House Bill 121, also known as the “Flood Victims Memorial Plaques Act,” would install memorial plaques across each impacted Texas House district.
SAN ANTONIO — A new piece of proposed legislation filed by a Texas lawmaker aims to honor the lives lost in the tragic July Fourth floods that devastated the Hill Country, killing more than 100 in Kerr County alone and others in neighboring counties.
State Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins, a Democratic who represents House District 120 in east San Antonio and Bexar County, is behind the proposed bill.
House Bill 121, also known as the “Flood Victims Memorial Plaques Act,” would install memorial plaques across each impacted Texas House district. The plaques would serve as permanent reminders of the lives lost and the communities forever changed by the natural disaster.
If passed, the Texas Historical Commission would work with local governments, community leaders and property owners to determine appropriate locations for the plaques. The commission will also collaborate with the families of victims to help shape what the plaques would look like.
“Each memorial plaque must include an inscription with the dates of the 2025 Hill Country flood and may include the names and ages of victims and other details as the commission determines relevant,” the bill states.
As families continue to grieve and communities rebuild, the proposed plaques could soon stand as lasting tributes in neighborhoods still recovering from the flood’s devastation.
It remains to be seen, however, when the bill may considered in the ongoing special session, which is now at a stalemate after dozens of Texas House Democrats fled the state amid an ongoing feud over a Republican-backed congressional map pushed by President Donald Trump.
The current special session ends Aug. 19, and the future of any flood-related legislation – including bills looking to require flood plans for youth camps and campgrounds in Texas – remains murky while a quorum isn’t met in the Texas House.