SB1923

Who can receive support: on a motion by a party or the person physically caring for the child, the court must modify the support order under Section 156.409 when its conditions are met. The recipient must have had physical possession for at least six months. The relevant conservator—the sole managing conservator, or joint managing conservator with the exclusive right to determine the child’s primary residence—must have entered a Chapter 34 authorization agreement with that caregiver, or meet one of the retained grounds: voluntary relinquishment to that person for at least six months; incarceration or a sentence of incarceration for at least 90 days; or relinquishment in a proceeding under Title 3 or Chapter 262. The recipient can receive support and hold or spend it for the child’s benefit. Signing an agreement alone does not automatically redirect payments. Final law, Section 1(a).

What the agreement means: Chapter 34 allows a parent to authorize an adult caregiver to make specified care decisions. It is not itself a custody transfer. The existing chapter requires notarized execution, imposes notice requirements and, where a court order, pending case or continuing jurisdiction exists, requires the appropriate court’s written approval. SB1923 does not waive those rules. Caregiver authority; Execution and court approval; Notice requirements and exception; Agreement does not confer legal custody; Final law.

Unpaid support: when the court modifies the order, the person obligated to pay must pay the caregiver qualifying unpaid support accruing after the conservator entered the authorization agreement. The existing triggers for relinquishment or incarceration remain. Amounts subject to offset or reimbursement under Section 157.008 are excluded; this is not a blanket award of all earlier arrears or a cancellation of the payer’s obligation. The law leaves intact the court’s authority to make temporary support orders in the child’s best interest and the existing procedure for a conservator resuming possession after incarceration. Final law, Section 1(a-1); Offset and reimbursement rules; Retained temporary-order and release provisions.

Notice: if the respondent has been ordered under Chapter 105 to keep a current mailing or email address with the court and state case registry, notice of the modification motion or hearing may be served through the existing Section 157.065 route or by email through the statutory court electronic filing system. Other associated notices or documents may use that electronic route. This is not a general permission to replace required service with an ordinary personal email. Final law, Section 1(b)–(c); Existing notice method.

What changed during passage: the introduced bill and Senate substitute proposed a separate ground for parental child safety placement agreements, an expedited hearing and a temporary support order ending within 90 days. The substitute also added agreement-related unpaid-support treatment, revised notice and added protection for earlier-filed motions. Senator West’s sole indexed floor amendment, adopted April 22, removed the child-safety-placement ground and its special hearing and temporary-order provisions; those proposals are not part of SB1923’s final law. The House committee substitute then retained the general six-month physical-possession requirement that the Senate-passed version would have deleted. The final text matches the House committee’s operative provisions. Introduced; Senate substitute; West amendment; Senate-passed; House substitute; Final law; Version index; Amendment index.

Timing: motions filed before September 1, 2025 remain governed by the law in effect when filed. The final certified votes were 31–0 for Senate passage and concurrence, and 111–25 in the House with three members present but not voting. The act nevertheless specifies September 1, rather than immediate effect. Final law, Sections 2–3 and certification; Official history.

Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.

Eligible caregivers can seek support for the child they are caring for, including qualifying unpaid amounts tied to the authorization-agreement date. The change can redirect who receives existing support; it does not itself set a higher support amount or dispense with court review. Respondents retain the stated notice conditions, and payers retain the referenced offset and reimbursement protections. Final law; Existing protections.

All four fiscal notes—March 25 introduced, April 4 Senate substitute, May 4 Senate-passed and May 15 House substitute—anticipate no significant state or local-government fiscal implication, with state costs assumed absorbable using existing resources. They do not quantify private legal expenses or how much support any caregiver will collect. Introduced fiscal note; Senate substitute fiscal note; Senate-passed fiscal note; House substitute fiscal note.