HB1734

Regular Session

Relating to the transfer of court files in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship in which continuing, exclusive jurisdiction is transferred.

LowStandard timeline

Low Cost

Effective:2025-06-20

Enforcing Agencies

County Court Clerks • District Court Clerks

Compliance Analysis

Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation

Implementation Timeline

Effective Date: September 1, 2025
Compliance Deadline: September 1, 2025. This applies to any *Order of Transfer* rendered on or after this date, regardless of when the motion was filed.
Agency Rulemaking: No formal rulemaking is mandated for the Office of Court Administration, but individual County Clerks will likely develop local protocols for how "specifically requested" documents must be listed in transfer orders.

Immediate Action Plan

Immediately: Update your firm’s *Order of Transfer* templates to include a variable field for "Documents Specifically Requested for Transfer."
August 2025: Review all active cases where a Motion to Transfer Venue is pending. If the order is likely to be signed after September 1, draft the order under the new rules.
Q3 2025: Instruct billing departments to monitor "Bills of Cost" from clerks to ensure your clients are not charged for full-file transfers that did not occur.
Ongoing: Establish a verification step upon receipt of the file in the new county to confirm all requested documents arrived; the clerk is no longer liable for omissions of unrequested items.

Operational Changes Required

Contracts

Client Engagement Letters: Update agreements to reflect that venue transfers now require a substantive "file audit." This is no longer a passive administrative task but a billable legal review to determine which historical documents are material for the new venue.

Hiring/Training

Paralegal Training: Staff responsible for drafting orders must be retrained. They can no longer rely on the clerk to "send the file." They must be trained to audit the case history and identify essential non-pleading documents (e.g., psychological evaluations, amicus reports, evidentiary exhibits).
Attorney Oversight: Implement a mandatory sign-off protocol where the lead attorney verifies the list of documents to be transferred to prevent malpractice exposure.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

Template Updates: Revise your standard *Order to Transfer Continuing, Exclusive Jurisdiction*. The template must now include a specific section or attachment listing documents to be transferred under Section 155.207(a)(4).
Checklists: Create a "Pre-Transfer Audit Checklist" to ensure critical historical data (specifically protective orders or temporary orders not yet final) are not left behind in the originating county.

Fees & Costs

Transfer Fees: Anticipate a reduction in per-page transfer fees charged by clerks, as the volume of data transferred will decrease.
Billable Hours: Anticipate a slight increase in billable time required to prepare the Transfer Order due to the file audit requirement.

Strategic Ambiguities & Considerations

Definition of "Pending": The statute requires the transfer of pleadings in the "pending proceeding." It is unclear if a motion heard but not yet ruled upon constitutes a "pending proceeding" in the interpretation of all 254 county clerks.
Mechanism of Request: The law does not specify *how* the request must be made (e.g., a separate filing vs. inclusion in the Order). Until practice becomes standardized, the safest course is to include the request directly within the *Order of Transfer* signed by the Judge.

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Legislative Timeline

This bill's path through the Texas Legislature

TopicsFamily Family--parent & Child

Official Analysis

View HRO Analysis View All Bill Documents

BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 1734

By: Orr

Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The Texas Legislature has taken important steps to modernize the judicial process, including by improving how cases are transferred between courts. The bill author has informed the committee that suits affecting the parent-child relationship (SAPCR) can close and reopen multiple times until the youngest child turns 18 and can be transferred between applicable courts. The bill author has further informed the committee that the process for a transferred SAPCR can be improved by requiring the court clerk to send pleadings related to the pending matter, rather than the original papers filed in the transferring court. Consequently, parties to the SAPCR, who are charged for each page transferred, would not be required to pay for hundreds of pages of moot filings. H.B. 1734 seeks to reduce costs for parties to a SAPCR and increase judicial efficiency by revising the requirement for a court clerk to send certain files in a transferred SAPCR to a receiving court.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 1734 amends the Family Code to revise the requirement for a court clerk, following the transfer of continuing, exclusive jurisdiction of a suit affecting the parent-child relationship, to send certain files to the receiving court by removing as a transferred file a copy of the original papers filed in the transferring court and requiring the clerk instead to send a copy of the pleadings in the proceeding and any other document specifically requested by a party.

H.B. 1734 applies only to a suit affecting the parent-child relationship in which an order transferring continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to another court is rendered on or after the bill's effective date. A suit affecting the parent-child relationship in which an order transferring continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to another court is rendered before the bill's effective date is governed by the law in effect on the date the order was rendered, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2025.

House Authors

Rep. Angelia OrrRepublican · Primary Author

Joint Authors

Coauthors (5)

Senate Sponsor

Sen. Judith ZaffiriniDemocrat · Primary Sponsor

Bill Text(with markup)

H.B. No. 1734

View bill text in multiple formats on Texas Legislature website

Fiscal NoteView Original

	AN ACT
	relating to the transfer of court files in a suit affecting the
	parent-child relationship in which continuing, exclusive
	jurisdiction is transferred.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1. Section 155.207(a), Family Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(a) Not later than the 10th working day after the date an
	order of transfer is signed, the clerk of the court transferring a
	proceeding shall send, using the electronic filing system
	established under Section 72.031, Government Code, to the proper
	court to which transfer is being made:
	(1) a transfer certificate and index of transferred
	documents;
	(2) a copy of each final order;
	(3) a copy of the order of transfer signed by the
	transferring court;
	(4) a copy of the pleadings in the pending proceeding
	and any other document specifically requested by a party [~~original~~
	~~papers filed in the transferring court~~];
	(5) a copy of the transfer certificate and index of
	transferred documents from each previous transfer; and
	(6) a bill of any costs that have accrued in the
	transferring court.
	SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act to Section
	155.207(a), Family Code, applies only to a suit affecting the
	parent-child relationship in which an order transferring
	continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to another court is rendered on
	or after the effective date of this Act. A suit affecting the
	parent-child relationship in which an order transferring
	continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to another court is rendered
	before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
	effect on the date the order was rendered, and the former law is
	continued in effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.

LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 89TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION


March 27, 2025

TO:	Honorable Jeff Leach, Chair, House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

FROM:	Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board

IN RE:	HB1734 by Orr (Relating to the transfer of court files in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship in which continuing, exclusive jurisdiction is transferred.), As Introduced

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

It is assumed that any costs associated with the bill could be absorbed using existing resources.

Local Government Impact

No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.

Source Agencies:

212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council

LBB Staff:

JMc, KDw, NTh

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about HB1734

What does Texas HB1734 do?

HB1734 fundamentally alters the venue transfer process in Family Law by eliminating the automatic transfer of the entire case file ("original papers") by court clerks. Effective September 1, 2025, legal teams must affirmatively identify and request specific documents for transfer, shifting the burden of record completeness from the clerk to the attorney. Implementation Timeline Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Compliance Deadline: September 1, 2025.

Who authored HB1734?

HB1734 was authored by Texas Representative Angelia Orr during the Regular Session.

When was HB1734 signed into law?

HB1734 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025.

Which agencies enforce HB1734?

HB1734 is enforced by County Court Clerks and District Court Clerks.

How urgent is compliance with HB1734?

The compliance urgency for HB1734 is rated as "low". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.

What is the cost impact of HB1734?

The cost impact of HB1734 is estimated as "low". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.

What topics does HB1734 address?

HB1734 addresses topics including family and family--parent & child.

Legislative data provided by LegiScanLast updated: November 25, 2025

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