Texas 2011 - 82nd Regular

Texas House Bill HB963 Compare Versions

The same version is selected twice. Please select two different versions to compare.

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Hartnett (Senate Sponsor - Rodriguez) H.B. No. 963
2	2	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 16, 2011;
3	3	May 16, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal
4	4	Justice; May 21, 2011, reported favorably by the following vote:
5	5	Yeas 5, Nays 1; May 21, 2011, sent to printer.)
6	6
7	7
8	8	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
9	9	AN ACT
10	10	relating to the costs associated with proceedings regarding cruelly
11	11	treated animals.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Section 821.021, Health and Safety Code, is
14	14	amended to read as follows:
15	15	Sec. 821.021. DEFINITIONS [DEFINITION]. In this
16	16	subchapter:
17	17	(1) "Cruelly [, "cruelly] treated" includes tortured,
18	18	seriously overworked, unreasonably abandoned, unreasonably
19	19	deprived of necessary food, care, or shelter, cruelly confined, or
20	20	caused to fight with another animal.
21	21	(2) "Nonprofit animal welfare organization" means a
22	22	nonprofit organization that has as its purpose:
23	23	(A) the prevention of cruelty to animals; or
24	24	(B) the sheltering of, caring for, and providing
25	25	homes for lost, stray, and abandoned animals.
26	26	(3) "Owner" includes a person who owns or has custody
27	27	or control of an animal.
28	28	SECTION 2. Section 821.023, Health and Safety Code, is
29	29	amended by amending Subsections (d) and (e) and adding Subsections
30	30	(e-1), (e-2), (e-3), and (e-4) to read as follows:
31	31	(d) If the court finds that the animal's owner has cruelly
32	32	treated the animal, the owner shall be divested of ownership of the
33	33	animal, and the court shall:
34	34	(1) order a public sale of the animal by auction;
35	35	(2) order the animal given to a municipal or county
36	36	animal shelter or a nonprofit animal welfare organization [shelter,
37	37	pound, or society for the protection of animals]; or
38	38	(3) order the animal humanely destroyed if the court
39	39	decides that the best interests of the animal or that the public
40	40	health and safety would be served by doing so.
41	41	(e) After a [A] court [that] finds that an animal's owner
42	42	has cruelly treated the animal, the court shall order the owner to
43	43	pay all court costs, including:
44	44	(1) the administrative costs of:
45	45	(A) [(1)] investigation;
46	46	(B) [(2)] expert witnesses; and
47	47	(C) [(3) housing and caring for the animal
48	48	during its impoundment;
49	49	[(4)] conducting any public sale ordered by the
50	50	court; and
51	51	(2) the costs incurred by a municipal or county animal
52	52	shelter or a nonprofit animal welfare organization in:
53	53	(A) housing and caring for the animal during its
54	54	impoundment; and
55	55	(B) [(5)] humanely destroying the animal if
56	56	destruction is ordered by the court.
57	57	(e-1) After a court finds that an animal's owner has cruelly
58	58	treated the animal, the court shall determine the estimated costs
59	59	likely to be incurred by a municipal or county animal shelter or a
60	60	nonprofit animal welfare organization to house and care for the
61	61	impounded animal during the appeal process.
62	62	(e-2) After making the determination under Subsection
63	63	(e-1), the court at the time of entering the judgment shall set the
64	64	amount of bond for an appeal equal to the sum of:
65	65	(1) the amount of the court costs ordered under
66	66	Subsection (e); and
67	67	(2) the amount of the estimated costs determined under
68	68	Subsection (e-1).
69	69	(e-3) A court may not require a person to provide a bond in
70	70	an amount greater than or in addition to the amount determined by
71	71	the court under Subsection (e-2) to perfect an appeal under Section
72	72	821.025.
73	73	(e-4) Notwithstanding any other law, the amount of court
74	74	costs that a court may order under Subsection (e) and the amount of
75	75	bond that a court determines under Subsection (e-2) are excluded in
76	76	determining the court's jurisdiction under Subtitle A, Title 2,
77	77	Government Code.
78	78	SECTION 3. Section 821.024(c), Health and Safety Code, is
79	79	amended to read as follows:
80	80	(c) If the officer is unable to sell the animal at auction,
81	81	the officer may cause the animal to be humanely destroyed or may
82	82	give the animal to a municipal or county animal shelter or a
83	83	nonprofit animal welfare organization [shelter, pound, or society
84	84	for the protection of animals].
85	85	SECTION 4. Section 821.025, Health and Safety Code, is
86	86	amended to read as follows:
87	87	Sec. 821.025. APPEAL. (a) An owner divested of ownership
88	88	of an animal under Section 821.023 may appeal the order to a county
89	89	court or county court at law in the county in which the justice or
90	90	municipal court is located.
91	91	(b) As a condition of perfecting an appeal, not later than
92	92	the 10th calendar day after the date the order is issued, the owner
93	93	must file a notice of appeal and a cash bond or surety [an appeal]
94	94	bond in an amount set [determined] by the court under Section
95	95	821.023(e-2) [from which the appeal is taken to be adequate to cover
96	96	the estimated expenses incurred in housing and caring for the
97	97	impounded animal during the appeal process].
98	98	(c) Not later than the fifth calendar day after the date the
99	99	notice of appeal and [appeal] bond is filed, the court from which
100	100	the appeal is taken shall deliver a copy of the clerk's record
101	101	[court's transcript] to the clerk of the county court or county
102	102	court at law to which the appeal is made.
103	103	(d) Not later than the 10th calendar day after the date the
104	104	county court or county court at law, as appropriate, receives a copy
105	105	of the clerk's record [transcript], the court shall consider the
106	106	matter de novo and dispose of the appeal. A party to the appeal is
107	107	entitled to a jury trial on request.
108	108	(e) The decision of the county court or county court at law
109	109	under this section is final and may not be further appealed.
110	110	(f) Notwithstanding Section 30.00014, Government Code, or
111	111	any other law, a person filing an appeal from a municipal court
112	112	under Subsection (a) is not required to file a motion for a new
113	113	trial to perfect an appeal.
114	114	(g) Notwithstanding any other law, a county court or a
115	115	county court at law has jurisdiction to hear an appeal filed under
116	116	this section.
117	117	(h) [(b)] While an appeal under this section is pending, the
118	118	animal may not be:
119	119	(1) sold or given away as provided by Sections 821.023
120	120	and 821.024; or
121	121	(2) destroyed, except under circumstances which would
122	122	require the humane destruction of the animal to prevent undue pain
123	123	to or suffering of the animal.
124	124	SECTION 5. Subchapter B, Chapter 821, Health and Safety
125	125	Code, is amended by adding Section 821.026 to read as follows:
126	126	Sec. 821.026. CONFLICT OF LAWS. In the event of a conflict
127	127	between this subchapter and another provision of any other law
128	128	relating to an appeal of a disposition regarding a cruelly treated
129	129	animal, including the bond required for that appeal, this
130	130	subchapter controls.
131	131	SECTION 6. The change in law made by this Act applies only
132	132	to a proceeding commenced under Section 821.023, Health and Safety
133	133	Code, on or after the effective date of this Act. A proceeding
134	134	commenced before the effective date of this Act is covered by the
135	135	law in effect at the time the proceeding is commenced, and the
136	136	former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
137	137	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
138	138	* * * * *