Texas House advances bill to protect abuse victims from NDAs
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Victim supports bill to ban NDAs in sex abuse cases
In an effort to no longer silence victims of sexual abuse, Texas lawmakers voted 10-0 to move forward with a bill that would end the abuse of non-disclosure agreements.
DALLAS - Texas lawmakers unanimously voted to ban the use of non-disclosure agreements, or NDAs, to silence sexual abuse victims.
HB 748: "Trey's Law"
What's new:
On Tuesday, the Texas House voted 149-0, with one person not voting, in favor of advancing HB 748.
The backstory:
The bill authored by State Rep. Jeff Leach (R-Plano) is nicknamed Trey’s Law.
Trey Carlock was a Dallas man who killed himself after he was groomed and sexually abused as a kid at a summer camp.
Carlock had pursued a civil lawsuit to seek damages for his abuse but was forced to sign an NDA for the settlement.
There was similar testimony from the woman who accused Gateway Church founder Robert Morris of sexually abusing her as a child.
Cindy Clemishire said she was offered a $25,000 settlement but refused to sign the NDA. She said the decision ultimately allowed her to get justice 40 years later.
"Because I refused to sign the NDA at age 37, I can sit here now at age 55 and share my story and be the voice for so many people," she said.
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What they're saying:
Lawmakers argued NDAs protect predators by silencing their victims.
"One of the reasons it exists so pervasively is the culture of silence that surrounds the issue," said State Rep. Mitch Little (R-Lewisville. "You hire a bad employee. They do something horrible. ‘Oh, no. That's terrible. Let's settle the claim and have a nondisclosure agreement.’ Then, that pastor or teacher or volunteer moves to another church, and they continue their abuse."
What's next:
The bill still needs to be passed by the Texas Senate before it can move to the governor’s desk.
The Source: The information in this story comes from Texas House voting records, a Texas House committee hearing on the bill and past news coverage.