Transcript Highlights:

• something off the shelf, knowing what's in it may give you pause to say, "Hmm, do I want to feed my child
• If there is no compliance, there will be no meal for that child who is getting guaranteed that one meal
• There will not be a meal for that child.
• This question keeps me... up at night, and it should concern every parent and grandparent in our state
• Parents are not asking for special treatment; we are asking for the same protection.

Bills: SB 25, SB25, SB314

Keywords: attorney ad litem, indigent parents, parent-child relationship, legal representation, Texas Family Code, court procedures, nutrition, health standards, food labeling, education, dietary guidelines, medical education, food safety, school meals, child nutrition, food additives, public health, 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• When my son was little, I saw parents everywhere giving their kids extremely toxic food, thinking ...
• Most parents, even if they're well educated and can afford the highest quality food, believe that if
• In order to better educate parents, I became a health and wellness coach, but it shouldn't be this hard
• I certainly, if I had to choose, would not choose them for my own child.
• We’re educating the parents and the children on how to read the labels and what these things are doing

Bills: SB 25, SB25, SB314

Keywords: attorney ad litem, indigent parents, parent-child relationship, legal representation, Texas Family Code, court procedures, nutrition, health standards, food labeling, education, dietary guidelines, medical education, food safety, school meals, child nutrition, food additives, public health, 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The child must consent before a parent can continue to have access to their records.
• But there may be a reason why maybe the child doesn't want their parent... to know, like if they have
• That provides necessary context and information for the parent to support their child appropriately.
• Bad picture of a child or even a parent.
• Suits impacting the parent-child relationship can be closed and reopened multiple times until the youngest

Bills: HB368, HB3311, HB1734, HB2495, HB2716, HB793, HB3376, HB2524, HB3421, HB3446, HB3181

Keywords: electronic devices, family violence, criminal prosecution, protective orders, tracking, harassment, family allowance, decedent's estate, surviving spouse, minor children, inheritance, child support, maintenance, HB 1734, Family Code, Section 155.207, suit affecting the parent-child relationship, SAPCR, continuing exclusive jurisdiction, jurisdiction transfer

Transcript Highlights:

• For a young child, losing a parent is probably the most difficult experience they can face.
• debts and lien collections to receive any unpaid child support or other benefits from their parents'
• If the deceased parent was their sole source of financial support, the child may have no other means
• Because if he had a prior child, a prior child that he was paying child support for, you could force
• The total child support that would have been due to the child, so the child reached 18 or something,

Bills: HB368, HB3311, HB1734, HB2495, HB2716, HB793, HB3376, HB2524, HB3421, HB3446, HB3181

Keywords: electronic devices, family violence, criminal prosecution, protective orders, tracking, harassment, family allowance, decedent's estate, surviving spouse, minor children, inheritance, child support, maintenance, HB 1734, Family Code, Section 155.207, suit affecting the parent-child relationship, SAPCR, continuing exclusive jurisdiction, jurisdiction transfer

Transcript Highlights:

• It relates to the transfer of court files in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship in which
• modify the existing framework for individuals who have legal standing to file suits affecting the parent-child
• the best interests of the child.
• It doesn't build family relationships.
• They often are at a financial disadvantage, so I urge you— you may have two fit parents, but one parent

Bills: SB1538, SB2883, HB1734, HB2340, HB2350, HB3376

Keywords: digital court reporting, court reporting, court reporter, electronic recording, audio recording, video recording, transcription, verbatim record, judicial administration, Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial System, courts, depositions, grand jury, referee, court commissioner, court technology, courtroom technology, access to justice, accuracy

Bills: SB94

Keywords: adoption, adoptive parent, adoptee, minor adoption, adult adoption, Alabama Minor Adoption Code, Alabama Adult Adoption Code, Department of Human Resources, DHR, county department of human resources, putative father registry, paternity, consent, relinquishment, implied consent, notice of adoption, contested adoption, home study, pre-placement investigation, post-placement investigation

Transcript Highlights:

• fit and is not acting in the best interest of the child in order for a non-parent to be able to not
• and children in their relationship earlier in session, which enshrines the fundamental rights of parents
• presumes that parents will make the best decision for their child without the need for a court to come
• And the attorneys, I mean, the parents are appointed attorneys. The child has an attorney ad litem.
• child protection cases is critical in ensuring that parents and children have access to high-quality

Bills: SB387, SB1650, SB1838, SB1839, SB1923, SB1940, SB2052

Keywords: judicial bond, guardianship, probate law, county judge, statutory county court, attorney general, criminal prosecution, public order, law enforcement, jurisdiction, attorney ad litem, parent-child relationship, compensation, legal representation, government entity, probate, court proceedings, record delivery, wills, legal documentation

Summary: The Senate Committee on Jurisprudence heard several family-law and probate bills. Senate Bill 2052 would codify a rebuttable presumption that a parent acts in the best interest of a child and require clear and convincing evidence to overcome that presumption in disputes involving non-parents; the author and several witnesses supported the bill as a clarification of existing case law, while one witness suggested refining the modification language. Public testimony was closed and the bill was left pending. The committee also heard Senate Bill 1923, which would allow child support to follow a child placed temporarily with kin or fictive kin under a parental child safety placement or authorization agreement; the bill’s author and a grandparent caregiver testified in support, while one witness suggested the Attorney General could handle the change administratively. That bill was also left pending. Senate Bill 1838 would standardize fee schedules and compensation rules for attorneys ad litem and related court-appointed counsel in DFPS child-protection cases. The author said the bill would clarify unclear current law, and witnesses from the Texas Indigent Defense Commission and family-defense bar supported it, though one asked that expert-witness expenses be expressly included. Senate Bill 387 would raise the bond requirement for county judges handling guardianship proceedings to at least $500,000; the author described it as a refiling of a prior bill that passed unanimously but was vetoed, and a statutory probate judge testified in support. Senate Bill 1839 would require original or paper wills to be delivered to the transferee court when probate proceedings are transferred; the committee substitute broadened the delivery methods, and the district clerk witness supported the change. All three bills were left pending. The committee also took up Senate Bill 1536, which had previously been voted out with the wrong committee substitute; members reconsidered the vote, adopted the corrected substitute, and then voted 3-0 to report the bill favorably to the full Senate, with local and contested calendar certification. Finally, Senate Bill 1940 would create a transfer-on-death mechanism for manufactured homes classified as personal property, similar to existing tools for real property and vehicles; the author and an estate-planning attorney testified that it would streamline transfers and reduce probate costs. A non-substantive committee substitute was still being prepared, and the bill was left pending.

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, my name is Angela Hall and I'm here today not just as a concerned citizen, but as a parent and a
• Students, parents, educators, and our community are left reeling, unsure of what lies ahead.
• We are here today not just for Keller ISD, but for every student, teacher, and parent across Texas.
• Parents wonder how a split could impact their child's education, their property taxes, and their home
• The enormous numbers of unknowns has created concerns for parents, students, and teachers.

Bills: HB4, HB54, SB 10, SB 24

Keywords: district composition, congressional election, Texas, legislature, voting districts, citizenship, U.S. citizen, non-citizen, public office, advisory board, task force, state government, local government, political subdivision, commission board, appointment eligibility, officeholder qualifications, public service, naturalization, Texas Government Code

Transcript Highlights:

• fit and is not acting in the right way. the best interest of the child in order for a non-parent to
• a parent and a... a non-parent arguing about what is in the best interest of a child.
• that parents will make the best decision for their child without the need for. a court to come in and
• family code becomes subject to a parental child safety placement.
• . child relationship filed by a governmental entity.

Bills: SB387, SB1650, SB1838, SB1839, SB1923, SB1940, SB2052

Keywords: judicial bond, guardianship, probate law, county judge, statutory county court, attorney general, criminal prosecution, public order, law enforcement, jurisdiction, attorney ad litem, parent-child relationship, compensation, legal representation, government entity, probate, court proceedings, record delivery, wills, legal documentation

Transcript Highlights:

• When non-custodial parents see those interest rates drop, they actually pay more in child support.
• parents pay more child support.
• for appointment as attorney ad litem for the parent in certain suits affecting the parent-child relationship
• Chairman, Senate Bill 2501 would allow indigent parents in child welfare cases filed by the Department
• Every member of that family, the child and the parents, deserve high-quality legal counsel.

Bills: SB629, SB1015, SB2501, SB2933

Keywords: child support, interest accrual, family law, delinquency, financial judgment, statutory probate courts, probate court fees, judicial fund, county reimbursement, comptroller, Texas Government Code, Local Government Code, court fees, fee allocation, excess contributions, judicial education and support fund, presiding judge salary, county finance, court administration, Texas judiciary

Transcript Highlights:

• It's about the involuntary termination of the parent-child relationship.
• Terminating the legal relationship between a parent and their child is one of the most severe actions
• It says you have to have the child for six months, unless you're a foster parent, in which case it's
• And the child is not going to have the same relationship, because they've been kind of tied up, talked
• But what people don't understand is that these non-parents can't be made to pay child support, and they

Bills: HB809, HB 1193, HB1916, HB2558, HB1973, HB2350, HB2399, HB2340, HB 116, HB330, HB2496, HB116

Keywords: digitized signature, waiver of citation, marriage dissolution, electronic notarization, family law, HB 1193, informal marriage, common-law marriage, declaration of informal marriage, confidentiality, privacy, county clerk, vital statistics unit, Family Code, Health and Safety Code, marriage records, public records, personally identifying information, PII, legal representative

Transcript Highlights:

• There are instances where a parent will be entitled to and will collect child support, yet do not have
• I'd like to note that parent-child safety placements were removed from the bill on the Senate floor.
• that. parent-child support relationship.
• Any one of these have the potential of harming the parent-child relationship, which in turn harms the
• shall all always be the consideration of the court in the suit affecting the parent-child relationship

Bills: SB387, SB1335, HB1671, SB1760, SB1839, SB1923, HB1928, HB4942, HB5628, HB5642, HB1980

Keywords: judicial bond, guardianship, probate law, county judge, statutory county court, estates, inheritance, representative duties, court authority, personal representative, retroactive child support, parentage, genetic testing, family code, child's conception, incapacitated persons, court proceedings, guardianship fees, estate management, probate

Transcript Highlights:

• This bill is about the proof of the identity of a child's parents in a suit affecting the parent-child
• relationship.
• This bill is about the proof of the identity of a child's parents in a suit affecting the parent-child
• It's about special appointments and suits affecting the parent-child relationship. Johnson Hughes.
• It's about special appointments and suits affecting the parent-child relationship.

Bills: HB40, HB1916, HB1973, HB2524, HB2530, HB3180, HB3421, HB3783, HB4170, HB4213

Keywords: business court, civil procedure, litigation, jurisdiction, arbitration, divorce, property division, family law, court jurisdiction, marital assets, parent-child relationship, birth certificate, identity proof, Family Code, court process, attorney fees, court costs, legal expenses, dispute resolution, child support

Summary: The committee considered several House bills dealing with family law and civil procedure. House Bill 1916, concerning a court’s jurisdiction in suits to divide property not divided on dissolution of marriage, was reported favorably on a 4-0 vote and recommended for the local and uncontested calendar. House Bill 1973, addressing proof of the identity of a child’s parents in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship, was also adopted with a committee substitute, reported favorably 4-0, and sent to the local and uncontested calendar. House Bill 2524, on recovery of fees, court costs, and expenses in family law proceedings, and House Bill 2530, on special appointments in suits affecting the parent-child relationship, each received favorable 4-0 votes and were likewise recommended for the local and uncontested calendar. The committee then took up House Bill 3180, which was reported favorably 4-0 and recommended for the local and uncontested calendar. The most detailed discussion centered on House Bill 40, relating to updates to business courts. Senator Hughes explained a committee amendment that made conforming changes requested by the Finance Committee and removed language creating two new judgeships, replacing it with a different judge allocation. The amendment was adopted, the amended committee substitute was adopted, and the bill was reported favorably on a 4-0 vote and sent to the local and uncontested calendar. At the end of the meeting, members briefly clarified procedural details about the House Bill 40 amendment and then closed out the agenda. The committee also noted a correction to an earlier reference to Bartleby the Scrivener, and the Chair recessed the Committee on Jurisprudence subject to the call of the chair.

Transcript Highlights:

• It relates to proof of the identity of a child's parents in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship
• In a suit affecting the parent-child relationship, there's a possession order that has to do with the
• child spending time with each parent.
• No child should ever be forced to choose between safety and a relationship with a parent, and no child
• abuse and in the V codes of child affected by parental relationship distress.

Bills: HB40, HB1916, HB1973, HB2524, HB2530, HB3180, HB3421, HB3783, HB4170, HB4213

Keywords: business court, civil procedure, litigation, jurisdiction, arbitration, divorce, property division, family law, court jurisdiction, marital assets, parent-child relationship, birth certificate, identity proof, Family Code, court process, attorney fees, court costs, legal expenses, dispute resolution, child support

Summary: The committee heard several House bills, most of them relating to family law and court procedure, and left each bill pending after testimony. House Bill 1916 would clarify that the court that issued a final divorce decree retains exclusive jurisdiction over later actions involving undivided property. House Bill 1973 would require a certified birth certificate, if reasonably available, to be filed with a SAPCR petition or allow alternative proof of parentage while keeping the information confidential. House Bill 2530 would add qualifications and procedural safeguards for appointing amicus attorneys in SAPCR cases, including notice and hearing requirements, minimum qualifications, conflict rules, and limits on what amicus attorneys may do. House Bill 2524 would make Family Code references to attorney’s fees consistent by using “reasonable and necessary” language. House Bill 3180 would correct a scrivener’s error in the civil discovery rules by changing “settlement” to “statement.” The committee also heard House Bill 4213, which would change the interest rate on overdue child support from the current 6 percent simple interest to a fixed 5 percent and require the Attorney General to report on the impact of the change. Testimony was sharply divided: supporters argued lower interest could improve collections and help low-income obligors catch up, citing research and the size of child-support arrearages; opponents said lowering the rate would reduce incentives to pay and harm custodial parents and children. The Attorney General’s office raised implementation concerns about a House version that would have created a variable rate, while the committee substitute was described as restoring a simple fixed rate. After testimony, the bill was left pending. The committee also discussed House Bill 40, updating business court provisions and supplemental jurisdiction; House Bill 3421, streamlining probate procedures for original wills and copies; and House Bill 417, clarifying venue for lawsuits involving private transfer fees on real property. Each drew limited testimony and was left pending. Finally, House Bill 3783 drew extensive testimony on court-ordered counseling and reunification therapy in family cases. The sponsor and supporters said the bill would protect children and abuse victims from coercive, unregulated reunification practices, while opponents argued it was too broad, could interfere with legitimate therapy and judicial discretion, and might affect military families and other high-conflict cases. The committee heard testimony from judges, therapists, parents, survivors, and advocates, but took no final action and left the bill pending.

Transcript Highlights:

• So then the court... that has the suit affecting the parent-child relationship can modify the terms of
• Fundamentally, it safeguards the relationship between a parent and their child against unnecessary and
• And then we would add, and there is a likelihood that the continuation of the parent-child relationship
• And there is a likelihood that the continuation of the parent-child relationship will result in physical
• And there is a likelihood that the continuation of the parent-child relationship will result in physical

Bills: HCR 16, HB 782, HB 2159, HB 2288, HB 3281, HB 3819, HB 4656, HB 4696, HB 5494

Keywords: fatherhood, family support, fatherlessness, community engagement, youth development, social policy, male role models, child development, policy reform, role models, mental health, parenting, single-parent homes, welfare reform, economic opportunity, mentorship, community initiatives, children, welfare programs, education

Transcript Highlights:

• This bill is about the proof of the identity of a child's parents in a suit affecting the parent-child
• relationship. { Senator Johnson moves that we adopt the committee substitute.
• the Senate, Dean Zaffirini, House Bill 2530 is about special appointments in suits affecting the parents

Bills: HB40, HB40, HB1916, HB1973, HB2524, HB2530, HB3180, HB3421, HB3783, HB4170, HB4213

Keywords: law enforcement, sheriffs, constables, contracts, county authority, business court, civil procedure, litigation, jurisdiction, arbitration, divorce, property division, family law, court jurisdiction, marital assets, parent-child relationship, birth certificate, identity proof, Family Code, court process

Transcript Highlights:

• Proof of the identity of a child's parents in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship.
• No child should ever be forced to choose between safety and a relationship with a parent, and no child
• In a suit affecting the parent-child relationship, there's a possession order that has to do with the
• No child should ever be forced to choose between safety and a relationship with a parent, and no child
• It addresses the relationship between a child and a parent who have been separated from one another for

Bills: HB40, HB1916, HB1973, HB2524, HB2530, HB3180, HB3421, HB3783, HB4170, HB4213, HB40

Keywords: business court, civil procedure, litigation, jurisdiction, arbitration, divorce, property division, family law, court jurisdiction, marital assets, parent-child relationship, birth certificate, identity proof, Family Code, court process, attorney fees, court costs, legal expenses, dispute resolution, child support

Bills: SB 128, SB 640, SB 672, SB 904, SB 1141, SB 1263, SB 1525, SB 1528, SB 2041, SB 2306, SB 2308, SB 2357, SB 2446, SB 2695, SB 2857, SB 2891, SB 2583

Keywords: hospital reporting, child abuse, neglect, administrative penalty, medical ethics, child protection, hearing instruments, licensing, continuing education, patient protection, medical evaluations, parent-child relationship, Department of Family and Protective Services, adversary hearing, protected rights, legal custody, prescription drugs, prior authorization, neurodegenerative diseases, health benefits

Bills: SB 128, SB 640, SB 672, SB 904, SB 1141, SB 1263, SB 1525, SB 1528, SB 2041, SB 2306, SB 2308, SB 2357, SB 2446, SB 2695, SB 2857, SB 2891, SB 2583

Keywords: hospital reporting, child abuse, neglect, administrative penalty, medical ethics, child protection, hearing instruments, licensing, continuing education, patient protection, medical evaluations, parent-child relationship, Department of Family and Protective Services, adversary hearing, protected rights, legal custody, prescription drugs, prior authorization, neurodegenerative diseases, health benefits

Transcript Highlights:

• In the bill, the family partners are the private child placing agencies under contract with DHS.
• Would you believe that as a former foster parent and recruiter of foster families that throughout the
• It does say if foster parents Are going to place with these, they have to notify the department that
• The state becomes the parent of these children.
• Senate Bill 1558 clarifies a definition of a child for specific purposes of licensing Level E group homes

Bills: SB1558, SB1983, SB1796, SB1806, SB1426, SB633

Keywords: child care, licensing, definitions, foster care, child welfare, SB1983, resource family partner, resource family partners, Department of Human Services, DHS, foster homes, foster children, placement data, data sharing, de-identified data, aggregated data, sibling groups, placement disruptions, foster parent recruitment, foster parent retention