BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3092

By: Paul

Public Health

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Concerns have been raised that individuals who adopt an animal from an animal shelter may not have been notified about recent disease outbreaks at the shelter. C.S.H.B. 3092 seeks to address these concerns by requiring animal shelters to provide such notification.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3092 amends the Health and Safety Code to require an animal shelter to provide written, electronic, or telephonic notice to each person who adopts an animal from the shelter of any epizootic infectious disease that occurs among the animals in the shelter within the 15-day period before the date the person adopts the animal or after the date the person adopts the animal. The bill defines "epizootic" by reference as the occurrence in a given geographic area or population of cases of a disease clearly in excess of the expected frequency. A shelter that violates the bill's provisions is not subject to a civil penalty for that violation.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2019.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 3092 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute shortens the period before or after the date of adoption within which the notice must be provided from 30 days to 15 days. The substitute includes provisions providing for electronic and telephonic notification as an alternative to written notice.

The substitute includes a provision providing that a shelter that violates the bill's provisions is not subject to a civil penalty.