Bill Text: TX HB56 | 2011 | 82nd Legislature 1st Special | Comm Sub

Texas House Bill 56 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Relating to the regulation of certain animals.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 2)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-06-14 - Committee report sent to Calendars [HB56 Detail]

Download: Texas-2011-HB56-Comm_Sub.html

	82S10204 NAJ-D

	By: Larson, Guillen	H.B. No. 56



	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the regulation of certain animals.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1. Section 822.007, Health and Safety Code, is
	amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 822.007. LOCAL REGULATION OF DOGS. (a) Except as
	provided by Subsection (c), this [~~This~~] subchapter does not
	prohibit a municipality or county from adopting leash or
	registration requirements applicable to dogs.
	(b) A volunteer search and rescue service dog that is part
	of a volunteer search and rescue team is not considered a dangerous
	wild animal for purposes of this chapter.
	(c) In this section, "volunteer search and rescue team"
	means an individual or an organized group of volunteers issued a
	written document by a law enforcement department that recognizes
	the individual or group as a person or group that trains dogs to
	assist in the location of a lost or missing person or for law
	enforcement purposes. A municipality may not adopt or enforce an
	ordinance, including a leash law, that restricts the ability of a
	volunteer search and rescue team to train a service dog for search
	and rescue or law enforcement purposes.
	SECTION 2. Section 822.101, Health and Safety Code, is
	amended by adding Subdivision (8) to read as follows:
	(8) "Wildlife sanctuary" means a public charitable
	organization that:
	(A) is exempt from taxation under Section 501(a),
	Internal Revenue Code of 1986, by being listed as an exempt
	organization under Section 501(c)(3) of that code;
	(B) is described by Section 170(b)(1)(A)(vi),
	Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
	(C) operates a place of refuge where an abused,
	neglected, unwanted, impounded, abandoned, orphaned, or displaced
	wild animal is:
	(i) provided care for the animal's
	lifetime;
	(ii) transferred to another wildlife
	sanctuary; or
	(iii) released back to the animal's natural
	habitat; and
	(D) with respect to a wild animal owned by the
	organization, does not:
	(i) conduct any commercial activity; or
	(ii) breed the animal.
	SECTION 3. Section 822.102(a), Health and Safety Code, is
	amended to read as follows:
	(a) This subchapter does not apply to:
	(1) a county, municipality, or agency of the state or
	an agency of the United States or an agent or official of a county,
	municipality, or agency acting in an official capacity;
	(2) a research facility, as that term is defined by
	Section 2(e), Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. Section 2132), and its
	subsequent amendments, that is licensed by the secretary of
	agriculture of the United States under that Act;
	(3) an organization that is an accredited member of
	the American Zoo and Aquarium Association;
	(4) an injured, infirm, orphaned, or abandoned
	dangerous wild animal while being transported for care or
	treatment;
	(5) a sick or [an] injured[~~, infirm, orphaned, or~~
	~~abandoned~~] dangerous wild animal while being rehabilitated or[,]
	treated[~~, or cared for~~] by and in the temporary possession of a
	licensed veterinarian[~~, an incorporated humane society or animal~~
	~~shelter,~~] or a person who holds a rehabilitation permit issued
	under Subchapter C, Chapter 43, Parks and Wildlife Code, for the
	animal being rehabilitated or treated;
	(6) a dangerous wild animal owned by and in the custody
	and control of a transient circus company that is not based in this
	state if:
	(A) the animal is used as an integral part of the
	circus performances; and
	(B) the animal is kept within this state only
	during the time the circus is performing in this state or for a
	period not to exceed 30 days while the circus is performing outside
	the United States;
	(7) a dangerous wild animal while in the temporary
	custody or control of a television or motion picture production
	company during the filming of a television or motion picture
	production in this state;
	(8) a dangerous wild animal owned by and in the
	possession, custody, or control of a college or university solely
	as a mascot for the college or university;
	(9) a dangerous wild animal while being transported in
	interstate commerce through the state in compliance with the Animal
	Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. Section 2131 et seq.) and its subsequent
	amendments and the regulations adopted under that Act;
	(10) a nonhuman primate owned by and in the control and
	custody of a person whose only business is supplying nonhuman
	primates directly and exclusively to biomedical research
	facilities and who holds a Class "A" or Class "B" dealer's license
	issued by the secretary of agriculture of the United States under
	the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. Section 2131 et seq.) and its
	subsequent amendments;
	(11) a dangerous wild animal that is:
	(A) owned by or in the possession, control, or
	custody of a person who is a participant in a species survival plan
	of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association for that species; and
	(B) an integral part of that species survival
	plan; [~~and~~]
	(12) in a county west of the Pecos River that has a
	population of less than 25,000, a cougar, bobcat, or coyote in the
	possession, custody, or control of a person that has trapped the
	cougar, bobcat, or coyote as part of a predator or depredation
	control activity;
	(13) an organization that is an accredited member of
	the Zoological Association of America; and
	(14) a wildlife sanctuary that is verified or
	accredited by:
	(A) the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries;
	(B) the American Sanctuary Association and that
	received initial verification or accreditation from that
	association before May 1, 2011; or
	(C) a successor nonprofit organization that is
	similar to the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries and is
	designated by the Department of State Health Services if the Global
	Federation of Animal Sanctuaries ceases to exist.
	SECTION 4. 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 on the 91st day after the last day of the
	legislative session.