Bill Text: TX SB1010 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Relating to access to certain facilities by search and rescue dogs and their handlers; providing a criminal penalty.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2013-06-14 - Effective on 9/1/13 [SB1010 Detail]

Download: Texas-2013-SB1010-Introduced.html

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83R2051 AJZ-D
By: Taylor S.B. No. 1010

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to access to certain facilities by search and rescue dogs
and their handlers; providing a criminal penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 9, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 785 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 785. SEARCH AND RESCUE DOGS
Sec. 785.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Handler" means a peace officer, firefighter, or
other person who handles a search and rescue dog.
(2) "Housing accommodations" has the meaning assigned
by Section 121.002(3), Human Resources Code.
(3) "Public facility" means a facility described by
Section 121.002(5), Human Resources Code.
(4) "Search and rescue dog" means a canine that is
trained or being trained to assist a law enforcement agency, fire
department, or state or nationally recognized search and rescue
agency in search and rescue activities.
Sec. 785.002. DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED. (a) The owner,
manager, or operator of a public facility, or an employee or other
agent of the owner, manager, or operator, may not deny a search and
rescue dog admittance to the facility.
(b) The owner, manager, or operator of a public facility, or
an employee or other agent of the owner, manager, or operator, may
not deny a search and rescue dog's handler admittance to the
facility because of the presence of the handler's search and rescue
dog.
(c) The owner, manager, or operator of a common carrier,
airplane, railroad train, motor bus, streetcar, boat, or other
public conveyance or mode of transportation operating within this
state, or an employee or other agent of the owner, manager, or
operator, may not:
(1) refuse to accept as a passenger a search and rescue
dog or the dog's handler; or
(2) require the dog's handler to pay an additional fare
because of the search and rescue dog.
(d) The discrimination prohibited by this section includes:
(1) refusing to allow a search and rescue dog or the
dog's handler to use or be admitted to a public facility;
(2) a ruse or subterfuge calculated to prevent or
discourage a search and rescue dog or the dog's handler from using
or being admitted to a public facility; and
(3) failing to make a reasonable accommodation in a
policy, practice, or procedure to allow a search and rescue dog or
the dog's handler to be admitted to a public facility.
(e) A policy relating to the use of a public facility by a
designated class of persons from the general public may not
prohibit the use of the particular public facility by a search and
rescue dog or the dog's handler.
(f) A search and rescue dog's handler is entitled to full
and equal access, in the same manner as other members of the general
public, to all housing accommodations offered for rent, lease, or
compensation in this state, subject to any condition or limitation
established by law that applies to all persons, except that the
handler may not be required to pay an extra fee or charge or
security deposit for the search and rescue dog.
Sec. 785.003. PENALTY FOR DISCRIMINATION. (a) A person who
violates Section 785.002 commits an offense. An offense under this
subsection is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than
$300 or more than $1,000.
(b) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a) that
the actor requested the search and rescue dog handler's credentials
under Section 785.005 and the handler failed to provide the actor
with the credentials.
Sec. 785.004. RESPONSIBILITIES OF HANDLERS; CIVIL
LIABILITY. (a) A handler who accompanies a search and rescue dog
shall keep the dog properly harnessed or leashed. A person may
maintain a cause of action against a dog's handler for personal
injury, property damage, or death resulting from the failure of the
dog's handler to properly harness or leash the dog under the same
law applicable to other causes brought for the redress of injuries
caused by animals.
(b) The handler of a search and rescue dog is liable for any
property damage caused by the search and rescue dog to a public
facility or to housing accommodations.
(c) Sovereign and governmental immunity from suit and
liability of a governmental entity owning a search and rescue dog or
employing the dog's handler is waived only to the extent of the
liability described by this section.
Sec. 785.005. CANINE HANDLER CREDENTIALS. A person may ask
a search and rescue dog handler to display proof that the handler is
a peace officer, firefighter, or certified member of the National
Association for Search and Rescue or other state or nationally
recognized search and rescue agency.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.