Texas safety

The new Texas Senate Bill 546 requires three-point seat belts on school buses by September 2029. But in less than two months, every Texas school board must report - to the Texas Education Agency - costs needed to comply with the law. For some districts, it could be in the millions.

During a Friday state hearing, parents of July 4 flood victims said camps should prioritize the safety even if costs are high.

The case was identified in Sabinas Hidalgo in the Mexican border state of Nuevo León, less than 70 miles from the Texas-Mexico border.

HB 256 would prevent camps from correcting violations on the spot to avoid state penalties and reduce the number of camps serving on a state panel to a maximum of two.

Texas cities and counties have already had their budgets compressed by a variety of factors, including the state's current property tax limits.

Amid increasingly intense weather, the Chemical Safety Board is the lone independent agency watching over the Gulf Coast's petrochemical corridor.

A new county has joined the outbreak list this week. The Department of State Health Services confirmed four outbreak-linked cases in Fannin County. Fannin is next door to Lamar County, where the state confirmed five new measles cases this week.

Residents say Kerr County's use of CodeRED alerts was sporadic and inconsistent. Local officials have not answered questions about when and how they utilized the system, which has been in place since 2009.

The very qualities that draw people to the beautiful Texas Hill Country — rolling terrain, limestone formations and lazy rivers — also make the area deadly during heavy rainstorms.

Disaster relief organizations, including the Red Cross and Salvation Army, have deployed to the Texas Hill Country to help those affected.