Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB748 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		85R13966 KKR-F
2	2		By: Farrar H.B. No. 748
3		-	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 748:
4		-	By: Farrar C.S.H.B. No. 748
5	3
6	4
7	5		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	6		AN ACT
9	7		relating to certain costs associated with certain court proceedings
10	8		for cruelly treated animals; authorizing fees and costs.
11	9		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	10		SECTION 1. Section 821.023(e), Health and Safety Code, is
13	11		amended to read as follows:
14	12		(e) After a court finds that an animal's owner has cruelly
15	13		treated the animal, the court:
16	14		(1) shall order the owner to pay all court costs,
17	15		including:
18	16		(A) [(1)] the administrative costs of:
19	17		(i) [(A)] investigation;
20	18		(ii) [(B)] expert witnesses; and
21	19		(iii) [(C)] conducting any public sale
22	20		ordered by the court; and
23	21		(B) [(2)] the costs incurred by a municipal or
24	22		county animal shelter or a nonprofit animal welfare organization
25	23		in:
26	24		(i) [(A)] housing and caring for the animal
27	25		during its impoundment; and
28	26		(ii) [(B)] humanely destroying the animal
29	27		if destruction is ordered by the court; and
30	28		(2) in a county or municipality with a population of at
31	29		least 700,000, may order the owner to pay the county's or
32	30		municipality's reasonable attorney's fees.
33	31		SECTION 2. Section 821.025, Health and Safety Code, is
34	32		amended by adding Subsection (i) to read as follows:
35	33		(i) In a county or municipality with a population of at
36	34		least 700,000, a county court or county court at law that issues a
37	35		decision in an appeal under this section finding that an animal's
38	36		owner has cruelly treated the animal may order the owner to pay the
39	37		county's or municipality's reasonable attorney's fees and court
40	38		costs, including the costs of investigation and expert witnesses.
41	39		SECTION 3. Section 103.0214, Government Code, is amended to
42	40		read as follows:
43	41		Sec. 103.0214. ADDITIONAL FEES AND COSTS IN CRIMINAL OR
44	42		CIVIL CASES: HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE. An accused or defendant, or a
45	43		party to a civil suit, as applicable, shall pay the following fees
46	44		and costs under the Health and Safety Code if ordered by the court
47	45		or otherwise required:
48	46		(1) a fee to defray the cost of notifying state
49	47		agencies of orders of expungement (Sec. 161.255, Health and Safety
50	48		Code) . . . $30 per application; and
51	49		(2) on a finding that an animal's owner has cruelly
52	50		treated the animal, court costs including:
53	51		(A) investigation (Secs. [Sec.] 821.023 and
54	52		821.025, Health and Safety Code) . . . actual costs;
55	53		(B) expert witnesses (Secs. [Sec.] 821.023 and
56	54		821.025, Health and Safety Code) . . . actual costs;
57	55		(C) housing and caring for the animal during its
58	56		impoundment (Sec. 821.023, Health and Safety Code) . . . actual
59	57		costs;
60	58		(D) conducting any public sale ordered by the
61	59		court (Sec. 821.023, Health and Safety Code) . . . actual costs;
62	60		[and]
63	61		(E) humanely destroying the animal if
64	62		destruction is ordered by the court (Sec. 821.023, Health and
65	63		Safety Code) . . . actual costs; and
66	64		(F) reasonable attorney's fees (Secs. 821.023
67	65		and 821.025, Health and Safety Code) . . . actual costs.
68	66		SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only
69	67		to a proceeding commenced under Section 821.023 or 821.025, Health
70	68		and Safety Code, on or after the effective date of this Act. A
71	69		proceeding commenced before the effective date of this Act is
72	70		governed by the law as it existed at the time the proceeding was
73	71		commenced, and the former law is continued in effect for that
74	72		purpose.
75	73		SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.