Custodial parents are covered now, not just noncustodial ones.
The bill rewrites the Texas offense of a parent enticing or persuading a child away from lawful custody so that it covers any parent, not only a noncustodial parent, when the child is taken from the other parent, a guardian, or someone standing in their place. It touches parents in custody disputes, including custodial parents who were not covered before. It also lowers the usual penalty for this parental-enticement offense from a state jail felony to a Class C misdemeanor with a $500 fine, keeping the felony level only for a parent with two or more prior convictions or one who took the child out of the state.
Labels
Labels: CROSS-PARTY HANDOFF. Lead author Angela Paxton (R) in the Senate. Lead sponsor Harold V. Dutton Jr. (D) in the House. Party as the Legislative Reference Library lists it for the 89th Legislature.GOT HALFWAY. Passed the Senate on May 12, 2025. Died in the House: voted out of the Criminal Jurisprudence committee 9-0, no floor vote.
relating to the criminal offense of interference with child
custody.
WHAT IT DOES
Custodial parents are covered now, not just noncustodial ones.
The bill rewrites the Texas offense of a parent enticing or persuading a child away from lawful custody so that it covers any parent, not only a noncustodial parent, when the child is taken from the other parent, a guardian, or someone standing in their place. It touches parents in custody disputes, including custodial parents who were not covered before. It also lowers the usual penalty for this parental-enticement offense from a state jail felony to a Class C misdemeanor with a $500 fine, keeping the felony level only for a parent with two or more prior convictions or one who took the child out of the state.
CHARGES
[ ] NONE FOUND
TOTAL
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
Names were not printed for yea. Only the named positions are included in member records.
Sources
Senator Paxton moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that SB 2794 be placed on its third reading and final passage. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 29, Nays 1.
Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.
Yea: 29 (published)
Nay: 1 (published)
Present, not voting: Not printed
Absent: Not printed
Excused: 1 (derived from named list)
Senate journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.
Names were not printed for yea. Only the named positions are included in member records.
Voice vote. No numeric tally or individual yeas are inferred.
Sources
Senator Paxton moved to suspend the regular order of business to take up for consideration SB 2794 at this time on its second reading: SB 2794, Relating to the criminal offense of interference with child custody. The motion prevailed. Senator Eckhardt asked to be recorded as voting "Nay" on suspension of the regular order of business. The bill was read second time and was passed to engrossment by a viva voce vote.
Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.
Yea: Not printed
Nay: Not printed
Present, not voting: Not printed
Absent: Not printed
Excused: 1 (derived from named list)
Senate journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.
Witnesses40
For
34
Against
2
On
4
Names
For
Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT)1 registration
Dallas Police Assoc1 registration
Harris County Deputies' Organization FOP #392 registrations
San Antonio police officers association1 registration
San antonio police officers association1 registration
House committee · Criminal Jurisprudence · Committee vote 9 aye, 0 nay, 2 absent · Out of committee
Senate committee · Criminal Justice · Committee vote 7 aye, 0 nay · Out of committee
Subjects
Civil Remedies & Liabilities
Crimes--Against Persons--General
Family--Parent & Child
CHILD CUSTODY
Text
The text as introduced · 310 words
89R8658 MLH-F
By: Paxton
S.B. No. 2794
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the criminal offense of interference with child
custody.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 25.03(b) and (d), Penal Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(b) A [ noncustodial ] parent commits an offense if, with the
intent to interfere with the lawful custody of a child younger than
18 years, the [ noncustodial ] parent knowingly entices or persuades
the child to leave the custody of :
(1) the other [ the custodial ] parent or a [ , ] guardian
of the child; [ , ] or
(2) a person standing in the stead of the [ custodial ]
parent or guardian of the child described by Subdivision (1) .
(d) An offense under Subsection (a) [ this section ] is a
state jail felony. An offense under Subsection (b) is a Class C
misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $500, except that the offense is
a state jail felony if it is shown on the trial of the offense that
the defendant:
(1) has previously been convicted two or more times of
an offense under that subsection; or
(2) enticed or persuaded the child to leave the state.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies 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 the former 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.
Monitoring 
