1-1 By: Naishtat (Senate Sponsor - Moncrief) H.B. No. 2525
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 5, 1997;
1-3 May 6, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on Health
1-4 and Human Services; May 17, 1997, reported favorably, as amended,
1-5 by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 17, 1997, sent to
1-6 printer.)
1-7 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1 By: Nelson
1-8 Amend HB 2525, page 2, line 21, by striking "a disease that is
1-9 contagious or not contagious,".
1-10 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-11 AN ACT
1-12 relating to the rights and responsibilities of persons with
1-13 disabilities.
1-14 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-15 SECTION 1. The heading of Title 8, Human Resources Code, is
1-16 amended to read as follows:
1-17 TITLE 8. RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
1-18 OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES [THE HANDICAPPED]
1-19 SECTION 2. Section 121.001, Human Resources Code, is amended
1-20 to read as follows:
1-21 Sec. 121.001. STATE POLICY. The policy of the state is to
1-22 encourage and enable [physically handicapped] persons with
1-23 disabilities to participate fully in the social and economic life
1-24 of the state, to achieve maximum personal independence, to become
1-25 gainfully employed, and to otherwise fully enjoy and use all public
1-26 facilities available within the state.
1-27 SECTION 3. Section 121.002, Human Resources Code, is amended
1-28 to read as follows:
1-29 Sec. 121.002. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
1-30 (1) ["White cane" means a cane or walking stick which
1-31 is metallic or white in color or white tipped with some contrasting
1-32 color, and which is carried by a blind person to assist the blind
1-33 person in traveling from place to place.]
1-34 [(2)] "Assistance animal [dog]" means an animal [a
1-35 dog] that is specially trained or equipped to help a [blind or
1-36 handicapped] person with a disability[,] and that:
1-37 (A) is used by a [blind or handicapped] person
1-38 with a disability who has satisfactorily completed a specific
1-39 course of training in the use of the animal [dog]; and
1-40 (B) has been trained by an organization
1-41 generally recognized by agencies involved in the rehabilitation of
1-42 persons with disabilities [the blind or handicapped] as reputable
1-43 and competent to provide animals [dogs] with training of this
1-44 type.
1-45 (2) [(3) "Public facilities" includes streets,
1-46 highways, sidewalks, walkways, all common carriers, airplanes,
1-47 motor vehicles, railroad trains, motor buses, streetcars, boats, or
1-48 any other public conveyances or modes of transportation, hotels,
1-49 motels, or other places of lodging, public buildings maintained by
1-50 any unit or subdivision of government, buildings to which the
1-51 general public is invited, college dormitories and other
1-52 educational facilities, restaurants or other places where food is
1-53 offered for sale to the public, and all other places of public
1-54 accommodation, amusement, convenience, or resort to which the
1-55 general public or any classification of persons from the general
1-56 public is regularly, normally, or customarily invited.]
1-57 [(4) "Handicapped person" means a person who has a
1-58 mental or physical handicap, including mental retardation, hardness
1-59 of hearing, deafness, speech impairment, visual handicap, being
1-60 crippled, or any other health impairment which requires special
1-61 ambulatory devices or services.]
1-62 [(5) "Housing accommodations" means all or part of
1-63 real property which is used or occupied or is intended, arranged,
1-64 or designed to be used or occupied as the home, residence, or
2-1 sleeping place of one or more human beings, except a single family
2-2 residence whose occupants rent, lease, or furnish for compensation
2-3 only one room.]
2-4 [(6)] "Harass" means any conduct that:
2-5 (A) is directed at an assistance animal [dog]
2-6 that impedes or interferes with, or is intended to impede or
2-7 interfere with, the animal's [dog's] performance of its duties; or
2-8 (B) places a [blind or handicapped] person with
2-9 a disability who is using an assistance animal [dog], or a trainer
2-10 who is training an assistance animal [dog], in danger of injury.
2-11 (3) "Housing accommodations" means all or part of real
2-12 property that is used or occupied or is intended, arranged, or
2-13 designed to be used or occupied as the home, residence, or sleeping
2-14 place of one or more human beings, except a single-family residence
2-15 whose occupants rent, lease, or furnish for compensation only one
2-16 room.
2-17 (4) "Person with a disability" means a person who has
2-18 a mental or physical disability, including mental retardation,
2-19 hearing impairment, deafness, speech impairment, visual impairment,
2-20 a disease that is contagious or not contagious, or any health
2-21 impairment that requires special ambulatory devices or services.
2-22 (5) "Public facilities" includes a street, highway,
2-23 sidewalk, walkway, common carrier, airplane, motor vehicle,
2-24 railroad train, motor bus, streetcar, boat, or any other public
2-25 conveyance or mode of transportation; a hotel, motel, or other
2-26 place of lodging; a public building maintained by any unit or
2-27 subdivision of government; a building to which the general public
2-28 is invited; a college dormitory or other educational facility; a
2-29 restaurant or other place where food is offered for sale to the
2-30 public; and any other place of public accommodation, amusement,
2-31 convenience, or resort to which the general public or any
2-32 classification of persons from the general public is regularly,
2-33 normally, or customarily invited.
2-34 (6) "White cane" means a cane or walking stick that is
2-35 metallic or white in color, or white tipped with a contrasting
2-36 color, and that is carried by a blind person to assist the blind
2-37 person in traveling from place to place.
2-38 SECTION 4. Section 121.003, Human Resources Code, is amended
2-39 to read as follows:
2-40 Sec. 121.003. DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED. (a) Persons with
2-41 disabilities [Subject only to limitations and conditions
2-42 established by law and applicable alike to all persons, persons who
2-43 are physically handicapped] have the same right as the able-bodied
2-44 to the full use and enjoyment of any public facility in the state.
2-45 (b) No common carrier, airplane, railroad train, motor bus,
2-46 streetcar, boat, or other public conveyance or mode of
2-47 transportation operating within the state may refuse to accept as a
2-48 passenger a person with a disability [who is blind or physically
2-49 handicapped] solely because of the person's disability [blindness
2-50 or handicap], nor may a [blind or handicapped] person with a
2-51 disability be required to pay an additional fare because of his or
2-52 her use of an assistance animal [dog], wheelchair, crutches, or
2-53 other device used to assist a [the blind or handicapped] person
2-54 with a disability in travel.
2-55 (c) No person with a disability [who is blind or physically
2-56 handicapped] may be denied admittance to any public facility in the
2-57 state because of the [blind or handicapped] person's disability.
2-58 No person with a disability may be denied the use of a white cane,
2-59 assistance animal [dog], wheelchair, crutches, or other device of
2-60 assistance [in mobility, or because the person is blind or
2-61 handicapped].
2-62 (d) The discrimination prohibited by this section includes a
2-63 [discrimination through an open and obvious] refusal to allow a
2-64 [blind or handicapped] person with a disability to use or be
2-65 admitted to any public facility, [as well as discrimination based
2-66 on] a ruse or subterfuge calculated to prevent or discourage a
2-67 [blind or handicapped] person with a disability from using or being
2-68 admitted to a public facility, and a failure to:
2-69 (1) comply with Article 9102, Revised Statutes;
3-1 (2) make reasonable accommodations in policies,
3-2 practices, and procedures; or
3-3 (3) provide auxiliary aids and services necessary to
3-4 allow the full use and enjoyment of the public facility.
3-5 (e) Regulations relating to the use of public facilities by
3-6 any designated class of persons from the general public may not
3-7 prohibit the use of particular public facilities by [blind or
3-8 handicapped] persons with disabilities who, except for their
3-9 disabilities [blindness or handicaps] or use of assistance animals
3-10 [dogs] or other devices for assistance in travel, would fall within
3-11 the designated class. [Lists containing the names of persons who
3-12 desire to use particular public facilities may not be composed or
3-13 manipulated so as to deny a blind or handicapped person a fair and
3-14 equal opportunity to use or be admitted to any public facility.]
3-15 [(e) This section does not limit the right of the owner or
3-16 manager of a public facility to refuse to admit, to refuse to
3-17 serve, or to evict from a public facility a person who is so
3-18 unkempt as to be clearly offensive to others using the public
3-19 facility, who is obviously intoxicated, or who conducts himself in
3-20 a belligerent, boisterous, profane, or other offensive manner which
3-21 unreasonably interferes with the right of other persons to use and
3-22 enjoy the public facility.]
3-23 (f) [(g)] It is the policy of the state that persons with
3-24 disabilities [the blind, the visually handicapped and the otherwise
3-25 physically disabled] be employed by the state, by political
3-26 subdivisions of the state, in the public schools, and in all other
3-27 employment supported in whole or in part by public funds on the
3-28 same terms and conditions as persons without disabilities [the
3-29 able-bodied], unless it is shown that there is no reasonable
3-30 accommodation that would enable a person with a disability to
3-31 perform the essential elements of a job [the particular disability
3-32 prevents the performance of the work involved].
3-33 (g) Persons with disabilities [(h) The blind, the visually
3-34 handicapped, and the otherwise physically disabled] shall be
3-35 entitled to full and equal access, as other members of the general
3-36 public, to all housing accommodations offered for rent, lease, or
3-37 compensation in this state, subject to the conditions and
3-38 limitations established by law and applicable alike to all persons.
3-39 [(i) Nothing in this section shall require any person
3-40 renting, leasing, or providing for compensation real property to
3-41 modify his or her property in any way or provide a higher degree of
3-42 care for a blind person, visually handicapped person, or otherwise
3-43 physically disabled person than for a person who is not physically
3-44 disabled.]
3-45 (h) [(j)] A person with a total [totally] or partial
3-46 disability [partially blind or handicapped person] who has or
3-47 obtains an assistance animal [dog] is entitled to full and equal
3-48 access to all housing accommodations provided for in this section,
3-49 and may not be required to pay extra compensation for the animal
3-50 [dog] but is liable for damages done to the premises by the animal
3-51 [dog].
3-52 (i) [(k)] An assistance animal [dog] in training shall not
3-53 be denied admittance to any public facility when accompanied by an
3-54 approved trainer who is an agent of an organization generally
3-55 recognized by agencies involved in the rehabilitation of persons
3-56 who are [blind or] disabled as reputable and competent to provide
3-57 training for assistance animals [dogs], and/or their blind
3-58 handlers.
3-59 (j) [(l)] A person may not assault, harass, interfere with,
3-60 or injure in any way, or attempt to assault, harass, interfere
3-61 with, or injure in any way, an assistance animal [dog].
3-62 SECTION 5. Section 121.004(b), Human Resources Code, is
3-63 amended to read as follows:
3-64 (b) In addition to the penalty provided in Subsection (a) of
3-65 this section, a person, firm, association, corporation, or other
3-66 organization, or the agent of a person, firm, association,
3-67 corporation, or other organization, who violates the provisions of
3-68 Section 121.003 of this chapter is deemed to have deprived a
3-69 [handicapped] person with a disability of his or her civil
4-1 liberties. The [handicapped] person with a disability deprived of
4-2 his or her civil liberties may maintain a cause of action for
4-3 damages in a court of competent jurisdiction, and there is a
4-4 conclusive presumption of damages in the amount of at least $100 to
4-5 the [handicapped] person with a disability.
4-6 SECTION 6. Section 121.005, Human Resources Code, is amended
4-7 to read as follows:
4-8 Sec. 121.005. RESPONSIBILITIES OF [HANDICAPPED] PERSONS WITH
4-9 DISABILITIES. (a) A [blind, deaf, or otherwise handicapped] person
4-10 with a disability who uses an assistance animal [a support dog]
4-11 for assistance in travel is liable for any damages done to the
4-12 premises or facilities by the animal [dog].
4-13 (b) A [blind, deaf, or otherwise handicapped] person with a
4-14 disability who uses an assistance animal [a support dog] for
4-15 assistance in travel or auditory awareness shall keep the animal
4-16 [dog] properly harnessed or leashed, and a person who is injured by
4-17 the animal [dog] because of the failure of a person with a
4-18 disability [blind, deaf, or otherwise handicapped person's failure]
4-19 to properly harness or leash the animal [dog] is entitled to
4-20 maintain a cause of action for damages in a court of competent
4-21 jurisdiction under the same law applicable to other causes brought
4-22 for the redress of injuries caused by animals.
4-23 [(c) A physically handicapped person who, after being duly
4-24 warned of a danger unique to a handicapped person's use of a
4-25 particular public facility, is injured in using the facility
4-26 because of a danger of the type about which warning was given, is
4-27 deemed to have assumed the risk of using the public facility.]
4-28 SECTION 7. Section 121.006, Human Resources Code, is amended
4-29 to read as follows:
4-30 Sec. 121.006. PENALTIES FOR IMPROPER USE OF ASSISTANCE
4-31 ANIMALS [SUPPORT DOGS]. (a) A person who uses an assistance
4-32 animal [fits a dog] with a harness or leash of the type commonly
4-33 used by [blind, deaf, or otherwise handicapped] persons with
4-34 disabilities who use trained animals [dogs for purposes of travel
4-35 or auditory awareness], in order to represent that his or her
4-36 animal [dog] is a specially trained assistance animal [support dog]
4-37 when training of the type described in Section 121.002(1)(B)
4-38 [121.002(2)(B)] of this chapter has not in fact been provided, is
4-39 guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction shall be punished by a
4-40 fine of not more than $200.
4-41 (b) A person who habitually abuses or neglects to feed or
4-42 otherwise neglects to properly care for his or her assistance
4-43 animal [support dog] is subject to seizure of the animal under
4-44 Subchapter B, Chapter 821, Health and Safety Code [not entitled to
4-45 the benefits of this chapter available to those who use support
4-46 dogs, and must surrender the support dog on demand to the person or
4-47 organization furnishing the dog or to other competent authorities].
4-48 SECTION 8. Section 121.007, Human Resources Code, is amended
4-49 to read as follows:
4-50 Sec. 121.007. BLIND AND DISABLED [INCAPACITATED]
4-51 PEDESTRIANS. (a) No person may carry a white cane on a public
4-52 street or highway unless the person is totally or partially blind
4-53 [or otherwise incapacitated].
4-54 (b) The driver of a vehicle approaching an intersection or
4-55 crosswalk where a pedestrian guided by an assistance animal [a
4-56 support dog] or carrying a white cane is crossing or attempting to
4-57 cross shall take necessary precautions to avoid injuring or
4-58 endangering the pedestrian. The driver shall bring the vehicle to
4-59 a full stop if injury or danger can be avoided only by that action.
4-60 (c) The failure of a totally or partially blind or otherwise
4-61 disabled [incapacitated] person to carry a white cane or be guided
4-62 or aided by an assistance animal [a support dog] does not deprive
4-63 the person of the rights and privileges conferred by law on
4-64 pedestrians crossing streets or highways and does not constitute
4-65 evidence of contributory negligence.
4-66 (d) A person who violates this section commits a Class C
4-67 misdemeanor.
4-68 SECTION 9. Section 121.008, Human Resources Code, is amended
4-69 to read as follows:
5-1 Sec. 121.008. DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION RELATING TO
5-2 PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES [THE HANDICAPPED]. (a) To ensure
5-3 maximum public awareness of the policies set forth in this
5-4 chapter, the governor may issue a proclamation each year taking
5-5 suitable public notice of October 15 as White Cane Safety Day. The
5-6 proclamation must contain appropriate comment about the
5-7 significance of various devices used by [handicapped] persons with
5-8 disabilities to assist them in traveling, and must call to the
5-9 attention of the public the provisions of this chapter and of other
5-10 laws relating to the safety and well-being of this state's
5-11 [handicapped] citizens with disabilities.
5-12 (b) State agencies regularly mailing forms or information to
5-13 significant numbers of public facilities operating within the state
5-14 shall cooperate with state agencies responsible for the
5-15 rehabilitation of persons with disabilities [the handicapped] by
5-16 sending information about this chapter to those to whom regular
5-17 mailings are sent. The information, which must be sent only on the
5-18 request of state agencies responsible for the rehabilitation of
5-19 persons with disabilities [the handicapped] and not more than once
5-20 each year, may be included in regular mailings or sent separately.
5-21 If sent separately, the cost of mailing is borne by the state
5-22 rehabilitation agency or agencies requesting the mailing and,
5-23 regardless of whether sent separately or as part of a regular
5-24 mailing, the cost of preparing information about this chapter is
5-25 borne by the state rehabilitation agency or agencies requesting
5-26 distribution of this information.
5-27 SECTION 10. Section 121.009, Human Resources Code, is
5-28 amended to read as follows:
5-29 Sec. 121.009. CONSTRUCTION OF CHAPTER. The provisions of
5-30 this chapter must be construed in a manner compatible with other
5-31 state laws relating to persons with disabilities [the handicapped].
5-32 SECTION 11. Section 121.010, Human Resources Code, is
5-33 amended to read as follows:
5-34 Sec. 121.010. TESTING [HANDICAPPED] ADULTS WITH
5-35 DISABILITIES. (a) A test that evaluates an [a handicapped] adult
5-36 with a disability for a job position in business, government, or
5-37 industry, or a test to determine that person's educational level,
5-38 must [may] measure individual abilities and not specific
5-39 disabilities.
5-40 (b) If an examiner knows that an adult examinee has a
5-41 disability [handicap], the examiner may use an alternate form of
5-42 testing. The alternate form of testing may assess the aptitude of
5-43 the examinee by using that person's primary learning mode.
5-44 (c) The examiner may use as an alternate form of testing any
5-45 procedure or adaption that will help ensure the best performance
5-46 possible by an [a handicapped] adult with a disability, including
5-47 oral or visual administration of the test, oral or manual response
5-48 to the test, the use of readers, [the use of] tape recorders,
5-49 interpreters, large print, or braille text, the removal of time
5-50 constraints, and multiple testing sessions.
5-51 (d) An examiner shall select and administer a test to an
5-52 examinee who has a disability [handicap] that impairs sensory,
5-53 manual, or speaking skills so that the test accurately reflects the
5-54 factor the test is intended to measure and does not reflect the
5-55 examinee's impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills.
5-56 (e) An examiner may not use a test that has a
5-57 disproportionate, adverse effect on an [a handicapped] adult with a
5-58 disability or a class of [handicapped] adults with disabilities
5-59 unless:
5-60 (1) the test has been validated as a predictor of
5-61 success in the program or activity for which the [handicapped]
5-62 adult with a disability is applying; and
5-63 (2) alternate tests or alternative forms of testing
5-64 that have a less disproportionate, adverse effect do not exist or
5-65 are not available.
5-66 SECTION 12. Chapter 121, Human Resources Code, is amended by
5-67 adding Section 121.011 to read as follows:
5-68 Sec. 121.011. ACCESSIBILITY OF EXAMINATION OR COURSE OFFERED
5-69 BY PRIVATE ENTITY. (a) A private entity that offers an
6-1 examination or a course related to applications, certification,
6-2 credentialing, or licensing for secondary or postsecondary
6-3 education, a profession, or a trade shall:
6-4 (1) offer the examination or course in a place and
6-5 manner that is accessible to persons with disabilities or make
6-6 alternative accessible arrangements for persons with disabilities;
6-7 (2) offer the examination or course to persons with
6-8 disabilities:
6-9 (A) as often as the entity offers the
6-10 examination or course to persons without disabilities;
6-11 (B) at a location that is as convenient as the
6-12 location at which the entity offers the examination or course to
6-13 persons without disabilities; and
6-14 (C) at a time that is as appropriate as the time
6-15 when the entity offers the examination or course to persons without
6-16 disabilities; and
6-17 (3) make auxiliary test guides and other resources
6-18 available in alternative formats.
6-19 (b) A private entity that offers an examination or a course
6-20 described by Subsection (a) may require persons with disabilities
6-21 to provide reasonable documentation of their disabilities and
6-22 reasonable advance notice of any necessary modifications or aids.
6-23 The deadline for advance notice may not be earlier than the
6-24 application deadline for the examination or course. The entity may
6-25 not refuse a request for modifications or aids from a person with a
6-26 disability on the grounds that the person, because of the person's
6-27 disability, would not meet other requirements of the profession or
6-28 occupation for which the course or examination is given.
6-29 SECTION 13. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
6-30 SECTION 14. The importance of this legislation and the
6-31 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
6-32 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
6-33 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
6-34 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
6-35 * * * * *