Bill Text: TX HB3063 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relating to the transfer of a retired law enforcement animal.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-04-30 - Laid on the table subject to call [HB3063 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HB3063-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Relating to the transfer of a retired law enforcement animal.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-04-30 - Laid on the table subject to call [HB3063 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HB3063-Introduced.html
86R7661 JTS-F | ||
By: Smithee | H.B. No. 3063 |
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relating to the transfer of a retired county or municipal law | ||
enforcement animal. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 263.152(a), Local Government Code, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(a) The commissioners court of a county may: | ||
(1) periodically sell the county's surplus or salvage | ||
property by competitive bid or auction, except that competitive | ||
bidding or an auction is not necessary if the purchaser is another | ||
county or a political subdivision within the county that is selling | ||
the surplus or salvage property; | ||
(2) offer the property as a trade-in for new property | ||
of the same general type if the commissioners court considers that | ||
action to be in the best interests of the county; | ||
(3) order any of the property to be destroyed or | ||
otherwise disposed of as worthless if the commissioners court | ||
undertakes to sell that property under Subdivision (1) and is | ||
unable to do so because no bids are made; | ||
(4) dispose of the property by donating it to a civic | ||
or charitable organization located in the county if the | ||
commissioners court determines that: | ||
(A) undertaking to sell the property under | ||
Subdivision (1) would likely result in no bids or a bid price that | ||
is less than the county's expenses required for the bid process; | ||
(B) the donation serves a public purpose; and | ||
(C) the organization will provide the county with | ||
adequate consideration, such as relieving the county of | ||
transportation or disposal expenses related to the property; | ||
(5) transfer gambling equipment in the possession of | ||
the county following its forfeiture to the state to the Texas | ||
Facilities [ |
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Section 2175.904, Government Code; [ |
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(6) order any vehicle retired under a program designed | ||
to encourage the use of low-emission vehicles to be crushed and | ||
recycled, if practicable, without a competitive bid or auction; or | ||
(7) by order or resolution, transfer a retired law | ||
enforcement animal as provided by Section 272.007. | ||
SECTION 2. Chapter 272, Local Government Code, is amended | ||
by adding Section 272.007 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 272.007. TRANSFER OF RETIRED LAW ENFORCEMENT ANIMAL. | ||
(a) The commissioners court of a county or the governing body of a | ||
municipality may enter into a contract with a person for the | ||
transfer of a law enforcement dog, horse, or other animal that has | ||
been determined by the head of the applicable law enforcement | ||
agency to be: | ||
(1) suitable for transfer, after consulting with the | ||
animal's veterinarian, handlers, and other caretakers; and | ||
(2) surplus to the needs of the county or municipality | ||
because the animal is: | ||
(A) at the end of the animal's working life; or | ||
(B) subject to circumstances that justify making | ||
the animal available for transfer before the end of the animal's | ||
working life, including: | ||
(i) the death of the animal's handler in the | ||
line of duty or as a result of injuries sustained in the line of | ||
duty; or | ||
(ii) the medical retirement of the animal's | ||
handler as a result of injuries sustained in the line of duty. | ||
(b) A law enforcement animal determined to be suitable and | ||
eligible for transfer under Subsection (a) may be transferred only | ||
to a person who is: | ||
(1) capable of humanely caring for the animal; and | ||
(2) selected by the head of the applicable law | ||
enforcement agency in the following order of priority, as | ||
applicable: | ||
(A) the animal's former handler who medically | ||
retired as a result of injuries sustained in the line of duty; | ||
(B) the parent, child, spouse, or sibling of the | ||
animal's former handler if the handler was killed in the line of | ||
duty or died from injuries sustained in the line of duty; | ||
(C) a former handler not described by Paragraph | ||
(A); | ||
(D) a peace officer, county jailer, or | ||
telecommunicator other than the animal's handler; or | ||
(E) another person. | ||
(c) If more than one person in a category of authorized | ||
transferees under Subsection (b)(2) requests to receive the animal, | ||
the head of the applicable law enforcement agency shall determine | ||
which of the potential transferees would best serve the best | ||
interest of the animal and the applicable county or municipality. | ||
(d) A contract for a transfer under this section: | ||
(1) may provide for the transfer without charge to the | ||
transferee; | ||
(2) must require the transferee to: | ||
(A) humanely care for the animal, including | ||
providing food, shelter, and regular and appropriate veterinary | ||
care, including medication, to properly provide for the animal's | ||
health; | ||
(B) comply with all state and local laws | ||
applicable to keeping domestic animals; and | ||
(C) notify the applicable county or municipality | ||
if the transferee is no longer able to humanely care for the animal; | ||
and | ||
(3) must require the applicable county or municipality | ||
to take possession of the animal on: | ||
(A) receipt of the notice under Subdivision | ||
(2)(C); or | ||
(B) a finding by the commissioners court or | ||
municipal governing body, as applicable, that the transferee is no | ||
longer able to humanely care for the animal. | ||
(e) A county or municipality that transfers an animal under | ||
this section: | ||
(1) is not liable in a civil action for any damages | ||
arising from the transfer, including damages arising from the | ||
animal's law enforcement training; and | ||
(2) is not liable for veterinary expenses of the | ||
transferred animal, including expenses associated with care for a | ||
condition of the animal that existed before or at the time of | ||
transfer, regardless of whether the applicable law enforcement | ||
agency, county, or municipality was aware of the condition. | ||
(f) This section does not: | ||
(1) require an animal to be transferred under this | ||
section; | ||
(2) affect a county's or municipality's authority to | ||
care for retired law enforcement animals; or | ||
(3) waive the governmental immunity to suit and from | ||
liability of the county or municipality transferring an animal. | ||
SECTION 3. 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, 2019. |