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.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2025-03-04 - Referred to Human Services [HB734 Detail]

Download: Texas-2025-HB734-Introduced.html

---

89R4297 AMF-D
By: Leach H.B. No. 734

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
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.