Texas Humane Legislation Network (THLN) - Promoting the humane treatment of animals through legislation, education and advocacy

Bill No. HB 88
Sponsor(s): Dan Branch (R - Dist. 108)
Summary: Relating to the evacuation and sheltering of service animals and household pets in a disaster.
Analysis: This bill requires that companion animals and service animals be included in evacuation plans in the event of natural disasters.
Final Status: PASSED
Effective Date: 9.01.07

Bill No. HB 241
Sponsor(s): Roberto Alonzo (R - Dist. 104)
Summary: This bill requires that heat alarm systems be installed in any vehicle used in a K-9 law enforcement program. The heat alarm system would activate when the temperature in the vehicle’s interior becomes dangerous to a police dog in the vehicle.
Analysis: There are far too many instances in which a police dog has died from heat exhaustion because he was left in an unattended vehicle during times of excessive outside temperatures. This bill would protect against those instances.
Final Status: FAILED

Bill No. HB 308
Sponsor(s): Edmund Kuempel (R – Dist. 44)
Summary: This ill-conceived bill would allow a blind person to legally hunt wild animals by using a laser sighting device while accompanied by a sighted person.
Analysis: This bill is not good for hunters or their prey. No legally blind person should be exposed to a loaded firearm.
Final Status: PASSED
Effective Date: 6.15.07

Bill No. HB 408
Sponsor(s): Rob Eissler (R – Dist. 15)
Summary: This bill applies only to the unincorporated area of a county that has a population of 275,000 or more and is adjacent to a county with a population of 3.3 million or more. Thus, its application is limited to one or more counties that abut Harris County. The bill makes the barking by a dog outdoors in a neighborhood a nuisance if a reasonable person would find the noise objectionable. In determining that, the following factors would be considered: the time of day the noise was produced, the proximity of the production of the noise to other premises, and whether the sound is recurrent, intermittent or constant.
Analysis: The bill makes the barking by a dog outdoors in a neighborhood a nuisance if a reasonable person would find the noise objectionable.
Final Status: FAILED

Bill No. HB 604
Sponsor(s): Donna Howard (D – Dist. 48)
Summary: There are many current laws that allow lower tax appraisals for land that is used for certain purposes. This bill adds to that list land that is dedicated for wildlife management under a conservation easement that prohibits use of the land for any purpose other than habitat for wildlife.
Analysis: This bill would add to that list land that is dedicated for wildlife management under a conservation easement that in effect prohibits use of the land for any purpose other than habitat for wildlife.
Final Status: PASSED
Effective Date: 1.01.08

Bill No. HB 916
Sponsor(s): Jose Menendez (D – Dist. 124)
Summary: This bill strengthens the punishment for dog fighting by increasing the penalties for dog fighting and attending dog fighting exhibitions. It increases the penalty for causing one dog to fight with another from a Class A misdemeanor to a state jail felony and increases the penalty for attending a dog fighting exhibition from a Class C misdemeanor to a Class A misdemeanor.
Analysis: Dog fighting has been illegal in Texas for many years. Despite that fact, illegal dog fighting exhibitions are on the rise because apprehension and punishment of the perpetrators is extremely difficult under our existing statute, and the penalties when prosecution is successful are too light to be a deterrent. Dog fighting is not only a cruel and barbaric activity in and of itself, but it is almost always accompanied by other illegal activities such as gambling, money laundering, drugs, fire arms, alcohol and gang fights. Tragically, young people are most always present and witness the violence of dog fighting and the related activities. Also, many family pets are stolen as “training bait” for fighting dogs.
Final Status: PASSED
Effective Date: 9.01.08

Bill No. HB 1258
Sponsor(s): Buddy West (R – Dist. 81)
Summary: This bill increases the penalties for injuring a police service animal from a state jail felony to a second degree felony if the defendant’s action results in killing the animal or seriously injuring the animal in a manner that permanently affects the animal’s ability to perform as a police service animal. FAILED (BUT WAS AMENDED ONTO ANOTHER BILL – SB 1562 – THAT PASSED)
Analysis: Police service animals are an integral part of law enforcement and serve as efficient and loyal public servants. They deserve the maximum protection possible to deter felonious actions directed to kill or injure them.
Final Status: FAILED

Bill No. HB 1308
Sponsor(s): Harvey Hilderbran (R – Dist. 53)
Summary: This bill effectively allows private ownership of white-tailed and mule deer, both of which are native species to Texas. Absent this bill, these animals would not be permitted to be owned by any individual, but instead be owned by the state for all citizens. This bill is designed to facilitate the ownership and breeding of white-tailed and mule deer by owners of large ranches which then promote private hunts for special bred white-tailed and mule deer.
Analysis: The white-tailed and mule deer of this state belong to the citizens of the state and no special rights should be given to a particular group of people to capture and breed these animals.
Final Status: PASSED
Effective Date: 9.01.07

Bill No. HB 1309
Sponsor(s): Harvey Hilderbran (R – Dist. 53)
Summary: This bill would require persons possessing or transporting certain poisonous and constrictor snakes that are not indigenous to this country to obtain a permit and be regulated by Texas Parks & Wildlife.
Analysis: THLN believes that animals such as this should be regulated, but this bill is very weak and does little or nothing to prohibit the practice. In addition, Texas Parks & Wildlife does a poor job of regulating animals and that’s why the dangerous wild animals were taken from Parks & Wildlife and placed with the counties.
Final Status: FAILED

Bill No. HB 1355
Sponsor(s): Dan Gattis (R- Dist. 20)
Summary: This bill is one of at least three that penalize the owner of a dog that attacks a person. Of the three bills, this is best drafted and fairest in terms of balancing the safety of the general public and the owner’s rights with respect to a dog and the dog’s right with respect to having its conduct evaluated on a case by case basis.
Analysis: This bill probably is the fairest and best written of all bills dealing with attacks by dogs on humans. However, even this bill imposes seriously strong penalties for a violation. It would seem more reasonable for the penalties to be reduced to a Class A misdemeanor for serious bodily injury and a state jail felony for death.
Final Status: PASSED
Effective Date: 9.01.07

Bill No. HB 1411
Sponsor(s): Buddy West (R – Dist. 81)
Summary: This bill prohibits an owner from tethering a dog outside between the hours of 10 PM and 6 AM and during extreme weather conditions. The bill also prohibits the use of a pinchtype, prong-type or choke-type collar and a tether that is shorter than 5 times the length of the dog or 10 feet, whichever is the lesser. The penalty for violation is a Class C misdemeanor.
Analysis: Tethering a dog outside for an extended period is unquestionably cruel. In addition, it causes the dog to become aggressive, it leaves them exposed to extreme weather conditions, and places them in a position where children can enter the premises and be harmed. Responsible pet ownership, including proper care and restraint of a person’s dog, is essential.
Final Status: PASSED
Effective Date: 9.01.07

Bill No. HB 1547
Sponsor(s): Jodie Laubenberg (R – Dist. 89)
Summary: This bill allows a family court judge to enter orders protecting family pets from abusive spouses.
Analysis: Often companion animals are killed or harmed as a result of family violence situations and abusive relationships. Often, in family violence situations, the abused spouse is held hostage by threats to kill, kidnap or otherwise harm the abused spouse’s pet or companion animal. This threat often keeps abused spouses from seeking help and will encourage abused spouses to seek help in community shelters without fear that their companion animal will be killed, harmed or taken from them.
Final Status: FAILED

Bill No. HB 1728
Sponsor(s): Linda Harper-Brown (R – Dist. 105)
Summary: The Health & Safety Code currently requires cities and counties to keep information contained in rabies vaccination certificates on a dog and cat registry confidential and be disclosed only to a government entity for purposes related to the protection of public health and safety. This bill amends the current law to allow that information to be disclosed to third party contractors who are performing animal control services or animal registration services for a city or county, requires those third party contractors to maintain the confidentiality of that information, and use that information only in connection with the performance of their duties under the government contract.
Analysis: Numerous cities and counties find it more efficient and economical to hire third party contractors to provide animal control services and/or pet registration services. This bill will allow those who choose to do so, to furnish the information contained in rabies vaccination certificates and in their pet registries to be disclosed to those third party contractors for their use in performing their duties under the contact. The bill also protects the public by requiring any third party contractor to maintain the confidentiality of the information they receive from the government entity. This will allow cities and counties to outsource their animal control and pet registration programs if they choose to do so.
Final Status: PASSED
Effective Date: 6.16.07

Bill No. HB 2328
Sponsor(s): Beverly Woolley (R – Dist. 136)
Summary: This bill closed numerous “loopholes” in the animal cruelty statute that for years had allowed many aggravated acts of animal cruelty to go unpunished.
Analysis: Before the passage of HB 2328, the Texas animal cruelty statute was a patchwork of amendments that were added over a 20-year period. The result was an inconsistent, poorly written statue that allowed dozens of offenders to escape prosecution by exploiting its many “loopholes.” HB 2328 closed these “loopholes”, now making prosecution for animal cruelty much more effective.
Final Status: PASSED
Effective Date: 9.01.07

Bill No. HB 2414
Sponsor(s): Carl Isett (R– Dist. 84)
Summary: This bill makes hunting from public roads or rights-of-way an offense under the Parks and Wildlife Code.
Analysis: THLN would support this bill.
Final Status: FAILED

Bill No. HB 2476
Sponsor(s): Sid Miller (R – Dist. 59)
Summary: The possession and sale of horse meat for human consumption is currently prohibited in Texas. This bill would legalize that practice and allow the two horse slaughter plants in Texas, one in Fort Worth and one in Kaufman, to continue operations in light of the recent United States Fifth Circuit case that ruled such actions were illegal and prosecutable.
Analysis: The process of horse slaughter is very cruel. It begins with the cruel transport of horses to the slaughter plant. Americans do not eat horses and consider them part of the American culture and not meat. The slaughter houses operating in Texas are foreign owned and all profits and horse meat go to foreign countries. A poll taken in 2003 showed that 72% of Texans opposed horse slaughter for human consumption and 77% of Texans opposed the change in the law this bill attempts to make.
Final Status: FAILED

Bill No. HB 2966
Sponsor(s): Mark Strama (D – Dist. 50)
Summary: This bill assures that monies from specialty license plate fees such as the Animal Friendly License Plate go for their intended purpose. This will ensure that the monies raised from the sale of the Animal Friendly License Plate goes to groups to help with pet sterilization throughout the state. In the past, even though these funds were segregated, they were not allocated for their use, but instead held in abeyance as an accounting trick to balance the state budget. This bill will no longer allow that.
Analysis: THLN was instrumental in enacting the Animal Friendly License Plate Statute. That Statute provides that fees paid for Animal Friendly License Plates will be placed in a fund to make grants to non-profit groups to provide low and no cost spay/neuter services to citizens throughout the state. The Animal Friendly License Plate is the second most popular plate in the state and has generated revenues of well over $3 million since it was placed for sale. Unfortunately, only a small amount of this money has been allocated to the Department of State Health Services for distribution to non-profits to provide low cost spay/neuter services. Thus, the money has been sitting in the state treasury while much needed spay/neuter surgeries go unfunded. This bill will stop those shenanigans and require the state legislature to allocate all of those funds for their intended purposes.
Final Status: PASSED
Effective Date: 9.01.07

Bill No. HB 3845
Sponsor(s): Harvey Hilderbran (R – Dist. 53)
Summary: This bill exempts from the required registration of dangerous wild animal a trapper who traps bobcats, cougars or coyotes and uses them in a predator control program or sells them to someone else to use in a predator control program.
Analysis: Texas state law does not outlaw the possession of a dangerous wild animal. Instead, it only requires that they be registered to protect the general public and to assure a minimum degree of care for the animal. There is no reason why a trapper who traps and keeps these animals should not have to register them, just like everyone else.
Final Status: FAILED

Bill No. HB 3930
Sponsor(s): Mark Homer (R – Dist. 3)
Summary: Under current law when law enforcement officers seize cruelly treated animals, the hearing to determine whether or not the owner will be divested of ownership must be held within 10 days in a municipal or Justice of the Peace Court and the decision of that court is final and non-appealable. HB 3930 changes that law and allows the owner to appeal the municipal or Justice Court's decision to a county court or county court at law.
Analysis: If HB 3930 passed, city and county attorneys will have to try these cruelty cases twice which will be costly to the cities and counties. The delay will also cause an additional expense to the cities and counties to keep the animal during the appeal and will cause the animals to suffer longer and not be available for adoption or, when necessary, euthanasia until the second trial is over which could be weeks or months.
Final Status: FAILED

Bill No. SB 254 - Health and Safety Code, Chapter 828
Sponsor(s): Rodney Ellis (D – Dist. 13)
Summary: This bill authorizes the commissioners’ court of a county with a population of over 1.3 million people to regulate the sale of animals on a public highway or road, in the right-of-way of a public highway or road or in a parking lot in the unincorporated area of the county.
Analysis: Roadside sales of animals circumvent mechanisms for ensuring that a pet is appropriately registered, vaccinated, in good health and spayed or neutered.
Final Status: PASSED
Effective Date: 9.01.07

Bill No. SB 349
Sponsor(s): Rodney Ellis (D – Dist. 13)
Summary: This bill applies only in counties with a population of 3.3 million or more which limits the application of this bill to Harris County. The bill allows the county to effectively declare any pet as dangerous and impose fees and other requirements of the owner of the pet determined to be dangerous. There are no standards for the determination.
Analysis: This bill is far too broad and gives no criteria for what is or is not a dangerous pet. This is left with the discretion of the county commissioners’ court and could lead to abuses of power and breed specific legislation.
Final Status: FAILED

Bill No. SB 1562
Sponsor(s): Juan Hinojosa (D – Dist. 20)
Summary: This bill will require animal control officers to have a certain minimum number of hours of training and a certificate of completion of that training. The initial basic training will be 12 hours and the continuing training will require a minimum of 30 hours every 3 years thereafter.
Analysis: The Texas Animal Control Association represents animal control officers in the State of Texas and they want mandatory training to ensure the highest standards of professional conduct from those officers who enforce state and local animal control and animal cruelty laws and are charged with the care of stray and homeless animals. This bill will ensure that all animal control officers in Texas receive a basic modicum of initial training and regular continuing education and training so that they may be kept aware of new methods and techniques, laws and other information that affect the way they perform their duties.
Final Status: PASSED
Effective Date: 9.01.07

Bill No. HJR 70
Sponsor(s): David Farabee (D – Dist. 69)
Summary: This is actually a House Joint Resolution which is the initial step required to amend the Texas state constitution. If this joint resolution were to pass, it would place this issue on the ballot for the voters to determine whether or not to amend the constitution to establish the right to hunt, fish, etc.
Analysis: There is absolutely no need to create a constitutional right to hunt, fish or otherwise enjoy the natural resources of Texas. There are no current laws prohibiting that, but there are some that regulate those activities. A constitutional amendment could adversely affect these regulations. The use of the natural resources of the state should be left to the legislature to determine and regulate as circumstances dictate. Laws can be changed to balance the rights of all citizens as well as the need to preserve our natural resources. A constitutional change would prohibit this.
Final Status: FAILED

Bill No. HJR 71
Sponsor(s): Harvey Hilderbran (R – Dist. 53)
Summary: This bill would allow the citizens of Texas to vote on a constitutional amendment to require the allocation and use of sporting goods sales tax revenue to fund state and local parks. Currently it can be used for other things in the general fund.
Analysis: It is unlikely such a constitutional amendment would pass and, if it did, care must be taken that the use would be for state and local parks and not to promote hunting and fishing only.
Final Status: FAILED