| 1 | 1 | | 81R8456 JSC-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Jones H.B. No. 1472 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the offense of cruelty to nonlivestock animals. |
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| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Section 42.092(a), Penal Code, is amended by |
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| 10 | 10 | | adding Subdivision (9) to read as follows: |
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| 11 | 11 | | (9) "Harass" means to disturb, worry, molest, harry, |
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| 12 | 12 | | torment, or chase. |
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| 13 | 13 | | SECTION 2. Section 42.092(e), Penal Code, is amended to |
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| 14 | 14 | | read as follows: |
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| 15 | 15 | | (e) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (b)(2) |
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| 16 | 16 | | or (6) that: |
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| 17 | 17 | | (1) the animal was discovered on the person's property |
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| 18 | 18 | | in the act of or after harassing, injuring, or killing the person's |
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| 19 | 19 | | livestock animals or damaging the person's crops and that the |
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| 20 | 20 | | person killed or injured the animal at the time of this discovery; |
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| 21 | 21 | | or |
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| 22 | 22 | | (2) the person killed or injured the animal within the |
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| 23 | 23 | | scope of the person's employment as a public servant or in |
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| 24 | 24 | | furtherance of activities or operations associated with |
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| 25 | 25 | | electricity transmission or distribution, electricity generation |
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| 26 | 26 | | or operations associated with the generation of electricity, or |
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| 27 | 27 | | natural gas delivery. |
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| 28 | 28 | | SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 29 | 29 | | to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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| 30 | 30 | | An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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| 31 | 31 | | covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the |
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| 32 | 32 | | former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of |
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| 33 | 33 | | this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of |
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| 34 | 34 | | this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date. |
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| 35 | 35 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
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