An investigation by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune has found that Texas lawmakers have repeatedly rejected legislation that could have protected residents from deadly flooding, including a catastrophic July 4 disaster in 2025 that killed 137 people across five counties. The newsrooms reviewed nearly 60 years of state legislation and identified over five dozen flood safety bills that failed to pass.
The July 2025 floods, one of the deadliest disasters in Texas history, struck Kerr County where residents were staying in areas identified by the federal government as being at high risk for flooding. Among those killed were 25 children and two counselors at Camp Mystic, along with the camp's executive director. Survivors have questioned why government allowed development in known dangerous zones.
"Is somebody going to come in and stop us?" said Kylie Nidever, a resident of the Bumble Bee Hills neighborhood in Kerr County whose home was untouched by the floodwaters. "If it happens again and it's worse next time, people will die in this neighborhood."
What the Left Is Saying
Democratic legislators and progressive advocacy groups have pointed to the flood legislation failures as evidence of systemic inaction on public safety. Environmental historians and university researchers say the repeated rejections represent a fundamental failure of state government to protect its citizens.
"Had the state enacted any of that legislation, we might not have had the excruciating loss," said Char Miller, a Texas environmental historian now teaching at Pomona College in California, after reviewing the newsrooms' findings. "The continued inability of the state to pass legislation to protect its citizens means it's not doing the one thing it's supposed to do, which is defend the health and safety of those who call Texas home."
Democratic lawmakers have argued that Texas should follow the example of at least 29 other states, including Florida, that have passed development standards requiring structures in flood-prone areas to be built higher. They contend that common-sense zoning regulations and building codes could have prevented deaths.
"We need to resist this narrative that this disaster was unpreventable," said Michael Slattery, director of the Institute for Environmental Studies at Texas Christian University. He argued that policy choices made over decades shaped the tragedy rather than inevitable natural forces.
What the Right Is Saying
Republican legislators have pointed to landowner property rights as a reason for opposing additional development restrictions in flood-prone areas. At a legislative hearing more than a month after the floods, Republican Rep. Wes Virdell of Kerr County said rural areas "enjoy the freedom to take our risk and build as we see fit."
Some conservative lawmakers have characterized the July 2025 storm as so massive that no level of preparation could have prevented the loss of life. They argue against government overreach into private property decisions while acknowledging sympathy for victims' families.
After the disaster, Gov. Greg Abbott called two special legislative sessions to address aspects of the catastrophe. The only buildings legislators ultimately banned from flood-prone areas were youth camps, and that action came only after intense lobbying by grieving parents who lost children at Camp Mystic.
What the Numbers Show
Texas has more buildings in flood-prone areas than any other state except Florida, with at least 650,000 structures located in FEMA-designated high-risk zones, according to a ProPublica and Tribune analysis of federal emergency management data. Only eight other states have a higher share of total structures in flood-prone spots.
Since 1980, more people have died from floods in Texas than nearly any other state with the exception of Florida and Louisiana, and more national flood insurance claims have been paid out in Texas during that period than all but those two states, according to federal data cited by the newsrooms.
The July 4 disaster killed 137 people across five counties. The majority were staying in locations identified by the federal government as at risk for flooding, the investigation found. A 2020 FEMA report shows Texas trails at least 29 other states that have passed development standards requiring structures to be built higher in flood-prone areas.
The Bottom Line
The ProPublica and Tribune investigation raises questions about whether state-level policy choices contributed to the scale of the 2025 flooding disaster. Lawmakers in future sessions will likely face renewed pressure from affected communities to consider stricter building regulations in high-risk zones, though property rights advocates are expected to continue opposing such measures.
Scientists say the need for stronger flood protections grows more urgent as climate change makes heavy storms previously considered once-in-a-generation events more likely. What specific legislation might emerge from the 2025 special sessions remains under discussion.