On the first day to file measures for consideration in the next legislative session, a Republican lawmaker submitted several proposals designed to support sexually abused children and hold sexual predators accountable.
State Rep. Pat Curry of Waco, who just won re-election to a second full term in the Texas House, has proposed four bills so far related to the subject:
House Bill 140 would require sex offender registration for those convicted of improper relationship between educator and student, a second-degree felony that applied specifically to sexual misconduct between a school employee and a K-12 student of any age.
House Bill 421 would require judges to inform attorneys in criminal cases involving child witnesses under the age of 13 of procedures available for taking the child’s testimony.
House Bill 453 would require the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to provide county and district attorneys with child abuse investigation records within 30 days of requests.
House Bill 512 would require suspension and disbarment of attorneys convicted of any offense requiring sex offender registration.
The measures come in response to the controversial case of Adam Hoffman, a Waco attorney prosecuted by the Texas Attorney General’s Office for a child sex crime after the local district attorney recused himself due to a conflict of interest.
Hoffman pleaded guilty to lesser charges of indecent assault and displaying harmful material to a minor after a hung jury failed to convict him on a first-degree felony charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child and the boy’s family said he did not want to have to testify again in a retrial.
As part of his plea deal, Hoffman served minimal jail time, and the lesser charge did not require him to be placed on Texas’ sex offender registry (SOR). But he was added to the SOR in Nebraska, where he was living at the time, and is now registered in Iowa.
Hoffman also resigned from the Texas Bar in July “in lieu of discipline.”
Curry has pledged to file additional legislation allowing children in sex-crime cases the option to testify on camera in a less intimidating setting than a courtroom, improving transparency in plea agreements involving crimes against minors, and requiring minimum sentences for certain repeat sex offenders.
Gov. Greg Abbott had called for mandatory 10-year minimum sentences for educators convicted of inappropriate relationships with students. But Abbott’s defeat in last week’s “blue wave” election that also flipped control of the Texas House to Democrats puts the likelihood of such proposals passing in question.
Curry won re-election to House District 56 in McLennan County with 56 percent over a Democrat challenger. He is among several Republicans who have endorsed Democrat Senfronia Thompson of Houston for House speaker.
Republican Party of Texas convention delegates set Protecting Texas Kids as a legislative priority for 2027.
Bill filing began on November 9. More than 900 bills have already been filed in the Texas House, while Texas Senators have filed more than 270 proposed pieces of legislation.
The 90th Legislative Session convenes on January 12, 2027.
