Press Items: Senator Paul Bettencourt — District 7

AUSTIN, TX – As catastrophic flooding once again swept through the Texas Hill Country overnight and into Thursday morning, the outdoor warning sirens mandated under Senate Bill 3 – authored by Senate Local Government Chairman Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston) and sponsored in the House by Representative Terry Wilson (R-Georgetown) – sounded across Kerr County, alerting residents to move to higher ground. Senate Bill 3, which created a statewide flood warning siren system, was passed September 5, 2025 in response to the deadly July 4, 2025 flash floods that claimed 130 lives, including 27 campers and counselors from Camp Mystic.

“When you lose more than a hundred fellow Texans in a single night, you can either look away or recognize the obvious and fix the problem. We chose to fix it,” said Senator Bettencourt. Media outlets, the Texas Water Development Board, and Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring confirmed Thursday morning that the SB 3 flood sirens operated properly and effectively in warning residents of dangerous flash floods. Mayor Herring reported that the sirens, together with phone alerts, helped save lives in a community still recovering from last year’s storms. “The reality is you don’t have to evacuate the entire county; you just have to get people up the hill and out of harm’s way,” Chairman Bettencourt added.

“Signed into law on September 5, 2025, the siren warning system was implemented and put to the test less than a year after the deadly July 4 floods—and proved effective in delivering early warnings when they were needed most.” He concluded.

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