This is copied word for word from an email I got. First I've heard of it....
Texas Bill Would Cost Sporting Dog Owners Big Bucks
2/10/11
A bill introduced in Texas would require sporting dog owners to purchase liability insurance for many of their dogs.
Take Action! Texas sportsmen should contact their state representatives today and ask them to oppose House Bill 998. Tell them the bill will create a financial hardship for many responsible sporting dog owners.
House Bill 998, introduced by Rep. Ruth McClendon (D- San Antonio), would require owners of unneutered male dogs weighing 20 or more pounds, that are not restrained at all times, to carry a minimum $100,000 insurance liability policy. A dog is only considered restrained if it is either kept in an enclosure or kept on a leash under the immediate control of a person at all times.
Failing to purchase the insurance would be a class C misdemeanor.
Under the bill, many sporting dog owners will be forced to buy the insurance policy, neuter their dog, or face criminal charges. In addition, a large number of sporting dog breeds weigh more than 20 pounds and would be considered “unrestrained” under the bill’s definition when hunting, training, or field trialing. Even a securely tethered dog would be considered unrestrained by this bill.
“It is completely unreasonable to require a dog owner who wants take their dog hunting or to even play fetch in an unfenced back yard to require them to purchase liability insurance to do so,” said Jeremy Rine, U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance associate director of state services. “In addition to being costly for dog owners, this bill sets an arbitrary weight threshold – what happens if you have a dog that regularly fluctuates between 19 and 20 pounds? This bill is unnecessary and unreasonable and should be opposed by all dog owners alike.”
To find your state representative’s contact information, please visit
www.ussportsmen.org/LAC.
http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20110201/NEWS01/302019981Tyler Morning Telegraph
Dogs Bill Would Require Insurance
By KENNETH DEAN
Stiffer penalties, the requirement of costly insurance and approved fencing are ideas being tossed around in Austin to protect residents from animals with the propensity to attack humans.
Legislators from East Texas and across the state are working on various bills concerning dangerous dogs, but all are quick to add that the bills are not breed specific.
State Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, said he is heartbroken each time he reads of a person being attacked and killed by a dog and he believes the issue needs to be addressed.
While he thinks something needs to be done, the representative did not believe a breed specific bill proposed by former state district judge Cynthia Stephens-Kent, which would outlaw pit bull dogs, was not the ticket.
"I want something that would require total security of any animal that is known to attack human beings," he said. "I doubt any breed-specific bills will fly in the legislative session."
Berman's sentiments are matched by state Rep. Chuck Hopson, R-Jacksonville, who said Monday a bill is being drafted by his office.
Hopson said several incidents in which children were killed by animals in his district are spurring him forward.
Hopson said House Bill 998 proposed by state Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, D-San Antonio needed more work, but was on the right track.
Mrs. McClendon's proposed bill requires un-neutered male dogs weighing more than 20 pounds to be properly restrained. It would also require the owner to provide a secure fenced area and $100,000 of liability insurance "for each occurrence for liability for damages to property and for death or bodily injury to a person caused by the dog."
The bill states a violation would be a Class C misdemeanor and could be elevated to a Class B misdemeanor.
Mrs. McClendon said Monday her proposal was initiated after a constituent was mauled by a dog and his face severely injured.
"This is not breed specific or specific to any combination of breeds. If dog owners would practice responsibility, then we wouldn't have to take legislative steps," she said.
Hopson said he wanted his bill to have more bite when it came to penalties.
