Texas House bill by Rep. Villalobos limits DNA use from children in conservatorship

Passed bill authored by State Rep. Denise Villalobos aims to protect the privacy of children in conservatorship by limiting DNA sample use for paternity determination without written consent from the biological mother, according to the Texas Legislature website.

In the House, 48 Democrats and 83 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, with no opposition.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, 11 Democrats and 20 Republicans voted in favor, also with no opposing votes.

Denise Villalobos introduced the bill in the Texas House on Friday, March 14, during the 89th regular legislative session.

Villalobos graduated from Texas A&M University-Kingsville in 2015 with a BA.

Villalobos, a Republican, was elected to the Texas State House in 2025 to represent the state’s 34th House district, replacing previous state representative Abel Herrero.

According to the Texas Legislature, the bill’s official text was summarized as follows: ‘Relating to restricting the collection and use of DNA samples from children in the managing conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services’.

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, the bill prohibits the use of DNA samples collected from children in the managing conservatorship of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services for paternity determination purposes via searches against the Department of Public Safety’s DNA database, unless the child’s biological mother provides written consent. The restriction aims to protect the privacy and rights of these children by limiting the use of their DNA without explicit maternal approval. This legislation is scheduled to take effect on Sept. 1, 2025.

The bill was co-authored by Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (Republican – District 98) and Rep. Terri Leo-Wilson (Republican – District 23).

The bill received its final legislative approval on Sunday, May 25, and was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday, June 20.

Bills in Texas go through a multi-step legislative process, including committee review, debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching a final decision. Each session, there are typically thousands of bills introduced, but only a portion successfully navigate the process to become law.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.