Bill Text: TX HB2981 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Relating to the procedures and duties of animal shelters and rescue organizations; providing penalties; authorizing a fee.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-05-01 - Committee report sent to Calendars [HB2981 Detail]
Download: Texas-2013-HB2981-Comm_Sub.html
83R16848 AED-D | |||
By: Rodriguez of Travis | H.B. No. 2981 | ||
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2981: | |||
By: Dutton | C.S.H.B. No. 2981 |
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relating to the procedures and duties of animal shelters and rescue | ||
organizations; providing penalties; authorizing a fee. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the Tax Saving Pet | ||
Adoption, Sterilization, and Transfer Act of 2013. | ||
SECTION 2. It is the intent of this state to reduce the | ||
amount of local tax money spent by local governments by fostering | ||
partnerships between governmental animal sheltering agencies and | ||
rescue organizations and to reduce the number of animals | ||
euthanized. To accomplish these purposes, this state finds and | ||
declares that: | ||
(1) the amount of local tax money spent to provide | ||
shelter to animals is reduced by transferring as soon as possible | ||
animals housed at governmental animal sheltering agencies to rescue | ||
organizations or private animal sheltering organizations and that | ||
the reduction in tax money spent is a legitimate and compelling | ||
public interest; | ||
(2) an animal shelter should be prohibited from | ||
refusing to adopt or transfer an animal based solely on animal | ||
characteristics such as age, appearance, size, or breed; and | ||
(3) governmental animal sheltering agencies and | ||
private animal sheltering organizations can together promote pet | ||
adoption, promote pet sterilization, and reduce the number of | ||
animals euthanized. | ||
SECTION 3. The heading to Chapter 823, Health and Safety | ||
Code, is amended to read as follows: | ||
CHAPTER 823. ANIMAL SHELTERS AND RESCUE ORGANIZATIONS | ||
SECTION 4. Section 823.001, Health and Safety Code, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 823.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: | ||
(1) "Animal" means a domestic dog, Canis lupus | ||
familiaris, or a domestic cat, Felis catus. | ||
(2) "Animal shelter" means a facility that keeps or | ||
legally impounds stray, homeless, abandoned, or unwanted animals. | ||
The term includes a governmental animal sheltering agency and a | ||
private animal sheltering organization. The term does not include a | ||
rescue organization. | ||
(3) "Business day" means any day an animal shelter is | ||
open to the public for animal reclaims. | ||
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(4) "Department" means the [ |
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Health Services. | ||
(5) "Executive commissioner" means the executive | ||
commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission. | ||
(6) "Governmental animal sheltering agency" means: | ||
(A) a municipal or county animal control shelter; | ||
or | ||
(B) a private animal shelter, society for the | ||
prevention of cruelty to animals, humane society, individual, or | ||
group that contracts with and receives money from a municipality or | ||
county to accept and house stray, abandoned, or owner-relinquished | ||
animals. | ||
(7) "Hold period" means the time an animal shelter is | ||
required by state law, municipal ordinance, or county order to hold | ||
an animal before the animal is adopted or euthanized. | ||
(8) "Irremediably suffering animal" means an animal | ||
that: | ||
(A) has a medical condition with a poor prognosis | ||
for life without the animal experiencing severe and unremitting | ||
pain despite veterinary care; | ||
(B) is in severe pain caused by an injury or | ||
severe respiratory distress, and the animal shelter's lack of | ||
resources limits the veterinary care readily available to the | ||
animal; | ||
(C) is suspected of carrying or is exhibiting | ||
signs of rabies; or | ||
(D) is symptomatic of a highly communicable and | ||
potentially fatal disease, including parvovirus, distemper, canine | ||
influenza, or panleukopenia. | ||
(9) "Private animal sheltering organization" means an | ||
animal shelter, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, | ||
humane society, or animal adoption group that: | ||
(A) qualifies as a charitable organization under | ||
Section 501(c)(3), Internal Revenue Code of 1986; | ||
(B) accepts animals into a physical facility | ||
other than a private residence; | ||
(C) places into new homes stray, abandoned, or | ||
owner-relinquished animals, including animals that have been | ||
transferred from a governmental or other private animal sheltering | ||
organization; and | ||
(D) does not receive municipal, county, or state | ||
funding and has not contracted with a municipality, a county, or | ||
this state to accept and house stray, abandoned, or | ||
owner-relinquished animals. | ||
(10) "Rescue organization," for purposes of this | ||
chapter, means an organization that: | ||
(A) has been in operation for at least one year, | ||
with a primary stated purpose of animal adoption, animal rescue, or | ||
sterilization of animals; | ||
(B) qualifies and has been in operation for at | ||
least one year as a charitable organization under Section | ||
501(c)(3), Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and | ||
(C) is described by Section 170(b)(1)(A)(vi), | ||
Internal Revenue Code of 1986. | ||
SECTION 5. Chapter 823, Health and Safety Code, is amended | ||
by adding Section 823.0021 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 823.0021. APPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN ANIMALS. Sections | ||
823.004(a) and (c) and 823.0042 do not apply to: | ||
(1) an irremediably suffering animal; | ||
(2) a dangerous dog, as defined by Section 822.041 or | ||
as determined by an applicable city or county ordinance; or | ||
(3) a dog with a documented history of unprovoked | ||
biting that caused severe physical injury to an individual and that | ||
was not: | ||
(A) a response to taunting; | ||
(B) a defense to attack; | ||
(C) in defense of a person; | ||
(D) a response attributable to maternal | ||
instinct, hunger, pain, or fear; or | ||
(E) an accident. | ||
SECTION 6. The heading to Section 823.003, Health and | ||
Safety Code, is amended to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 823.003. STANDARDS FOR ANIMAL SHELTERS AND RESCUE | ||
ORGANIZATIONS; CRIMINAL PENALTY. | ||
SECTION 7. Section 823.003, Health and Safety Code, is | ||
amended by amending Subsections (b), (c), and (e) and adding | ||
Subsections (c-1), (e-1), and (e-2) to read as follows: | ||
(b) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, an [ |
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animal shelter shall house and separate animals in its custody at | ||
all times by species and gender. An animal shelter may: | ||
(1) house together same-species animals that: | ||
(A) are spayed or neutered; | ||
(B) are nursing; or | ||
(C) are younger than three months of age; and | ||
(2) allow same-species animals to be placed together | ||
in a supervised, designated exercise area[ |
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(c) An animal shelter may not confine healthy animals with | ||
sick, injured, or diseased animals without the approval of a | ||
veterinarian licensed by this state to practice veterinary | ||
medicine. | ||
(c-1) An animal shelter may not refuse to adopt or transfer | ||
a dog or cat based solely on the animal's age, breed, type, breed | ||
mix, appearance, or size. | ||
(e) A governmental animal sheltering agency shall keep and | ||
maintain on its premises [ |
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disposition of animals in its custody and make the records | ||
available for inspection at reasonable times on request [ |
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(e-1) A rescue organization shall house and separate | ||
unsterilized animals four months of age or older in its custody by | ||
species and gender. A rescue organization may not house a healthy | ||
animal with an animal that has a communicable disease. | ||
(e-2) A rescue organization shall sterilize, microchip, and | ||
vaccinate an animal four months of age or older before the adoption | ||
or release of the animal to another organization or person, unless a | ||
veterinarian certifies in writing that an animal should not be | ||
sterilized because of the animal's age or medical condition. | ||
SECTION 8. Chapter 823, Health and Safety Code, is amended | ||
by adding Sections 823.004, 823.0041, 823.0042, 823.0043, | ||
823.0044, 823.0045, and 823.0046 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 823.004. HOLD PERIOD AND TITLE TRANSFER. (a) During | ||
the hold period of an animal shelter, the animal shelter is | ||
considered the owner of each animal in its possession for purposes | ||
of Section 801.004, Occupations Code. | ||
(b) On expiration of the hold period, ownership of the | ||
animal vests absolutely in the animal shelter. | ||
(c) Ownership of an animal immediately vests in an animal | ||
shelter or rescue organization if the animal is surrendered by the | ||
owner to the animal shelter or rescue organization. | ||
Sec. 823.0041. TRANSFER OF ANIMALS. (a) An animal shelter | ||
may at any time transfer an animal surrendered by the animal's owner | ||
to a rescue organization or private animal sheltering organization. | ||
(b) The animal shelter may release custody of the animal on | ||
a first-come, first-served basis to any rescue organization or | ||
private animal sheltering organization that is on site to receive | ||
the animal. | ||
Sec. 823.0042. EUTHANASIA PROCEDURES; TRANSFER REFUSAL; | ||
CRIMINAL PENALTY; MORATORIUM. (a) A governmental animal | ||
sheltering agency shall post a list of the animals in the agency's | ||
custody to be euthanized, with descriptions, photos, and | ||
information about when the animal's hold period expires, in a | ||
designated prominent public place or on an Internet website that | ||
can be accessed by rescue organizations and private animal | ||
sheltering organizations. | ||
(b) A governmental animal sheltering agency may not | ||
euthanize an animal within 24 hours of the time the posting required | ||
by Subsection (a) occurs. If, after 24 hours of the posting, a | ||
rescue organization or private animal sheltering organization does | ||
not respond in writing that the organization will take the animal, | ||
the governmental animal sheltering agency may euthanize the animal. | ||
(c) Before the scheduled euthanasia, a rescue organization | ||
or private animal sheltering organization that intends to take | ||
possession of an animal scheduled for euthanasia may notify, in | ||
writing or using other reasonable commercial means, the | ||
governmental animal sheltering agency that has possession of the | ||
animal of that intention. The transfer shall take place within 24 | ||
hours of the time the agency receives notification of the | ||
organization's intention. If the transfer does not take place | ||
within 24 hours of the time the agency receives notification of the | ||
organization's intention, the agency may euthanize the animal. | ||
(d) The governmental animal sheltering agency possessing | ||
the animal scheduled to be euthanized may make an adoption | ||
placement of the animal during the waiting period required by | ||
Subsection (b). | ||
(e) The governmental animal sheltering agency may: | ||
(1) charge a fee not to exceed the agency's standard | ||
adoption fee for each animal released to a rescue organization or | ||
private animal sheltering organization; and | ||
(2) establish the same requirements for the animal | ||
that are used for public adoptions. | ||
(f) A governmental animal sheltering agency shall transfer | ||
an animal scheduled to be euthanized to a rescue organization or | ||
private animal sheltering organization that requests transfer of | ||
the animal under this section, subject to the express limitations | ||
of this chapter or other law. | ||
(g) Notwithstanding Subsection (f), a governmental animal | ||
sheltering agency may refuse to transfer an animal to a rescue | ||
organization or private animal sheltering organization if: | ||
(1) any of the organization's current directors, | ||
officers, staff, or volunteers have been convicted of, have charges | ||
pending for, or have received a citation for an offense involving | ||
animal cruelty or neglect or a public health nuisance; | ||
(2) the organization is constrained by a court order | ||
that prevents the organization from accepting or housing animals; | ||
(3) a governmental law enforcement agency is | ||
conducting an active and ongoing investigation into the | ||
organization; or | ||
(4) the rescue organization fails to provide: | ||
(A) copies of veterinary records requested under | ||
Section 823.0044(1) indicating that the organization sterilizes | ||
animals in its care unless a veterinarian certifies in writing that | ||
an animal should not be sterilized because of age or a medical | ||
condition; | ||
(B) letters of recommendation requested under | ||
Section 823.0044(2); or | ||
(C) adoption paperwork, if the rescue | ||
organization receives more than 20 animals from a governmental | ||
animal sheltering agency in one year. | ||
(h) A rescue organization or private animal sheltering | ||
organization shall disclose to a governmental animal sheltering | ||
agency seeking to transfer an animal to the organization any | ||
applicable conviction, charge, citation, or legal impediment | ||
described in Subsection (g). | ||
(i) A person commits an offense if a person substantially | ||
violates this section. An offense under this subsection is a Class C | ||
misdemeanor. | ||
(j) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, in | ||
the case of a mass seizure of animals by law enforcement, euthanasia | ||
of animals may occur within 24 hours of the time the posting | ||
required by Subsection (a) occurs. | ||
(k) A governmental animal sheltering agency may place a | ||
moratorium on animal transfers to a rescue organization until a | ||
majority of the animals received by the organization from the | ||
agency have been adopted if: | ||
(1) the organization receives at least 20 animals from | ||
the agency in one year; and | ||
(2) the majority of animals received by the | ||
organization from the agency have not been adopted. | ||
Sec. 823.0043. INFORMATION REGARDING TRANSFERRED ANIMALS. | ||
A governmental animal sheltering agency may require not more | ||
frequently than monthly that a rescue organization or private | ||
animal sheltering organization provide information, orally, | ||
electronically, or in writing, regarding: | ||
(1) the number of animals the organization has | ||
received; and | ||
(2) of the number described in Subdivision (1), the | ||
number of animals that were adopted, died, were transferred to | ||
another organization, were euthanized, or are still under the | ||
organization's care. | ||
Sec. 823.0044. REQUIREMENTS FOR RESCUE ORGANIZATIONS. A | ||
rescue organization shall: | ||
(1) retain in its files and provide on request of a | ||
governmental animal sheltering agency a copy of records regarding | ||
the veterinary examinations and treatments, including animal | ||
sterilization, of each animal housed by the organization; | ||
(2) provide on request of a governmental animal | ||
sheltering agency letters of recommendation from two animal | ||
shelters located in this state; and | ||
(3) provide quarterly, on request of the governmental | ||
animal sheltering agency, the names and addresses of the directors | ||
and officers of the organization. | ||
Sec. 823.0045. TRANSFER OF ANIMAL BY GOVERNMENTAL ANIMAL | ||
SHELTERING AGENCY; SITE VISITATION. (a) If a governmental animal | ||
sheltering agency reasonably suspects that the placement of an | ||
animal with a rescue organization or private animal sheltering | ||
organization will expose the animal to neglect or cruelty, the | ||
agency may condition the release of the animal on the completion of | ||
a site visitation of the organization by a municipal or county agent | ||
or agency employee or enforcement agent. | ||
(b) The reasonable suspicion of the governmental animal | ||
sheltering agency may not be based solely on an anonymous complaint | ||
unless the complaint is made by a relative of a person affiliated | ||
with the rescue organization or private animal sheltering | ||
organization who has direct responsibility for animal care. | ||
(c) The governmental animal sheltering agency, on request, | ||
shall disclose to the rescue organization or private animal | ||
sheltering organization all information related to the agency's | ||
decision to require a site visitation under Subsection (a), except | ||
the identity of a person who submitted a complaint. | ||
(d) If the rescue organization or private animal sheltering | ||
organization agrees to a site visitation, the visit must be | ||
conducted within 72 hours after the time the organization agrees to | ||
the visit. If the visit is not conducted within 72 hours, the | ||
governmental animal sheltering agency's right to a site visitation | ||
is waived. If the organization refuses a site visitation, the | ||
agency may decline to place the animal with the organization. | ||
(e) The governmental animal sheltering agency within 24 | ||
hours of the completion of the site visitation shall notify the | ||
rescue organization or private animal sheltering organization of | ||
the results of the site visitation and whether the agency will | ||
release the animal to the organization. If the site visitation | ||
documents significant violations, the agency must include with the | ||
notification a list of the deficiencies that prohibit the release | ||
of an animal to the organization. | ||
(f) If the site visitation results in the filing of criminal | ||
neglect or cruelty to animals charges, the site visitation | ||
constitutes a failed inspection. | ||
Sec. 823.0046. LIMITED LIABILITY. An animal shelter that | ||
complies with the requirements of this chapter is not civilly or | ||
criminally liable for an adoption, transfer, or procedure conducted | ||
in accordance with this chapter. | ||
SECTION 9. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies | ||
only to conduct that occurs on or after the effective date of this | ||
Act. Conduct that occurs before the effective date of this Act is | ||
governed by the law in effect at the time the conduct occurred, and | ||
the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. | ||
(b) The change in law made by this Act applies 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 when the offense was committed. For purposes | ||
of this subsection, an offense was committed before the effective | ||
date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that | ||
date. | ||
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013. |