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Read. Follow. Verify.Texas House Bill 88 Allows Retroactive Child Support from Conception Date
Last action · July 14, 2025: FiledSponsor: Hillary Hickland
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What This Bill Proposed
Texas House Bill 88 allows courts to order beginning on the date of a child's conception, as determined by medical practice or other evidence. The measure applies to paternity orders and acknowledgments executed on or after the effective date.
Parents involved in paternity and child support proceedings face new legal standards for calculating financial obligations, including potential liability for prenatal and postnatal health care expenses dating back to conception.
- House Bill 88 was introduced during the 89th legislative session in Texas. context
- Retroactive child support laws determine whether a parent can be ordered to pay financial support for time periods prior to the formal issuance of a court order. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
parents
Parents involved in paternity or child support proceedings face revised rules and potential financial obligations extending back to the date of conception.
children
Children subject to paternity and support orders may be eligible for retroactive financial support dating from conception.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
When can retroactive child support begin under House Bill 88?
Does the bill cover medical expenses before birth?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · introduced in the House.
Procedural history
1 action- Jul 14, 2025HouseIntroducedFiled
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Expansion of Retroactive Support Timeline
The bill expands the timeline for retroactive child support calculations to potentially begin at conception, shifting from prior statutory limitations.
Sources
capitol.texas.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 65)
- Controversy50Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
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