Texas HB 2070 (2025): A Court Finding Before Most CPS Central Registry Listings (Did Not Pass)

This bill is not law. It did not pass. It passed the Texas House, but its last official action was "Left pending in committee" in the Senate on May 21, 2025 Texas Legislature Online, History for 89(R) HB 2070.

The short answer

HB 2070 would have stopped DFPS from adding most people to the central child abuse or neglect registry unless a court first found that the person abused or neglected the child. It had exceptions for cases in child care, schools, churches, children in DFPS custody, and certain "reportable conduct." It passed the House, but a Senate committee left it pending, so it died when the 2025 session ended Legislative Reference Library of Texas, What's Next? Post-Session FAQ, 89th R.S..

The same core idea, a court finding before a registry listing, appeared in a 2021 bill that also did not pass; see Texas HB 1190 (2021): A Court Finding Before the CPS Central Registry (Did Not Pass).

How far it got

• Filed: January 24, 2025.
• House: The House Human Services Committee approved a substitute on April 15, 2025. The full House passed it, with an amendment, on May 15, 2025.
• Senate: It went to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on May 16, 2025. The committee heard it on May 21, 2025 and left it pending. The official history shows nothing after that.

What it would have changed

These points come from the version the House passed (the "engrossed" text) 89(R) HB 2070, Engrossed text (as passed by the House).

A court finding first, in most cases. DFPS could not have added a person's name to the registry unless a court entered a final order in a civil, criminal, or juvenile case finding that the person abused or neglected the child.

Exceptions. A court finding would not have been needed if DFPS found that the person:

• abused or neglected a child in a child-care facility or family home;
• abused or neglected a child in a public or private school;
• engaged in "reportable conduct" that requires listing in the state's interagency reportable conduct search engine;
• abused or neglected a child who was in DFPS conservatorship (state custody); or
• abused, assaulted, neglected, or groomed a child on the grounds of a church or religious facility, or during church activities off-site.

The church exception is also described in the Senate Research Center's analysis of the House-passed bill Senate Research Center, Bill Analysis, H.B. 2070 (89R), Engrossed, 5/20/2025.

New findings only. The rule would have applied only to DFPS findings made on or after the bill's effective date.

Which laws it affects

• Texas Family Code §261.002 (central registry). The bill would have added a new Subsection (a-1) 89(R) HB 2070, Engrossed text (as passed by the House). Because it did not pass, that subsection was not added.
• What the law offers now. If you dispute DFPS's finding after an investigation, current law lets you request an administrative review of the findings Tex. Fam. Code §261.309(c).

Related

• CPS Investigation Findings in Texas: Reason to Believe, Ruled Out and More
• How to Ask for an ARIF (Administrative Review of CPS Findings) in Texas
• Texas HB 1190 (2021): A Court Finding Before the CPS Central Registry (Did Not Pass)
• Texas SB 515 (2023): Severity Codes, Notice and Removal for the CPS Central Registry (Did Not Pass)
• Texas HB 2849 (2017): Removing Names From the CPS Central Registry
• The 2027 Texas Legislature (90th): When CPS Bills Can Be Filed