Texas Lawmakers Back Effort To Lift Camp Fiber Requirement

WASHINGTON, May 7, 2026 — Top Texas lawmakers backed efforts Tuesday to lift a state requirement forcing youth camps to install fiber internet service.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, R-Texas, and Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, said they supported removing a requirement that camps maintain “end-to-end fiber optic facilities” in order to operate this summer after camps argued the mandate could cost millions of dollars and threaten summer operations.

“We also recognize that there may be means other than fiber to provide reliable, redundant internet access, which would satisfy the purpose and spirit of the law,” Patrick and Burrows said in a joint statement.