Bill Text: TX HB489 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relating to rights and responsibilities of persons with disabilities, including with respect to the use of service animals that provide assistance to those persons; providing penalties.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2013-06-14 - Effective on 1/1/14 [HB489 Detail]
Download: Texas-2013-HB489-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Relating to rights and responsibilities of persons with disabilities, including with respect to the use of service animals that provide assistance to those persons; providing penalties.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2013-06-14 - Effective on 1/1/14 [HB489 Detail]
Download: Texas-2013-HB489-Introduced.html
83R2354 KKR-F | ||
By: Menendez | H.B. No. 489 |
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relating to the use of assistance animals that provide assistance | ||
to persons with disabilities; providing criminal penalties. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Sections 121.002(4) and (5), Human Resources | ||
Code, are amended to read as follows: | ||
(4) "Person with a disability" means a person who has a | ||
mental or physical disability, including an intellectual | ||
disability [ |
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speech impairment, a visual impairment, post-traumatic stress | ||
disorder, or any health impairment that requires special ambulatory | ||
devices or services. | ||
(5) "Public facility [ |
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highway, sidewalk, walkway, common carrier, airplane, motor | ||
vehicle, railroad train, motor bus, streetcar, boat, or any other | ||
public conveyance or mode of transportation; a hotel, motel, or | ||
other place of lodging; a public building maintained by any unit or | ||
subdivision of government; a retail business, commercial | ||
establishment, or office building to which the general public is | ||
invited; a college dormitory or other educational facility; a | ||
restaurant or other place where food is offered for sale to the | ||
public; and any other place of public accommodation, amusement, | ||
convenience, or resort to which the general public or any | ||
classification of persons from the general public is regularly, | ||
normally, or customarily invited. | ||
SECTION 2. Section 121.003, Human Resources Code, is | ||
amended by adding Subsection (k) to read as follows: | ||
(k) A person is not entitled to make demands or inquiries | ||
relating to the qualifications or certifications of an assistance | ||
animal for purposes of admittance to a public facility except to | ||
determine the basic type of assistance provided by the assistance | ||
animal to a person with a disability. | ||
SECTION 3. Section 121.004, Human Resources Code, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 121.004. PENALTIES FOR AND DAMAGES RESULTING FROM | ||
DISCRIMINATION. (a) A person, including a firm, association, | ||
corporation, or other public or private organization, or the agent | ||
of the [ |
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an offense. An offense under this subsection is a Class B | ||
misdemeanor [ |
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(b) In addition to the penalty provided in Subsection (a) | ||
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corporation, or other public or private organization, or the agent | ||
of the [ |
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of his or her civil liberties. The person with a disability | ||
deprived of his or her civil liberties may maintain a cause of | ||
action for damages in a court of competent jurisdiction, and there | ||
is a conclusive presumption of damages in the amount of at least | ||
$2,000 [ |
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SECTION 4. Section 121.005, Human Resources Code, is | ||
amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows: | ||
(c) In response to a reasonable request by a person in a | ||
public facility relating to the type of assistance provided by an | ||
assistance animal for purposes of admitting the assistance animal | ||
to the facility, the person with a disability using the assistance | ||
animal shall provide a brief explanation of the basic type of | ||
assistance provided by the assistance animal. | ||
SECTION 5. Section 121.006(a), Human Resources Code, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(a) A person who uses an assistance animal with a harness or | ||
leash of the type commonly used by persons with disabilities who use | ||
trained animals, in order to represent that his or her animal is a | ||
specially trained assistance animal when training of the type | ||
described in Section 121.002(1)(B) [ |
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fact been provided, is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor [ |
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SECTION 6. Section 121.008, Human Resources Code, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 121.008. DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION RELATING TO | ||
PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES. (a) To ensure maximum public awareness | ||
of the policies set forth in this chapter, the governor shall [ |
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issue a proclamation each year taking suitable public notice of | ||
October 15 as White Cane Safety and Assistance Animal Recognition | ||
Day. The proclamation must contain appropriate comment about the | ||
significance of various devices and animals used by persons with | ||
disabilities to assist them in traveling, and must call to the | ||
attention of the public the provisions of this chapter and of other | ||
laws relating to the safety and well-being of this state's citizens | ||
with disabilities. | ||
(b) The comptroller, the secretary of state, and other state | ||
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to significant numbers of public facilities and businesses | ||
operating within the state shall cooperate with state agencies | ||
responsible for the rehabilitation of persons with disabilities by | ||
sending information about this chapter to those to whom regular | ||
mailings are sent. The information, which must be sent at [ |
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the request of state agencies responsible for the rehabilitation of | ||
persons with disabilities and at least [ |
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year, may be included in regular mailings or sent separately. If | ||
sent separately, the cost of mailing is borne by the state | ||
rehabilitation agency or agencies requesting the mailing and, | ||
regardless of whether sent separately or as part of a regular | ||
mailing, the cost of preparing information about this chapter is | ||
borne by the state rehabilitation agency or agencies requesting | ||
distribution of this information. | ||
SECTION 7. 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 | ||
governed by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and | ||
the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For | ||
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the | ||
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred | ||
before that date. | ||
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013. |