81R13804 EAH-D
By: Eissler, Strama H.B. No. 2732
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the regulation of barking dogs by certain counties as a
nuisance.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 343, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 343.0115 to read as follows:
Sec. 343.0115. BARKING DOGS IN CERTAIN AREAS. (a) This
section applies only to the unincorporated area of a county:
(1) that has a population of 800,000 or more; or
(2) that is adjacent to a county with a population of
3.3 million or more and in which a planned community is located
that:
(A) has 20,000 or more acres of land;
(B) was originally established under the Urban
Growth and New Community Development Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. Section
4501 et seq.); and
(C) is subject to restrictive covenants
containing ad valorem or annual variable budget based assessments
on real property.
(b) It is a public nuisance under Section 343.011 to allow
the barking of or another noise made by a dog outdoors if a
reasonable person would find the noise objectionable, except that
in a county described by Subsection (a)(2), the noise is a public
nuisance only if made on premises in a neighborhood.
(c) In determining whether a noise is objectionable to a
reasonable person under this section, the following factors may be
considered:
(1) the time of day the noise is produced;
(2) the proximity of the production of the noise to
other premises; and
(3) whether the sound is recurrent, intermittent, or
constant.
SECTION 2. 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 September 1, 2009.