By Naishtat H.B. No. 2525
75R3803 SAW-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the rights and responsibilities of persons with
1-3 disabilities.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. The heading of Title 8, Human Resources Code, is
1-6 amended to read as follows:
1-7 TITLE 8. RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
1-8 OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES [THE HANDICAPPED]
1-9 SECTION 2. Section 121.001, Human Resources Code, is amended
1-10 to read as follows:
1-11 Sec. 121.001. STATE POLICY. The policy of the state is to
1-12 encourage and enable [physically handicapped] persons with
1-13 disabilities to participate fully in the social and economic life
1-14 of the state, to achieve maximum personal independence, to become
1-15 gainfully employed, and to otherwise fully enjoy and use all public
1-16 facilities available within the state.
1-17 SECTION 3. Section 121.002, Human Resources Code, is amended
1-18 to read as follows:
1-19 Sec. 121.002. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
1-20 (1) ["White cane" means a cane or walking stick which
1-21 is metallic or white in color or white tipped with some contrasting
1-22 color, and which is carried by a blind person to assist the blind
1-23 person in traveling from place to place.]
1-24 [(2)] "Assistance animal [dog]" means an animal [a
2-1 dog] that is specially trained or equipped to help a [blind or
2-2 handicapped] person with a disability[,] and that:
2-3 (A) is used by a [blind or handicapped] person
2-4 with a disability who has satisfactorily completed a specific
2-5 course of training in the use of the animal [dog]; and
2-6 (B) has been trained by an organization
2-7 generally recognized by agencies involved in the rehabilitation of
2-8 persons with disabilities [the blind or handicapped] as reputable
2-9 and competent to provide animals [dogs] with training of this
2-10 type.
2-11 (2) [(3) "Public facilities" includes streets,
2-12 highways, sidewalks, walkways, all common carriers, airplanes,
2-13 motor vehicles, railroad trains, motor buses, streetcars, boats, or
2-14 any other public conveyances or modes of transportation, hotels,
2-15 motels, or other places of lodging, public buildings maintained by
2-16 any unit or subdivision of government, buildings to which the
2-17 general public is invited, college dormitories and other
2-18 educational facilities, restaurants or other places where food is
2-19 offered for sale to the public, and all other places of public
2-20 accommodation, amusement, convenience, or resort to which the
2-21 general public or any classification of persons from the general
2-22 public is regularly, normally, or customarily invited.]
2-23 [(4) "Handicapped person" means a person who has a
2-24 mental or physical handicap, including mental retardation, hardness
2-25 of hearing, deafness, speech impairment, visual handicap, being
2-26 crippled, or any other health impairment which requires special
2-27 ambulatory devices or services.]
3-1 [(5) "Housing accommodations" means all or part of
3-2 real property which is used or occupied or is intended, arranged,
3-3 or designed to be used or occupied as the home, residence, or
3-4 sleeping place of one or more human beings, except a single family
3-5 residence whose occupants rent, lease, or furnish for compensation
3-6 only one room.]
3-7 [(6)] "Harass" means any conduct that:
3-8 (A) is directed at an assistance animal [dog]
3-9 that impedes or interferes with, or is intended to impede or
3-10 interfere with, the animal's [dog's] performance of its duties; or
3-11 (B) places a [blind or handicapped] person with
3-12 a disability who is using an assistance animal [dog], or a trainer
3-13 who is training an assistance animal [dog], in danger of injury.
3-14 (3) "Housing accommodations" means all or part of real
3-15 property that is used or occupied or is intended, arranged, or
3-16 designed to be used or occupied as the home, residence, or sleeping
3-17 place of one or more human beings, except a single-family residence
3-18 whose occupants rent, lease, or furnish for compensation only one
3-19 room.
3-20 (4) "Person with a disability" means a person who has
3-21 a mental or physical disability, including mental retardation,
3-22 hearing impairment, deafness, speech impairment, visual impairment,
3-23 or any other health impairment that requires special ambulatory
3-24 devices or services.
3-25 (5) "Public facilities" includes a street, highway,
3-26 sidewalk, walkway, common carrier, airplane, motor vehicle,
3-27 railroad train, motor bus, streetcar, boat, or any other public
4-1 conveyance or mode of transportation; a hotel, motel, or other
4-2 place of lodging; a public building maintained by any unit or
4-3 subdivision of government; a building to which the general public
4-4 is invited; a college dormitory or other educational facility; a
4-5 restaurant or other place where food is offered for sale to the
4-6 public; and any other place of public accommodation, amusement,
4-7 convenience, or resort to which the general public or any
4-8 classification of persons from the general public is regularly,
4-9 normally, or customarily invited.
4-10 (6) "White cane" means a cane or walking stick that is
4-11 metallic or white in color, or white tipped with a contrasting
4-12 color, and that is carried by a blind person to assist the blind
4-13 person in traveling from place to place.
4-14 SECTION 4. Section 121.003, Human Resources Code, is amended
4-15 to read as follows:
4-16 Sec. 121.003. DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED. (a) Persons with
4-17 disabilities [Subject only to limitations and conditions
4-18 established by law and applicable alike to all persons, persons who
4-19 are physically handicapped] have the same right as the able-bodied
4-20 to the full use and enjoyment of any public facility in the state.
4-21 (b) No common carrier, airplane, railroad train, motor bus,
4-22 streetcar, boat, or other public conveyance or mode of
4-23 transportation operating within the state may refuse to accept as a
4-24 passenger a person with a disability [who is blind or physically
4-25 handicapped] solely because of the person's disability [blindness
4-26 or handicap], nor may a [blind or handicapped] person with a
4-27 disability be required to pay an additional fare because of his or
5-1 her use of an assistance animal [dog], wheelchair, crutches, or
5-2 other device used to assist a [the blind or handicapped] person
5-3 with a disability in travel.
5-4 (c) No person with a disability [who is blind or physically
5-5 handicapped] may be denied admittance to any public facility in the
5-6 state because of the [blind or handicapped] person's disability.
5-7 No person with a disability may be denied the use of a white cane,
5-8 assistance animal [dog], wheelchair, crutches, or other device of
5-9 assistance [in mobility, or because the person is blind or
5-10 handicapped].
5-11 (d) The discrimination prohibited by this section includes a
5-12 [discrimination through an open and obvious] refusal to allow a
5-13 [blind or handicapped] person with a disability to use or be
5-14 admitted to any public facility, [as well as discrimination based
5-15 on] a ruse or subterfuge calculated to prevent or discourage a
5-16 [blind or handicapped] person with a disability from using or being
5-17 admitted to a public facility, and a failure to:
5-18 (1) comply with the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968
5-19 (42 U.S.C. Section 4151 et seq.);
5-20 (2) make reasonable accommodations in policies,
5-21 practices, and procedures; or
5-22 (3) provide auxiliary aids and services necessary to
5-23 allow the full use and enjoyment of the public facility.
5-24 (e) Regulations relating to the use of public facilities by
5-25 any designated class of persons from the general public may not
5-26 prohibit the use of particular public facilities by [blind or
5-27 handicapped] persons with disabilities who, except for their
6-1 disabilities [blindness or handicaps] or use of assistance animals
6-2 [dogs] or other devices for assistance in travel, would fall within
6-3 the designated class. Lists containing the names of persons who
6-4 desire to use particular public facilities may not be composed or
6-5 manipulated so as to deny a [blind or handicapped] person with a
6-6 disability a fair and equal opportunity to use or be admitted to
6-7 any public facility.
6-8 (f) [(e)] This section does not limit the right of the owner
6-9 or manager of a public facility to refuse to admit, to refuse to
6-10 serve, or to evict from a public facility a person who poses a
6-11 significant risk to the health or safety of others that reasonable
6-12 accommodations cannot eliminate. The owner or manager shall assess
6-13 the nature, duration, and severity of the risk and the probability
6-14 of injury to others [is so unkempt as to be clearly offensive to
6-15 others using the public facility, who is obviously intoxicated, or
6-16 who conducts himself in a belligerent, boisterous, profane, or
6-17 other offensive manner which unreasonably interferes with the right
6-18 of other persons to use and enjoy the public facility].
6-19 (g) It is the policy of the state that persons with
6-20 disabilities [the blind, the visually handicapped and the otherwise
6-21 physically disabled] be employed by the state, by political
6-22 subdivisions of the state, in the public schools, and in all other
6-23 employment supported in whole or in part by public funds on the
6-24 same terms and conditions as persons without disabilities [the
6-25 able-bodied], unless it is shown that an individual with a
6-26 disability cannot perform the essential elements of a job after
6-27 reasonable accommodations have been made [the particular disability
7-1 prevents the performance of the work involved].
7-2 (h) Persons with disabilities [The blind, the visually
7-3 handicapped, and the otherwise physically disabled] shall be
7-4 entitled to full and equal access, as other members of the general
7-5 public, to all housing accommodations offered for rent, lease, or
7-6 compensation in this state, subject to the conditions and
7-7 limitations established by law and applicable alike to all persons.
7-8 (i) Nothing in this section shall require any person renting
7-9 or[,] leasing private real property, or providing private real
7-10 property for compensation, [real property] to modify his or her
7-11 property in any way or provide a higher degree of care for a [blind
7-12 person, visually handicapped person, or otherwise physically
7-13 disabled] person with a disability than for a person without a
7-14 disability [who is not physically disabled].
7-15 (j) A person with a total [totally] or partial disability
7-16 [partially blind or handicapped person] who has or obtains an
7-17 assistance animal [dog] is entitled to full and equal access to all
7-18 housing accommodations provided for in this section, and may not be
7-19 required to pay extra compensation for the animal [dog] but is
7-20 liable for damages done to the premises by the animal [dog].
7-21 (k) An assistance animal [dog] in training shall not be
7-22 denied admittance to any public facility when accompanied by an
7-23 approved trainer who is an agent of an organization generally
7-24 recognized by agencies involved in the rehabilitation of persons
7-25 who are [blind or] disabled as reputable and competent to provide
7-26 training for assistance animals [dogs], and/or their blind
7-27 handlers.
8-1 (l) A person may not assault, harass, interfere with, or
8-2 injure in any way, or attempt to assault, harass, interfere with,
8-3 or injure in any way, an assistance animal [dog].
8-4 SECTION 5. Section 121.004(b), Human Resources Code, is
8-5 amended to read as follows:
8-6 (b) In addition to the penalty provided in Subsection (a) of
8-7 this section, a person, firm, association, corporation, or other
8-8 organization, or the agent of a person, firm, association,
8-9 corporation, or other organization, who violates the provisions of
8-10 Section 121.003 of this chapter is deemed to have deprived a
8-11 [handicapped] person with a disability of his or her civil
8-12 liberties. The [handicapped] person with a disability deprived of
8-13 his or her civil liberties may maintain a cause of action for
8-14 damages in a court of competent jurisdiction, and there is a
8-15 conclusive presumption of damages in the amount of at least $100 to
8-16 the [handicapped] person with a disability.
8-17 SECTION 6. Section 121.005, Human Resources Code, is amended
8-18 to read as follows:
8-19 Sec. 121.005. RESPONSIBILITIES OF [HANDICAPPED] PERSONS WITH
8-20 DISABILITIES. (a) A [blind, deaf, or otherwise handicapped] person
8-21 with a disability who uses an assistance animal [a support dog]
8-22 for assistance in travel is liable for any damages done to the
8-23 premises or facilities by the animal [dog].
8-24 (b) A [blind, deaf, or otherwise handicapped] person with a
8-25 disability who uses an assistance animal [a support dog] for
8-26 assistance in travel or auditory awareness shall keep the animal
8-27 [dog] properly harnessed or leashed, and a person who is injured by
9-1 the animal [dog] because of the failure of a person with a
9-2 disability [blind, deaf, or otherwise handicapped person's failure]
9-3 to properly harness or leash the animal [dog] is entitled to
9-4 maintain a cause of action for damages in a court of competent
9-5 jurisdiction under the same law applicable to other causes brought
9-6 for the redress of injuries caused by animals.
9-7 (c) A [physically handicapped] person with a disability who,
9-8 after being duly warned of a danger unique to [a handicapped
9-9 person's] use by a person with a disability of a particular public
9-10 facility, is injured in using the facility because of a danger of
9-11 the type about which warning was given, is deemed to have assumed
9-12 the risk of using the public facility.
9-13 SECTION 7. Section 121.006, Human Resources Code, is amended
9-14 to read as follows:
9-15 Sec. 121.006. PENALTIES FOR IMPROPER USE OF ASSISTANCE
9-16 ANIMALS [SUPPORT DOGS]. (a) A person who fits an animal [a dog]
9-17 with a harness or leash of the type commonly used by [blind, deaf,
9-18 or otherwise handicapped] persons with disabilities who use trained
9-19 animals [dogs] for purposes of travel or auditory awareness, in
9-20 order to represent that his or her animal [dog] is a specially
9-21 trained assistance animal [support dog] when training of the type
9-22 described in Section 121.002(1)(B) [121.002(2)(B)] of this chapter
9-23 has not in fact been provided, is guilty of a misdemeanor and on
9-24 conviction shall be punished by a fine of not more than $200.
9-25 (b) A person who habitually abuses or neglects to feed or
9-26 otherwise neglects to properly care for his or her assistance
9-27 animal [support dog] is not entitled to the benefits of this
10-1 chapter available to those who use assistance animals [support
10-2 dogs], and must surrender the animal [support dog] on demand to the
10-3 person or organization who furnished [furnishing] the animal [dog]
10-4 or to other competent authorities.
10-5 SECTION 8. Section 121.007, Human Resources Code, is amended
10-6 to read as follows:
10-7 Sec. 121.007. BLIND AND DISABLED [INCAPACITATED]
10-8 PEDESTRIANS. (a) No person may carry a white cane on a public
10-9 street or highway unless the person is totally or partially blind
10-10 [or otherwise incapacitated].
10-11 (b) The driver of a vehicle approaching an intersection or
10-12 crosswalk where a pedestrian guided by an assistance animal [a
10-13 support dog] or carrying a white cane is crossing or attempting to
10-14 cross shall take necessary precautions to avoid injuring or
10-15 endangering the pedestrian. The driver shall bring the vehicle to
10-16 a full stop if injury or danger can be avoided only by that action.
10-17 (c) The failure of a totally or partially blind or otherwise
10-18 disabled [incapacitated] person to carry a white cane or be guided
10-19 or aided by an assistance animal [a support dog] does not deprive
10-20 the person of the rights and privileges conferred by law on
10-21 pedestrians crossing streets or highways and does not constitute
10-22 evidence of contributory negligence.
10-23 (d) A person who violates this section commits a Class C
10-24 misdemeanor.
10-25 SECTION 9. Section 121.008, Human Resources Code, is amended
10-26 to read as follows:
10-27 Sec. 121.008. DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION RELATING TO
11-1 PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES [THE HANDICAPPED]. (a) To ensure
11-2 maximum public awareness of the policies set forth in this
11-3 chapter, the governor may issue a proclamation each year taking
11-4 suitable public notice of October 15 as White Cane Safety Day. The
11-5 proclamation must contain appropriate comment about the
11-6 significance of various devices used by [handicapped] persons with
11-7 disabilities to assist them in traveling, and must call to the
11-8 attention of the public the provisions of this chapter and of other
11-9 laws relating to the safety and well-being of this state's
11-10 [handicapped] citizens with disabilities.
11-11 (b) State agencies regularly mailing forms or information to
11-12 significant numbers of public facilities operating within the state
11-13 shall cooperate with state agencies responsible for the
11-14 rehabilitation of persons with disabilities [the handicapped] by
11-15 sending information about this chapter to those to whom regular
11-16 mailings are sent. The information, which must be sent only on the
11-17 request of state agencies responsible for the rehabilitation of
11-18 persons with disabilities [the handicapped] and not more than once
11-19 each year, may be included in regular mailings or sent separately.
11-20 If sent separately, the cost of mailing is borne by the state
11-21 rehabilitation agency or agencies requesting the mailing and,
11-22 regardless of whether sent separately or as part of a regular
11-23 mailing, the cost of preparing information about this chapter is
11-24 borne by the state rehabilitation agency or agencies requesting
11-25 distribution of this information.
11-26 SECTION 10. Section 121.009, Human Resources Code, is
11-27 amended to read as follows:
12-1 Sec. 121.009. CONSTRUCTION OF CHAPTER. The provisions of
12-2 this chapter must be construed in a manner compatible with other
12-3 state laws relating to persons with disabilities [the handicapped].
12-4 SECTION 11. Section 121.010, Human Resources Code, is
12-5 amended to read as follows:
12-6 Sec. 121.010. TESTING [HANDICAPPED] ADULTS WITH
12-7 DISABILITIES. (a) A test that evaluates an [a handicapped] adult
12-8 with a disability for a job position in business, government, or
12-9 industry, or a test to determine that person's educational level,
12-10 must [may] measure individual abilities and not specific
12-11 disabilities.
12-12 (b) If an examiner knows that an adult examinee has a
12-13 disability [handicap], the examiner may use an alternate form of
12-14 testing. The alternate form of testing may assess the aptitude of
12-15 the examinee by using that person's primary learning mode.
12-16 (c) The examiner may use as an alternate form of testing any
12-17 procedure or adaption that will help ensure the best performance
12-18 possible by an [a handicapped] adult with a disability, including
12-19 oral or visual administration of the test, oral or manual response
12-20 to the test, the use of readers, [the use of] tape recorders,
12-21 interpreters, large print, or braille text, the removal of time
12-22 constraints, and multiple testing sessions.
12-23 (d) An examiner shall select and administer a test to an
12-24 examinee who has a disability [handicap] that impairs sensory,
12-25 manual, or speaking skills so that the test accurately reflects the
12-26 factor the test is intended to measure and does not reflect the
12-27 examinee's impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills.
13-1 (e) An examiner may not use a test that has a
13-2 disproportionate, adverse effect on an [a handicapped] adult with a
13-3 disability or a class of [handicapped] adults with disabilities
13-4 unless:
13-5 (1) the test has been validated as a predictor of
13-6 success in the program or activity for which the [handicapped]
13-7 adult with a disability is applying; and
13-8 (2) alternate tests or alternative forms of testing
13-9 that have a less disproportionate, adverse effect do not exist or
13-10 are not available.
13-11 SECTION 12. Chapter 121, Human Resources Code, is amended by
13-12 adding Section 121.011 to read as follows:
13-13 Sec. 121.011. ACCESSIBILITY OF EXAMINATION OR COURSE OFFERED
13-14 BY PRIVATE ENTITY. (a) A private entity that offers an
13-15 examination or a course related to applications, certification,
13-16 credentialing, or licensing for secondary or postsecondary
13-17 education, a profession, or a trade shall:
13-18 (1) offer the examination or course in a place and
13-19 manner that is accessible to persons with disabilities or make
13-20 alternative accessible arrangements for persons with disabilities;
13-21 (2) offer the examination or course to persons with
13-22 disabilities:
13-23 (A) as often as the entity offers the
13-24 examination or course to persons without disabilities;
13-25 (B) at a location that is as convenient as the
13-26 location at which the entity offers the examination or course to
13-27 persons without disabilities; and
14-1 (C) at a time that is as appropriate as the time
14-2 when the entity offers the examination or course to persons without
14-3 disabilities; and
14-4 (3) make auxiliary test guides and other resources
14-5 available in alternative formats.
14-6 (b) A private entity that offers an examination or a course
14-7 described by Subsection (a) may require persons with disabilities
14-8 to provide reasonable documentation of their disabilities and
14-9 reasonable advance notice of any necessary modifications or aids.
14-10 The deadline for advance notice may not be earlier than the
14-11 application deadline for the examination or course. The entity may
14-12 not refuse a request for modifications or aids from a person with a
14-13 disability on the grounds that the person, because of the person's
14-14 disability, would not meet other requirements of the profession or
14-15 occupation for which the course or examination is given.
14-16 SECTION 13. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
14-17 SECTION 14. The importance of this legislation and the
14-18 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
14-19 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
14-20 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
14-21 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.