By:AAColeman H.B.ANo.A2116
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to standards of care and confinement for dogs and cats;
providing a penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTIONA1.AASection 821.077(a), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a)AAAn owner may not leave a dog outside and unattended [by
use of a restraint that unreasonably limits the dog ’s movement]:
(1)AAin an enclosure of less than 150 square feet for
each dog over six months of age [between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6
a.m.];
(2)AA[within 500 feet of the premises of a school; or
[(3)]AAin the case of extreme weather conditions,
including conditions in which:
(A)AAthe actual or effective outdoor temperature
is below 32 degrees Fahrenheit;
(B)AAa heat advisory has been issued by a local or
state authority or jurisdiction; or
(C)AAa hurricane, tropical storm, or tornado
warning has been issued for the jurisdiction by the National
Weather Service; or
(3)AAin a restraint.
SECTIONA2.AASection 821.078, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
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Sec.A821.078.AAEXCEPTIONS.AASection 821.077 does not apply
to:
(1)AA[a dog restrained to a running line, pulley, or
trolley system and that is not restrained to the running line,
pulley, or trolley system by means of a pinch-type, prong-type,
choke-type, or improperly fitted collar;
[(2)]AAa dog restrained in compliance with the
requirements of a camping or recreational area as defined by a
federal, state, or local authority or jurisdiction;
[(3)AAa dog restrained for a reasonable period, not to
exceed three hours in a 24-hour period, and no longer than is
necessary for the owner to complete a temporary task that requires
the dog to be restrained;]
(2)A[(4)]AAa dog restrained while the owner is engaged
in, or actively training for, an activity that is conducted
pursuant to a valid license issued by this state if the activity for
which the license is issued is associated with the use or presence
of a dog;
(3)A[(5)]AAa dog restrained while the owner is engaged
in conduct directly related to the business of shepherding or
herding cattle or livestock; or
(4)A[(6)]AAa dog restrained while the owner is engaged
in conduct directly related to the business of cultivating
agricultural products, if the restraint is reasonably necessary for
the safety of the dog.
SECTIONA3.AASection 821.081, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
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Sec.A821.081.AAHAND-HELD LEASHES. This subchapter does not
prohibit a person from walking a dog with a hand-held leash if the
dog ’s owner or handler is physically present and in proximity to the
dog at all times so that the owner or handler may exercise immediate
physical control over the dog at any time.
SECTIONA4.AAChapter 821, Health and Safety Code, is amended
by adding Subchapter E to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER E. STANDARDS OF CARE AND CONFINEMENT
Sec.A821.091.AADEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1)AA"Cat" means a mammal that is wholly or partly of
the species Felis domesticus.
(2)AA"Commercial breeder" means a person who possesses
11 or more adult intact female dogs or cats and is engaged in the
business of breeding dogs or cats for direct or indirect sale or for
exchange in return for consideration.
(3)AA"Dog" means a mammal that is wholly or partly of
the species Canis familiaris.
(4)AA"Executive commissioner" means the executive
commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission.
(5)AA"Facility" means the premises used by a commercial
breeder for keeping or breeding dogs or cats. The term includes all
buildings, property, and confinement areas used to conduct the
commercial breeding business.
(6)AA"Possess" means to have custody of or control
over.
(7)AA"Veterinarian" means a veterinarian in good
standing and licensed to practice veterinary medicine in this state
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or another state.
Sec.A821.092.AAAPPLICABILITY OF SUBCHAPTER. (a) This
subchapter does not affect the applicability of any other law,
rule, order, ordinance, or other legal requirement of the federal
government, this state, or a political subdivision of this state.
(b)AAThis subchapter does not prevent a municipality or
county from prohibiting or further regulating by order or ordinance
the possession, breeding, or selling of dogs or cats.
(c)AAThis subchapter does not apply to an animal regulated
under the Texas Racing Act (Article 179e, Vernon ’s Texas Civil
Statutes).
Sec.A821.093.AAADOPTION OF STANDARDS. (a) The executive
commissioner shall adopt rules for the proper feeding, watering,
housing, care, including veterinary care, grooming, treatment,
transportation, and disposition of dogs and cats by a commercial
breeder to ensure the overall health and welfare of each dog or cat
in the commercial breeder ’s facility.
(b)AAThe standards adopted under this section must at a
minimum:
(1)AArequire dogs and cats to be offered food at least
once every 24 hours and to have continuous access to water unless
otherwise prescribed by a veterinarian;
(2)AAprovide for safe and adequately sized indoor and
outdoor confinement areas;
(3)AArequire daily removal of animal waste;
(4)AAinclude requirements for exercise, grooming, and
bathing;
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(5)AAinclude requirements for socialization through
physical contact between dogs and humans and cats and humans;
(6)AAinclude requirements to address disease and
illness;
(7)AArequire methods of transporting dogs and cats that
protect the health and welfare of the animals; and
(8)AAinclude requirements for adequate training of
staff.
(c)AAThe standards adopted under this section must prohibit:
(1)AAa commercial breeder from housing females in
estrus with unneutered males, except for breeding purposes;
(2)AAthe placement of a primary enclosure on top of
another primary enclosure without an impervious barrier between
enclosures;
(3)AAthe tethering or leashing of dogs or cats in a
facility as a means of confinement; and
(4)AAa commercial breeder from selling, trading, or
giving away a dog or cat before the animal is eight weeks of age.
Sec.A821.094.AAADDITIONAL STANDARDS. The executive
commissioner by rule may establish any additional standards
considered necessary to protect the public health and the welfare
of dogs and cats covered under this subchapter.
Sec.A821.095.AACONSIDERATION OF DOG AND CAT HEALTH AND
WELFARE STANDARDS. In adopting standards under this subchapter,
the executive commissioner shall consider relevant state, federal,
and nationally recognized standards for the health and welfare of
dogs and cats.
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SECTIONA5.AASections 42.092(b) and (c), Penal Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(b)AAA person commits an offense if the person intentionally,
knowingly, or recklessly:
(1)AAtortures an animal or in a cruel manner kills or
causes serious bodily injury to an animal;
(2)AAwithout the owner ’s effective consent, kills,
administers poison to, or causes serious bodily injury to an
animal;
(3)AAfails unreasonably to provide necessary food,
water, care, or shelter for an animal in the person ’s custody;
(4)AAabandons unreasonably an animal in the person ’s
custody;
(5)AAtransports or confines an animal in a cruel
manner;
(6)AAwithout the owner ’s effective consent, causes
bodily injury to an animal;
(7)AAcauses one animal to fight with another animal, if
either animal is not a dog;
(8)AAuses a live animal as a lure in dog race training
or in dog coursing on a racetrack; [or]
(9)AAseriously overworks an animal; or
(10)AAviolates a standard adopted under Section 821.093
or 821.094, Health and Safety Code.
(c)AAAn offense under Subsection (b)(3), (4), (5), (6), [or]
(9), or (10) is a Class A misdemeanor, except that the offense is a
state jail felony if the person has previously been convicted two
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times under this section, two times under Section 42.09, or one time
under this section and one time under Section 42.09. An offense
under Subsection (b)(1), (2), (7), or (
is a state jail felony,
except that the offense is a felony of the third degree if the
person has previously been convicted two times under this section,
two times under Section 42.09, or one time under this section and
one time under Section 42.09.
SECTIONA6.AASections 821.076(3) and 821.077(b), Health and
Safety Code, are repealed.
SECTIONA7.AAThe executive commissioner of the Health and
Human Services Commission shall adopt initial standards required by
Section 821.093, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, not
later than December 1, 2011.
SECTIONA8.AAThe changes in law made by this Act to Subchapter
D, Chapter 821, Health and Safety Code, apply only to an offense
committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An offense
committed before the effective date of this Act is covered by the
law in effect at the time the offense was committed, and the former
law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this
section, an offense is committed before the effective date of this
Act if any element of the offense occurs before that date.
SECTIONA9.AAThis Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
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