New Texas Law: Drunk Drivers Financially Responsible for Children Whose Parents Are Killed

Texas Department of Public Safety Troopers look over the scene of a fatal car wreck, half of a mile north of State Highway 115 on Farm-to-Market Road 1788 in Andrews County, Texas, early on March 16, 2022. Eli Hartman/Odessa American via AP

Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill into law that will require drunk drivers who kill a parent to pay child support.

Earlier this month, Abbott signed House Bill 393 requiring drunk drivers convicted of intoxicated manslaughter to make restitution payments for the support of a child under 18 whose parent or guardian was killed in a drunk driving crash (pdf).