82R5527 ALB-D
 
  By: Coleman H.B. No. 2116
 
 
 
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:
         SECTION 1.  Section 821.077(a), Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  An owner may not leave a dog outside and unattended [by
  use of a restraint that unreasonably limits the dog's movement]:
               (1)  in 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)  [within 500 feet of the premises of a school; or
               [(3)]  in the case of extreme weather conditions,
  including conditions in which:
                     (A)  the actual or effective outdoor temperature
  is below 32 degrees Fahrenheit;
                     (B)  a heat advisory has been issued by a local or
  state authority or jurisdiction; or
                     (C)  a hurricane, tropical storm, or tornado
  warning has been issued for the jurisdiction by the National
  Weather Service; or
               (3)  in a restraint.
         SECTION 2.  Section 821.078, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 821.078.  EXCEPTIONS.  Section 821.077 does not apply
  to:
               (1)  [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)]  a 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)     a 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) [(4)]  a 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) [(5)]  a dog restrained while the owner is engaged
  in conduct directly related to the business of shepherding or
  herding cattle or livestock; or
               (4) [(6)]  a 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.
         SECTION 3.  Section 821.081, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 821.081.  HAND-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.
         SECTION 4.  Chapter 821, Health and Safety Code, is amended
  by adding Subchapter E to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER E.  STANDARDS OF CARE AND CONFINEMENT
         Sec. 821.091.  DEFINITIONS.  In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Cat" means a mammal that is wholly or partly of
  the species Felis domesticus.
               (2)  "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)  "Dog" means a mammal that is wholly or partly of
  the species Canis familiaris.
               (4)  "Executive commissioner" means the executive
  commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission.
               (5)  "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)  "Possess" means to have custody of or control
  over.
               (7)  "Veterinarian" means a veterinarian in good
  standing and licensed to practice veterinary medicine in this state
  or another state.
         Sec. 821.092.  APPLICABILITY 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)  This 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)  This subchapter does not apply to an animal regulated
  under the Texas Racing Act (Article 179e, Vernon's Texas Civil
  Statutes).
         Sec. 821.093.  ADOPTION 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)  The standards adopted under this section must at a
  minimum:
               (1)  require 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)  provide for safe and adequately sized indoor and
  outdoor confinement areas;
               (3)  require daily removal of animal waste;
               (4)  include requirements for exercise, grooming, and
  bathing;
               (5)  include requirements for socialization through
  physical contact between dogs and humans and cats and humans;
               (6)  include requirements to address disease and
  illness;
               (7)  require methods of transporting dogs and cats that
  protect the health and welfare of the animals; and
               (8)  include requirements for adequate training of
  staff.
         (c)  The standards adopted under this section must prohibit:
               (1)  a commercial breeder from housing females in
  estrus with unneutered males, except for breeding purposes;
               (2)  the placement of a primary enclosure on top of
  another primary enclosure without an impervious barrier between
  enclosures;
               (3)  the tethering or leashing of dogs or cats in a
  facility as a means of confinement; and
               (4)  a commercial breeder from selling, trading, or
  giving away a dog or cat before the animal is eight weeks of age.
         Sec. 821.094.  ADDITIONAL 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. 821.095.  CONSIDERATION 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.
         SECTION 5.  Sections 42.092(b) and (c), Penal Code, are
  amended to read as follows:
         (b)  A person commits an offense if the person intentionally,
  knowingly, or recklessly:
               (1)  tortures an animal or in a cruel manner kills or
  causes serious bodily injury to an animal;
               (2)  without the owner's effective consent, kills,
  administers poison to, or causes serious bodily injury to an
  animal;
               (3)  fails unreasonably to provide necessary food,
  water, care, or shelter for an animal in the person's custody;
               (4)  abandons unreasonably an animal in the person's
  custody;
               (5)  transports or confines an animal in a cruel
  manner;
               (6)  without the owner's effective consent, causes
  bodily injury to an animal;
               (7)  causes one animal to fight with another animal, if
  either animal is not a dog;
               (8)  uses a live animal as a lure in dog race training
  or in dog coursing on a racetrack; [or]
               (9)  seriously overworks an animal; or
               (10)  violates a standard adopted under Section 821.093
  or 821.094, Health and Safety Code.
         (c)  An 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
  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 (8) 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.
         SECTION 6.  Sections 821.076(3) and 821.077(b), Health and
  Safety Code, are repealed.
         SECTION 7.  The 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.
         SECTION 8.  The 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.
         SECTION 9.  This 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.