt,” two of her children said by phone Tuesday. Sherry McCutcheon said it often took her mom hours just to leave the grocery store because the Austin-area native had friends constantly stopping to chat.

West was living in Sandy Creek, a neighborhood in northwest Travis County that was ravaged by floodwaters early Saturday morning. She was living with her sons, Doug West and Gary Traugott, both of whom are still missing. West did not survive the floods and was found early Saturday, her daughters said.

West had been retired from Texas Instruments for 20 years.

Malaya Hammond

Malaya Hammond was a student at One Day Academy in Marble Falls. Her school confirmed her death in an Instagram post on Monday.

This story will be updated.

Driving in heavy rain can be hazardous, but understanding wet-weather road conditions is key to staying safe. Being careful during San Antonio’s storms means knowing how to check local road closures and having a plan to avoid flood-prone areas.

The need is especially acute in Central Texas and the Hill Country, which are experiencing an ongoing drought. According to the flood barrier company Flood Risk America, dry soil is hydrophobic, causing water to overflow quickly.

The good news is that checking driving conditions is easier than ever, thanks to online tools. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) frequently tweets weather updates and closures and maintains a real-time map showing travel dangers at DriveTexas.org.

Users can use toggles to filter out various driving headaches, including scheduled closures, road damage, construction, and flooding. The information is updated 24 hours a day in five-minute intervals.

Drivers should be warned, however, that the map only covers roadways maintained by the TxDOT system. While this does include rural Farm- and Ranch-to-Market routes, it does not include roads maintained by counties or municipalities.

The City of San Antonio maintains its own list of closures through the Public Works Department, and Bexar County conditions are posted on its own website.

Even with online information, driving safety can deteriorate quickly, especially during flash flooding. TxDOT reminds Texas motorists that water accumulations can appear to be more shallow than they actually are. It’s always best to “turn around, don’t drown.”

According to the agency, drivers can lose control of their vehicle — even if it is a truck or SUV — in as little as six inches of rapidly moving water. TxDOT recommends that drivers adhere to the following laws and guidelines:

• Never walk, swim, or drive through still or moving flood waters, which can hide dangers such as debris or downed power lines.
• Be especially mindful when driving at night when visibility is decreased.
• If you can do so safely, leave your vehicle if it stalls in deep water and head to higher ground.
• Driving around barriers blocking flooded roadways is illegal, subject to 180 days in jail and/ or a $2,000 fine.
• Tampering with signs is punishable with a fine of up to $1,000 and up to two years in jail.