Rep. Harold Dutton Jr. introduced HB 3181, a bill on Family, to the Texas House on Friday, Feb. 21 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 enforcement of a court order for possession of or access to a child and related order modifications’’.
The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.
This bill addresses the enforcement and modification of court orders regarding possession or access to a child, including cases of contempt of court. It amends the Family Code to stipulate that if a conservator is found in contempt for denying court-ordered possession and has a history of contempt, this constitutes a material change, justifying the modification of conservatorship orders. It prohibits placing such individuals on community supervision. The bill also ensures that attorney’s fees are not waived in such repeated contempt cases and mandates additional possession periods, doubling the duration for repeated denial. Existing sections are repealed for consistency. This act takes effect Sept. 1, 2025, and applies to relevant suits and orders active on or filed after the effective date.
Harold Dutton Jr., the chair of the House Committee on S/C on Family & Fiduciary Relationships, proposed another 57 bills during the 89(R) legislative session. He is also a member of the House Committee on Public Education, a member of the House Committee on S/C on Academic & Career-Oriented Education, and a member of the House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence.
Dutton graduated from Texas Southern University in 1991 with a BBA and again in 1996 from Thurgood Marshall School of Law with a JD.
Harold Dutton Jr. is currently serving in the Texas State House, representing the state’s 142nd House district. He replaced previous state representative El Franco Lee in 1985.
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.
| Bill Number | Date Introduced | Short Description |
|---|---|---|
| HB 3180 | 02/21/2025 | Relating to the contents of a request for disclosure in a civil action brought under the Family Code |
| HB 3070 | 02/20/2025 | Relating to a franchise tax credit for opening an early learning and child-care center in certain affordable housing developments |
| HB 123 | 02/20/2025 | Relating to measures to support kindergarten readiness and early literacy and numeracy skills for public school students and to funding to support those measures |
| HB 3040 | 02/19/2025 | Relating to eligibility requirements for public office for persons finally convicted of a felony |
| HB 3039 | 02/19/2025 | Relating to the definition of “affected person” for purposes of a contested case hearing held by or for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality regarding certain environmental permit applications |
| HB 3038 | 02/19/2025 | Relating to the notice of intent to obtain a permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality |
| HB 3037 | 02/19/2025 | Relating to temporarily decreasing the rate of state sales and use taxes under certain circumstances |
| HB 2971 | 02/18/2025 | Relating to an agreed divorce order in a suit for dissolution of a marriage |
| HB 2967 | 02/18/2025 | Relating to vision screenings for students in public or private school, including vision screening information reporting for public school students and the creation of a vision care allotment under the Foundation School Program |
| HB 2936 | 02/18/2025 | Relating to asset forfeiture proceedings under the Code of Criminal Procedure |
| HB 2935 | 02/18/2025 | Relating to the creation of the Julia C. Hester House State Park |
| HB 2934 | 02/18/2025 | Relating to the charging instrument in the prosecution of the offense of resisting arrest |
| HB 2933 | 02/18/2025 | Relating to the restoration of civil rights to a criminal defendant |
| HB 2932 | 02/18/2025 | Relating to the creation of a commission to review certain laws of this state that restrict the rights or activities of persons convicted of a felony offense and to make certain recommendations regarding those laws |
| HB 2848 | 02/14/2025 | Relating to an exemption from or refund of tuition and fees for certain lower-division students enrolled at Texas Southern University or Prairie View A&M University |
| HB 2847 | 02/14/2025 | Relating to truancy and parental contribution to nonattendance of school; increasing a criminal penalty |
| HB 2800 | 02/13/2025 | Relating to the apprenticeship system of adult career and technology education |
| HB 2799 | 02/13/2025 | Relating to the exclusion of certain cases from judicial statistics reporting, court performance measures, or other judicial or court efficiency reporting by the Texas Judicial Council and the Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System |
| HB 2782 | 02/13/2025 | Relating to instructional facilities funding for certain open-enrollment charter schools |
| HB 2781 | 02/13/2025 | Relating to menstrual disorders education and informational materials for public school students |
| HB 2780 | 02/13/2025 | Relating to the creation of the Texas Teacher Residency Partnership Program and a residency partnership allotment under the Foundation School Program |
| HB 2779 | 02/13/2025 | Relating to the operation of free prekindergarten programs by certain school districts and to the early education allotment under the Foundation School Program |
| HB 2778 | 02/13/2025 | Relating to the release on bail of certain persons charged with a violation of a condition of the person’s release from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice |
| HB 2729 | 02/12/2025 | Relating to the admissibility of hearsay evidence in a hearing for a person charged with a violation of a condition of release from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice |
| HB 2728 | 02/12/2025 | Relating to spoliation of evidence held for use in a criminal proceeding |
| HB 2681 | 02/11/2025 | Relating to the penalty for certain offenders for possession of a small amount of certain controlled substances |
| HB 2649 | 02/11/2025 | Relating to the extent of a defendant’s criminal responsibility for the conduct of a coconspirator in a capital murder case |
| HB 2648 | 02/11/2025 | Relating to the use of deadly force to make an arrest |
| HB 2647 | 02/11/2025 | Relating to the establishment of the inmate legal services office and to the appointment and compensation of certain legal counsel for certain indigent inmates and other persons in secure correctional facilities |
| HB 2646 | 02/11/2025 | Relating to the establishment of the private child care task force |
| HB 2645 | 02/11/2025 | Relating to a suit for possession of or access to a child by a grandparent |
| HB 2644 | 02/11/2025 | Relating to the amount of a fine and costs discharged by a defendant while confined in jail or engaged in labor |
| HB 2643 | 02/11/2025 | Relating to the application of child support guidelines to net resources in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship |
| HB 2642 | 02/11/2025 | Relating to the persons entitled to request a public hearing from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality related to the construction of a concrete plant |
| HB 2558 | 02/07/2025 | Relating to the child support obligation of an obligor during the obligor’s confinement in jail or prison |
| HB 2496 | 02/05/2025 | Relating to required findings for the issuance of a protective order based on the commission of family violence |
| HB 2495 | 02/05/2025 | Relating to certain rights of the sole managing conservator of a child in relation to the child’s enrollment in school |
| HB 2446 | 02/05/2025 | Relating to affidavits concerning cost and necessity of services in civil actions |
| HB 2445 | 02/05/2025 | Relating to the carcinogenic risk level used in the development of certain environmental remediation benchmarks |
| HB 2397 | 02/04/2025 | Relating to the oversight of Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University |
| HB 2396 | 02/04/2025 | Relating to the transfer of students between public schools |
| HB 2395 | 02/04/2025 | Relating to a grant program to provide free public school prekindergarten programs to certain children who are eligible for the subsidized child-care program administered by the Texas Workforce Commission |
| HB 2394 | 02/04/2025 | Relating to voter registration, including electronic voter registration |
| HB 2353 | 02/03/2025 | Relating to compensation for an attorney ad litem appointed in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship filed by a governmental entity |
| HB 2352 | 02/03/2025 | Relating to requiring wireless telephone service providers and mobile device manufacturers to disable certain stolen mobile devices |
| HB 2351 | 02/03/2025 | Relating to prohibiting the employment of persons not lawfully present; creating a criminal offense |
| HB 2350 | 02/03/2025 | Relating to standing in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship |
| HB 2288 | 01/30/2025 | Relating to an affirmative defense by the respondent to an application for a protective order |
| HB 2242 | 01/29/2025 | Relating to policy-making authority of constables for the purpose of a federal civil rights action |
| HB 2241 | 01/29/2025 | Relating to firearms; authorizing a private civil right of action |
