Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3478 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R15164 AMF-F
2	2	By: Lowe H.B. No. 3478
3	3
4	4
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the definitions of child abuse and neglect and the
10	10	temporary emergency jurisdiction of a court in this state over a
11	11	child at risk of receiving certain prohibited gender transitioning
12	12	or gender reassignment procedures or treatments.
13	13	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	14	SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the Save James Act.
15	15	SECTION 2. Section 152.204(a), Family Code, is amended to
16	16	read as follows:
17	17	(a) A court of this state has temporary emergency
18	18	jurisdiction if:
19	19	(1) the child is present in this state and the child
20	20	has been abandoned or it is necessary in an emergency to protect the
21	21	child because the child, or a sibling or parent of the child, is
22	22	subjected to or threatened with mistreatment or abuse; or
23	23	(2) the child has a parent or person acting as a parent
24	24	who is present in this state and it is necessary to protect the
25	25	child from receiving a treatment or procedure prohibited under
26	26	Section 161.702, Health and Safety Code.
27	27	SECTION 3. Section 261.001, Family Code, is amended by
28	28	amending Subdivisions (1) and (4) and adding Subdivision (1-a) to
29	29	read as follows:
30	30	(1) "Abuse" includes the following acts or omissions
31	31	by a person:
32	32	(A) mental or emotional injury to a child that
33	33	results in an observable and material impairment in the child's
34	34	growth, development, or psychological functioning;
35	35	(B) causing or permitting the child to be in a
36	36	situation in which the child sustains a mental or emotional injury
37	37	that results in an observable and material impairment in the
38	38	child's growth, development, or psychological functioning;
39	39	(C) physical injury that results in substantial
40	40	harm to the child, or the genuine threat of substantial harm from
41	41	physical injury to the child, including an injury that is at
42	42	variance with the history or explanation given and excluding an
43	43	accident or reasonable discipline by a parent, guardian, or
44	44	managing or possessory conservator that does not expose the child
45	45	to a substantial risk of harm;
46	46	(D) failure to make a reasonable effort to
47	47	prevent an action by another person that results in physical injury
48	48	that results in substantial harm to the child;
49	49	(E) sexual conduct harmful to a child's mental,
50	50	emotional, or physical welfare, including conduct that constitutes
51	51	the offense of continuous sexual abuse of young child or disabled
52	52	individual under Section 21.02, Penal Code, indecency with a child
53	53	under Section 21.11, Penal Code, sexual assault under Section
54	54	22.011, Penal Code, or aggravated sexual assault under Section
55	55	22.021, Penal Code;
56	56	(F) failure to make a reasonable effort to
57	57	prevent sexual conduct harmful to a child;
58	58	(G) compelling or encouraging the child to engage
59	59	in sexual conduct as defined by Section 43.01, Penal Code,
60	60	including compelling or encouraging the child in a manner that
61	61	constitutes an offense of trafficking of persons under Section
62	62	20A.02(a)(7) or (8), Penal Code, solicitation of prostitution under
63	63	Section 43.021, Penal Code, or compelling prostitution under
64	64	Section 43.05(a)(2), Penal Code;
65	65	(H) causing, permitting, encouraging, engaging
66	66	in, or allowing the photographing, filming, or depicting of the
67	67	child if the person knew or should have known that the resulting
68	68	photograph, film, or depiction of the child is obscene as defined by
69	69	Section 43.21, Penal Code, or pornographic;
70	70	(I) the current use by a person of a controlled
71	71	substance as defined by Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, in a
72	72	manner or to the extent that the use results in physical, mental, or
73	73	emotional injury to a child;
74	74	(J) causing, expressly permitting, or
75	75	encouraging a child to use a controlled substance as defined by
76	76	Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code;
77	77	(K) causing, permitting, encouraging, engaging
78	78	in, or allowing a sexual performance by a child as defined by
79	79	Section 43.25, Penal Code;
80	80	(L) knowingly causing, permitting, encouraging,
81	81	engaging in, or allowing a child to be trafficked in a manner
82	82	punishable as an offense under Section 20A.02(a)(5), (6), (7), or
83	83	(8), Penal Code, or the failure to make a reasonable effort to
84	84	prevent a child from being trafficked in a manner punishable as an
85	85	offense under any of those sections; [or]
86	86	(M) forcing or coercing a child to enter into a
87	87	marriage; or
88	88	(N) causing, permitting, encouraging, engaging
89	89	in, or allowing:
90	90	(i) a medical intervention intended to
91	91	affirm a child's perception of the child's gender if that perception
92	92	is inconsistent with the child's biological sex, including a
93	93	treatment or procedure prohibited under Section 161.702, Health and
94	94	Safety Code; or
95	95	(ii) a psychological or social intervention
96	96	intended to affirm a child's perception of the child's gender if
97	97	that perception is inconsistent with the child's biological sex and
98	98	is:
99	99	(a) severe or pervasive enough to
100	100	cause harm to the child's perception of the child's gender or
101	101	identity; or
102	102	(b) an intervention by an adult
103	103	authority figure in the child's life.
104	104	(1-a) "Abuse" does not include the refusal by a person
105	105	responsible for a child's care, custody, or welfare to affirm:
106	106	(A) a child's perception of the child's gender if
107	107	that perception is inconsistent with the child's biological sex,
108	108	including a refusal to use a child's preferred name or pronouns if
109	109	the name or pronouns are inconsistent with the child's biological
110	110	sex, regardless of whether the child's name has been legally
111	111	changed; or
112	112	(B) a child's expressed sexual orientation.
113	113	(4) "Neglect" means an act or failure to act by a
114	114	person responsible for a child's care, custody, or welfare
115	115	evidencing the person's blatant disregard for the consequences of
116	116	the act or failure to act that results in harm to the child or that
117	117	creates an immediate danger to the child's physical health or
118	118	safety and:
119	119	(A) includes:
120	120	(i) the leaving of a child in a situation
121	121	where the child would be exposed to an immediate danger of physical
122	122	or mental harm, without arranging for necessary care for the child,
123	123	and the demonstration of an intent not to return by a parent,
124	124	guardian, or managing or possessory conservator of the child;
125	125	(ii) the following acts or omissions by a
126	126	person:
127	127	(a) placing a child in or failing to
128	128	remove a child from a situation that a reasonable person would
129	129	realize requires judgment or actions beyond the child's level of
130	130	maturity, physical condition, or mental abilities and that results
131	131	in bodily injury or an immediate danger of harm to the child;
132	132	(b) failing to seek, obtain, or follow
133	133	through with medical care for a child, with the failure resulting in
134	134	or presenting an immediate danger of death, disfigurement, or
135	135	bodily injury or with the failure resulting in an observable and
136	136	material impairment to the growth, development, or functioning of
137	137	the child;
138	138	(c) the failure to provide a child
139	139	with food, clothing, or shelter necessary to sustain the life or
140	140	health of the child, excluding failure caused primarily by
141	141	financial inability unless relief services had been offered and
142	142	refused;
143	143	(d) placing a child in or failing to
144	144	remove the child from a situation in which the child would be
145	145	exposed to an immediate danger of sexual conduct harmful to the
146	146	child; or
147	147	(e) placing a child in or failing to
148	148	remove the child from a situation in which the child would be
149	149	exposed to acts or omissions that constitute abuse under
150	150	Subdivision (1)(E), (F), (G), (H), or (K) committed against another
151	151	child;
152	152	(iii) the failure by the person responsible
153	153	for a child's care, custody, or welfare to permit the child to
154	154	return to the child's home without arranging for the necessary care
155	155	for the child after the child has been absent from the home for any
156	156	reason, including having been in residential placement or having
157	157	run away; or
158	158	(iv) a negligent act or omission by an
159	159	employee, volunteer, or other individual working under the auspices
160	160	of a facility or program, including failure to comply with an
161	161	individual treatment plan, plan of care, or individualized service
162	162	plan, that causes or may cause substantial emotional harm or
163	163	physical injury to, or the death of, a child served by the facility
164	164	or program as further described by rule or policy; and
165	165	(B) does not include:
166	166	(i) the refusal by a person responsible for
167	167	a child's care, custody, or welfare to permit the child to remain in
168	168	or return to the child's home resulting in the placement of the
169	169	child in the conservatorship of the department if:
170	170	(a) the child has a severe emotional
171	171	disturbance;
172	172	(b) the person's refusal is based
173	173	solely on the person's inability to obtain mental health services
174	174	necessary to protect the safety and well-being of the child; and
175	175	(c) the person has exhausted all
176	176	reasonable means available to the person to obtain the mental
177	177	health services described by Sub-subparagraph (b);
178	178	(ii) allowing the child to engage in
179	179	independent activities that are appropriate and typical for the
180	180	child's level of maturity, physical condition, developmental
181	181	abilities, or culture; [or]
182	182	(iii) a decision by a person responsible
183	183	for a child's care, custody, or welfare to:
184	184	(a) obtain an opinion from more than
185	185	one medical provider relating to the child's medical care;
186	186	(b) transfer the child's medical care
187	187	to a new medical provider; or
188	188	(c) transfer the child to another
189	189	health care facility; or
190	190	(iv) the refusal by a person responsible
191	191	for a child's care, custody, or welfare to affirm:
192	192	(a) a child's perception of the
193	193	child's gender if that perception is inconsistent with the child's
194	194	biological sex, including a refusal to use a child's preferred name
195	195	or pronouns if the name or pronouns are inconsistent with the
196	196	child's biological sex, regardless of whether the child's name has
197	197	been legally changed; or
198	198	(b) a child's expressed sexual
199	199	orientation.
200	200	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.