89R10136 AMF-D
	By: Middleton	S.B. No. 1971

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to admissibility and disclosure of certain evidence in a
	suit concerning a child alleged to have been abused or neglected or
	to be at risk of abuse or neglect filed by a governmental entity.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Chapter 104, Family Code, is amended by
	designating Sections 104.001 through 104.008 as Subchapter A and
	adding a subchapter heading to read as follows:
	SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
	SECTION 2.  Chapter 104, Family Code, is amended by adding
	Subchapter B to read as follows:
	SUBCHAPTER B. CERTAIN SUITS FILED BY A GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY
	Sec. 104.101.  STATEMENT BY INDIVIDUAL UNDERGOING SUBSTANCE
	USE DISORDER TREATMENT OR EVALUATION. In a suit filed by a
	governmental entity concerning a child who is alleged in the suit to
	have been abused or neglected or to be at risk of abuse or neglect, a
	statement made by an individual undergoing voluntary or
	court-ordered treatment for a substance use disorder, or undergoing
	an evaluation for admission to treatment for a substance use
	disorder, is not admissible in any judicial proceeding for use
	against the individual if the statement was made to any person
	involved in the individual's treatment or evaluation.
	Sec. 104.102.  STATEMENT BY INDIVIDUAL UNDERGOING MENTAL
	HEALTH TREATMENT OR EVALUATION. In a suit filed by a governmental
	entity concerning a child who is alleged in the suit to have been
	abused or neglected or to be at risk of abuse or neglect, a
	statement made by an individual undergoing voluntary or
	court-ordered therapeutic treatment for a mental illness, or
	undergoing a psychological, psychosocial, or psychiatric
	evaluation for that treatment, is not admissible for use against
	the individual in any judicial proceeding if the statement was made
	to any person involved in the individual's treatment or evaluation.
	Sec. 104.103.  STATEMENT BY PERSON REQUIRED TO REPORT ABUSE
	OR NEGLECT OF CHILD. In a suit filed by a governmental entity
	concerning a child who is alleged in the suit to have been abused or
	neglected or to be at risk of abuse or neglect, an out-of-court
	statement regarding any alleged abuse or neglect made to an entity
	described by Section 261.103 under Subchapter B, Chapter 261, is
	not admissible into evidence at any judicial proceeding unless the
	statement can be independently corroborated by other evidence.
	Sec. 104.104.  STATEMENT OR TESTIMONY OF ALLEGED PERPETRATOR
	OF ABUSE OR NEGLECT. In a suit filed by a governmental entity
	concerning a child who is alleged in the suit to have been abused or
	neglected or to be at risk of abuse or neglect, the alleged
	perpetrator of any abuse or neglect may not be compelled to make a
	statement during an investigation under Chapter 261 or to testify
	at any judicial proceeding. Neither the court nor the counsel may
	comment on the alleged perpetrator's refusal to make a statement or
	to testify, and the trier of fact may not draw any adverse inference
	from the alleged perpetrator's refusal to make a statement or to
	testify.
	SECTION 3.  Chapter 301, Family Code, is amended by adding
	Subchapter D, and a heading is added to that subchapter to read as
	follows:
	SUBCHAPTER D. DISCLOSURES IN SUIT FILED BY A GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY
	SECTION 4.  Section 262.014, Family Code, is transferred to
	Subchapter D, Chapter 301, Family Code, as added by this Act,
	redesignated as Section 301.151, Family Code, and amended to read
	as follows:
	Sec. 301.151 [262.014].  DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN EVIDENCE IN
	CERTAIN SUITS. (a) In [On the request of the attorney for a parent
	who is a party in] a suit concerning a child who is alleged to have
	been abused or neglected or to be at risk of abuse or neglect
	[affecting the parent-child relationship] filed by a governmental
	entity [under this chapter, or the attorney ad litem for the
	parent's child], the governmental entity [Department of Family and
	Protective Services] shall[, before the full adversary hearing,]
	provide to each party:
	(1)  the name of any person, excluding an [a
	department] employee of the governmental entity, whom the
	governmental entity [department] will call as a witness to any of
	the allegations contained in the petition filed by the governmental
	entity and any witness statement provided by the person
	[department];
	(2)  a copy of any offense report relating to the
	allegations contained in the petition filed by the governmental
	entity [department] that will be used in court to refresh a
	witness's memory; [and]
	(3)  a copy of any photograph, video, or recording
	relating to the allegations contained in the petition filed by the
	governmental entity;
	(4)  a copy of any medical record or report submitted to
	the governmental entity by a medical provider, including a provider
	with the forensic assessment center network regarding a child who
	is the subject of the suit;
	(5)  all exculpatory, impeachment, or mitigating
	evidence in the possession, custody, or control of the governmental
	entity or its agent that:
	(A)  is relevant to a parent who is a party in the
	suit; and
	(B)  tends to negate any claim of abuse or neglect
	of a child by the parent; and
	(6)  a true and correct copy of any investigative file
	under Chapter 261, including any intake report, with only the
	identifying information of a reporting party redacted [that will be
	presented as evidence].
	(b)  In a suit filed by a governmental entity concerning a
	child who is alleged to have been abused or neglected or to be at
	risk of abuse or neglect, the governmental entity shall provide the
	information under Subsection (a) not later than the seventh day
	before the date of:
	(1)  the full adversary hearing in a suit filed under
	Section 262.101 or 262.105; or
	(2)  the initial hearing in a suit filed under Section
	262.404 or 264.203.
	(c)  If at any time before, during, or after a hearing or
	before the end of a trial, the governmental entity or its agents
	discover any additional document, item, or information required to
	be disclosed under Subsection (a), the governmental entity shall
	immediately provide the document, item, or information to each
	party.
	(d)  If after a trial the governmental entity or its agents
	discover any additional document, item, or information described by
	Subsection (a)(5), the governmental entity shall immediately
	provide the document, item, or information to each party.
	(e)  In a suit filed by a governmental entity concerning a
	child who is alleged to have been abused or neglected or to be at
	risk of abuse or neglect, any document, item, or information not
	timely disclosed in accordance with this section is not admissible
	in any judicial proceeding if submitted by the governmental entity.
	(f)  To the extent of any conflict, this section prevails
	over Chapter 552, Government Code.
	(g)  This section does not prohibit the parties in a suit
	concerning a child who is alleged to have been abused or neglected
	or to be at risk of abuse or neglect filed by a governmental entity
	from agreeing to discovery and documentation requirements equal to
	or greater than those required under this section.
	SECTION 5.  The change in law made by this Act applies to a
	suit filed by a governmental entity on or after the effective date
	of this Act. A suit filed by a governmental entity before the
	effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
	date the suit was filed, and the former law is continued in effect
	for that purpose.
	SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.