Bill Text: TX SB1010 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Comm Sub
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
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-Comm_Sub.html
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-Comm_Sub.html
By: Taylor | S.B. No. 1010 | |
(In the Senate - Filed March 1, 2013; March 12, 2013, read | ||
first time and referred to Committee on Agriculture, Rural Affairs, | ||
and Homeland Security; April 22, 2013, reported adversely, with | ||
favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 4, Nays | ||
0; April 22, 2013, sent to printer.) | ||
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1010 | By: Hinojosa |
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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 person who handles a search and | ||
rescue dog and who is certified by the National Association for | ||
Search and Rescue or another state or nationally recognized search | ||
and rescue agency. | ||
(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 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) A governmental unit, as defined by Section 101.001, | ||
Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is subject to liability under | ||
this section only as provided by Chapter 101, Civil Practice and | ||
Remedies Code. A public servant, as defined by Section 108.001, | ||
Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is subject to liability under | ||
this section only as provided by Chapter 108, Civil Practice and | ||
Remedies Code. | ||
Sec. 785.005. CANINE HANDLER CREDENTIALS. A person may ask | ||
a search and rescue dog handler to display proof that the handler is | ||
a person with a certification issued by the National Association | ||
for Search and Rescue or another state or nationally recognized | ||
search and rescue agency. | ||
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013. | ||
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