Bill Text: TX HB734 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the failure to report child abuse or neglect; increasing a criminal penalty.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-11-12 - Filed [HB734 Detail]
Download: Texas-2025-HB734-Introduced.html
| 89R4297 AMF-D | ||
| By: Leach | H.B. No. 734 | |
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| relating to the failure to report child abuse or neglect; | ||
| increasing a criminal penalty. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Section 261.109(c), Family Code, is amended to | ||
| read as follows: | ||
| (c) An offense under Subsection (a-1) is a Class A | ||
| misdemeanor, except that the offense is a state jail felony if it is | ||
| shown on the trial of the offense that: | ||
| (1) the actor intended to conceal the abuse or | ||
| neglect; or | ||
| (2) the conduct the actor failed to report: | ||
| (A) constitutes the offense of: | ||
| (i) continuous sexual abuse of young child | ||
| under Section 21.02, Penal Code; | ||
| (ii) indecency with a child under Section | ||
| 21.11, Penal Code; | ||
| (iii) sexual assault under Section 22.011, | ||
| Penal Code; | ||
| (iv) aggravated sexual assault under | ||
| Section 22.021, Penal Code; | ||
| (v) trafficking of persons under Section | ||
| 20A.02(a)(7) or (8), Penal Code; | ||
| (vi) solicitation of prostitution under | ||
| Section 43.021, Penal Code; or | ||
| (vii) compelling prostitution under | ||
| Section 43.05(a)(2), Penal Code; | ||
| (B) is compelling or encouraging the child to | ||
| engage in sexual conduct as defined by Section 43.01, Penal Code; | ||
| (C) is causing, permitting, encouraging, | ||
| engaging in, or allowing the photographing, filming, or depicting | ||
| of the child if the person knew or should have known that the | ||
| resulting photograph, film, or depiction of the child is obscene as | ||
| defined by Section 43.21, Penal Code, or pornographic; or | ||
| (D) is causing, permitting, encouraging, | ||
| engaging in, or allowing a sexual performance by a child as defined | ||
| by Section 43.25, Penal Code. | ||
| SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to | ||
| an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An | ||
| offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed | ||
| by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and that | ||
| law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this | ||
| section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this | ||
| Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date. | ||
| SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. | ||
