It’s a major step forward in the fight to protect sexual abuse survivors in Texas.
The Senate has unanimously passed what's being called Trey’s Law — named after a North Texas man — a bill that would ban the use of nondisclosure agreements, or NDAs, to silence victims.
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WATCH HERETrey’s Law was sparked by high-profile abuse cases in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Despite weeks of political back-and-forth, the bill was fast-tracked through the Senate this week.
y. It bans the use of NDAs in sexual abuse cases involving not just children, but also adults.
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SIGN UP The bill is named after Trey Carlock of Highland Park, who died by suicide in 2019. His sister, Elizabeth Carlock Phillips, testified before the state that Trey was abused by a summer camp counselor and later signed a settlement agreement he called, quote, “blood money.”
"It's no exaggeration for me to claim this as a matter of life and death. I think we know what child sexual abuse does to a person's life, does to a kid," Phillips said in her testimony.
Trey’s Law has gained traction in recent months, especially after new testimony in March from Cindy Clemishire, the woman at the center of a prominent Southlake church abuse scandal.
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Clemishire accused Gateway Church founder Robert Morris of abusing her as a child, and told lawmakers she was offered money if she signed an NDA.
"My abuser was indicted by the Oklahoma grand jury on five counts of lewd acts with a child. This is what happens when survivors are not silenced," said Clemishire. "NDAs may be presented as legal formalities, but in cases like mine, they are tools that continue the abuse. They protect the abuser and keep victims in shame."
A House version of the bill passed unanimously in April, but was slow to move to a Senate committee hearing. That version was proposed by Rep. Jeff Leach of Allen.
The Senate ended up passing a version of Trey's Law that is similar to the Leach proposal -- SB 835 was proposed by Sen. Angela Paxton of McKinney.
The bill now heads back to the House for final approval, but it needs to move fast. Lawmakers have just two weeks left in the current legislative session to get it to the governor’s desk.
