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Family Tragedy Spurs Proposed Legislation, Debate That Would Have Over-Regulated Swim Schools in Texas
FAMILY TRAGEDY SPURS PROPOSED LEGISLATION,
DEBATE THAT WOULD HAVE OVER-REGULATED SWIM SCHOOLS IN TEXAS
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The legislative challenge in the 2021 Texas Legislature was absolutely daunting.
The family’s testimony before the House committee was emotional and gut wrenching.
A hush fell over the committee room, as April Chang openly wept while describing the incident that every parent fears: her 3-year-old son Mitchell had drowned and later died after he was found in a pool at a San Antonio swim school in 2018. The Changs had dropped off their children – not for swim lessons – but at a “parent’s night out” event at the facility.
Thus, the Mitchell Chang Swim School Safety Act (HB 3357) was introduced by State Rep. Brooks Landgraf (R-Odessa). The bill would have required commercial swim schools to apply for and become licensed to operate by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). And the agency would set license, application, and renewal fees in amounts necessary to cover the costs of administering the program, potentially increasing annual operating costs by tens of thousands of dollars for each swim school location across Texas.
BY SHANNON AND MIKE MERONEY
MERONEY PUBLIC AFFAIRS, LLC
Our lobbying firm – Meroney Public Affairs, LLC – was hired after HB 3357 was filed, but before the House Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee hearing described above. In anticipation of a committee hearing, we quickly got up to speed on the issue; contacted the bill author’s office; spoke to the attorneys working for the Changs; and began engaging in the complicated legislative process to either stop the bill or amend it to our satisfaction.
The bill author claimed the bill was “urgently needed to bring straightforward, common-sense regulatory scheme for commercial swim schools in Texas,” adding that “commercial swim schools are unregulated, but provide similar services to daycares, which are highly regulated by the state.” Even committee members stated they were surprised that no regulation existed.
The proponents of the bill cited alarming statistics claiming “Texas has the highest drowning rates in the country, and several incidents similar [to the Changs story] had been reported in the state.” And citing the Center for Disease Control (CDC) said “drowning is the second leading cause of accidental death among children age 1-4.”
We then helped prepare message points and strategy for USSSA President-elect and Austin-area swim school owner Tracy Koleber to use as she testified at the April 14th hearing.
In her testimony, Koleber said, “Mandatory licensure will be a financial burden on many smaller swim schools, which will result in many closing up shop and becoming even smaller, nonregulated swim lesson-givers which may actually create more danger than currently exists. It will also result in fewer affordable opportunities for parents to obtain help teaching their kids to swim. As a result, this bill may actually do more harm than good overall and that possibility should be carefully considered.”
It was also pointed out that the tragic incident for which the bill was named happened during a “parents’ night out” event – not structured swimming lessons. “The swim schools that would have been covered by the bill are devoted to lifesaving swim instruction and safety, and there are hundreds of informal and even casual operators that are unknown with no single way of identifying them,” she said.
Also, the proposed legislation would have required licenses required be issued by 1/1/22. Koleber pointed out that USSSA members already comply with voluminous state and local governance because pools are permitted by the health department, which collects annual fees and conducts unscheduled inspections. “It would be impossible to go through the entire rulemaking process with TDLR, educate all potential swim school operators about the new rules, and implement a new requirement for them to apply for and obtain a license that previously did not exist by 1/1/2022,” she said.
Finally, Koleber said “If the purpose is child safety around water, then all water, all types of water parties would and should be considered. Many situations with danger are completely missed by this bill. We implore you to have a longer and more thorough conversation with us about the best ways to prevent the situation that contributed to Mitchell Chang’s tragic death.”
Several comments and questions were raised by committee members that were sympathetic to USSSA’s position, including asking about lifeguard certification for all staff, including clerks and back-office personnel. We followed up with those members, many of which were rightly concerned with over-regulating an industry and causing unintended consequences.
We also argued that the bill would not have prevented the tragedy of the Chang family – limits or rules around recreational programs would have been a better solution. And we shared that USSSA has been engaging in a lengthy process for more than six months of creating a teacher certification program which we anticipate will be ready for launch in early October.
There was also a separate bill (SB 2120) in the Texas Senate that would have directed the state health agency to conduct a study about whether swim schools should be regulated. That bill also received a brief hearing but did not advance.
In the end, neither HB 3357 nor SB 2120 passed their committees, much less the full legislature. But we anticipate this issue is not dead, and will likely be revived during the next regular legislative session, which begins in January of 2023. And USSSA will be ready for the debate.
Shannon and Mike Meroney serve as a trusted advisors to clients, helping them influence legislation, regulations and perceptions through: 1) direct legislative and regulatory advocacy; 2) grassroots activation and coordination; 3) coalition building; 4) message development and written communications tools; and 5) news media relations management. Their expertise and network of relationships help clients achieve their public policy goals and business objectives by shaping decision-making in Texas.
Learn more about the legislative process and what you can be doing now at this year’s USSSA National Conference. In the session Swim School Licenser Legislation, we will be discussing recent proposed legislation activities and what swim school owners can be doing now to establish relationships and build credibility with legislators.
