AUSTIN, TX – August 29, 2025 – September 1st marks a historic victory for sexual assault survivors in Texas, as “Trey’s Law” officially goes into effect. This groundbreaking legislation bans the misuse of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in civil settlement agreements pertaining to sexual assault claims, releasing survivors from existing NDAs, unless a court specifically orders otherwise.

Trey’s Law is named after Trey Carlock, a Dallas native who sued Kanakuk Kamps and other defendants after enduring a decade of grooming and child sexual abuse by their popular director, Pete Newman. His case settled out of court, but it came with a restrictive NDA that family members say led to his death of despair in 2019.

“This date will go down in history as a great victory for survivors’ voices,” said Elizabeth Carlock Phillips, a certified crime victim advocate and Trey’s older sister. “My brother was silenced to his grave by an NDA so restrictive that he felt like he couldn’t even share his story in therapeutic settings. I am so proud of my home state for passing this law, ensuring that other survivors of sexual assault hold the power to share their stories whenever, however, and if ever they choose to do so.”

Initially focused on childhood crimes, the public safety bill was broadened to include all sexual assault and human trafficking victims due to overwhelming witness testimony. Powerful accounts shared by survivors of abuse at various institutions, including Kanakuk Kamps, Boy Scouts, and the Assemblies of God, were instrumental in this law’s passage. Cindy Clemishire, who refused to sign an NDA with her abuser, Robert Morris (founder of Gateway Church), also provided impactful testimony in support of the bill. 

“Because I refused to sign that NDA at 37, I am able to sit here today at 55 years old and share my story in hopes of helping others,” Clemishire testified in a Senate State Affairs Committee the day before Morris’ first court appearance in Oklahoma, following his indictment on five felony counts.

SB 835, authored by Sen. Angela Paxton (R-McKinney), and its identical House companion bill, HB 748, authored by Rep. Jeff Leach (R-Plano), gained 31 additional sponsors across the House and Senate, and garnered rare unanimous bipartisan support, including a rare vote by Speaker Burrows. Both bills passed 144-0 in the House and 31-0 in the Senate, reflecting widespread agreement on the importance of this legislation. 

“I believe very strongly that this bill […] is one of if not the strongest bill for sexual abuse survivors and victims anywhere in this country,” Rep. Leach said. Rep. Mitch Little (R-Lewisville) commented from the House floor that because of Trey’s Law, “Silence is no longer for sale in the State of Texas.” Sen. Paxton told the New York Times, “There are a handful of issues that people really come together over, and I believe this is one that has. 

Any survivors choosing to speak out about their release from an NDA on social media are encouraged to use the hashtag #TruthSetFree in order for their voices and stories to be amplified.