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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the prosecution of the criminal offense of cruelty to |
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livestock animals. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Sections 42.09(a) and (c), Penal Code, are |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(a) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally |
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or knowingly: |
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(1) tortures a livestock animal; |
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(2) fails unreasonably to provide necessary food, |
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water, or care for a livestock animal in the person's custody; |
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(3) abandons unreasonably a livestock animal in the |
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person's custody; |
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(4) transports or confines a livestock animal in a |
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cruel and unusual manner; |
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(5) administers poison to a livestock animal, other |
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than cattle, horses, sheep, swine, or goats, belonging to another |
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without legal authority or the owner's effective consent; |
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(6) causes one livestock animal to fight with another |
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livestock animal or with an animal as defined by Section 42.092; |
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(7) uses a live livestock animal as a lure in dog race |
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training or in dog coursing on a racetrack; |
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(8) trips a horse; [or] |
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(9) seriously overworks a livestock animal; or |
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(10) administers to a horse participating in a race a |
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controlled substance as defined by Section 481.002, Health and |
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Safety Code. |
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(c) An offense under Subsection (a)(2), (3), (4), or (9) is |
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a Class A misdemeanor, except that the offense is a state jail |
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felony if the person has previously been convicted two times under |
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this section, two times under Section 42.092, or one time under this |
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section and one time under Section 42.092. An offense under |
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Subsection (a)(1), (5), (6), (7), [or] (8), or (10) is a state jail |
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felony, except that the offense is a felony of the third degree if |
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the person has previously been convicted two times under this |
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section, two times under Section 42.092, or one time under this |
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section and one time under Section 42.092. |
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SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
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and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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before that date. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |