Jeff Leach introduced HB 734 to the Texas House — what to know

Rep. Jeff Leach introduced HB 734, a bill on Crimes and Minors, to the Texas House on Tuesday, March 4 during the 89(R) legislative session, according to the Texas Legislature website.

More specifically, the official text was summarized by the state legislature as ’’Relating to the failure to report child abuse or neglect; increasing a criminal penalty’’.

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

The bill amends Section 261.109(c) of the Texas Family Code to increase the criminal penalty for failing to report child abuse or neglect. It reclassifies the failure to report such offenses from a Class A misdemeanor to a state jail felony if the individual intended to conceal the abuse or neglect, or if the conduct not reported involves severe crimes. These include continuous sexual abuse of a young child, indecency with a child, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, human trafficking, solicitation or compelling of prostitution, and any actions related to child sexual exploitation or obscene depiction. The changes apply to offenses committed on or after the effective date of Sept. 1, 2025, with prior offenses governed by existing laws.

Jeff Leach, chair of the House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence and member of the House Committee on Public Education, proposed one other bill during the 89(R) legislative session.

Leach graduated from Baylor University with a BS and again from SMU Dedman School of Law with a JD.

Jeff Leach is currently serving in the Texas State House, representing the state's 67th House district. He replaced previous state representative Jerry A. Madden in 2013.

Bills in Texas go through a multi-step legislative process, including committee review, debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching a final decision. Each session, there are typically thousands of bills introduced, but only a portion successfully navigate the process to become law.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.