82S10204 NAJ-D

By: Wentworth S.B. No. 35

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.