89R6954 KRM-F
By: Jones of Harris H.B. No. 4492
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the failure to pay child support by certain biological
fathers; creating a criminal offense.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 157, Family Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter L to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER L. CRIMINAL OFFENSE OF FAILURE TO PAY CHILD SUPPORT
Sec. 157.601. APPLICABILITY. This subchapter applies only
to a biological father who fails to pay child support for a child
born to a mother who during the pregnancy was unable to access or
receive abortion services.
Sec. 157.602. CRIMINAL OFFENSE: FAILURE TO PAY CHILD
SUPPORT. (a) A biological father described by Section 157.601
commits an offense if the father accrues child support arrearages
for a period of six months or longer.
(b) An offense under Subsection (a) is a Class B misdemeanor
with a term of confinement of not less than 180 days, except that:
(1) the offense is a Class A misdemeanor with a term of
confinement of not less than one year if the father has been
previously convicted one time of an offense under Subsection (a);
and
(2) the offense is a state jail felony if the father
has been previously convicted two or more times of an offense under
Subsection (a).
(c) If a father is convicted of an offense under this
section punishable as a Class B misdemeanor, the court may sentence
the defendant to a term of confinement of less than 180 days if the
defendant consents to undergo a voluntary vasectomy.
(d) If a father is convicted of an offense under this
section punishable as a Class A misdemeanor, the court may sentence
the defendant to a term of confinement of less than one year if the
defendant has not previously undergone a voluntary vasectomy under
Subsection (c) and consents to undergo a voluntary vasectomy.
(e) If conduct constituting an offense under Subsection (b)
also constitutes an offense under Section 25.05, Penal Code, or
another provision of law, the defendant may be prosecuted under
either or both laws.
Sec. 157.603. AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE. It is an affirmative
defense to prosecution under Section 157.602 that the biological
father supported the mother's efforts to access and receive
abortion services during the pregnancy.
SECTION 2. Subchapter L, Chapter 157, Family Code, as added
by this Act, applies only to child support arrearages that accrue on
or after the effective date of this Act. Child support arrearages
that accrue before the effective date of this Act are governed by
the law in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.