Committee on State Affairs hears emotional testimony on bills to curb nondisclosure agreements in abuse settlements; measures left pending

The Committee on State Affairs opened public testimony on House Bill 748 and Senate Bill 835, two measures that would restrict nondisclosure agreements in settlements arising from allegations of child sexual abuse, and left both bills pending after more than two hours of testimony.

Supporters said the bills are designed to prevent organizations and perpetrators from using confidentiality clauses to silence victims and to encourage reporting and full investigation. Jennifer Allman, executive director of the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops, told the committee the Texas bishops "are committed to using all efforts to end the evil of child sexual abuse," and said the church's current policy is to publish names of clergy with credible allegations while honoring survivors' requests to keep their own names private in limited circumstances. "We will never agree to secrecy of the abuse occurrence,"…