89R12815 EAS-F
By: Menéndez S.B. No. 1673
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the prosecution and punishment of the offense of
cruelty to nonlivestock animals.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 42, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Article 42.0365 to read as follows:
Art. 42.0365. PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELING FOR CRUELTY TO
NONLIVESTOCK ANIMALS. A court sentencing a defendant for an
offense under Section 42.092, Penal Code, shall order the defendant
to participate in psychological counseling for a period to be
determined by the court.
SECTION 2. Section 42.092(a)(2), Penal Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(2) "Animal" means a [domesticated] living creature,
including any domesticated living creature and any [stray or feral
cat or dog, and a] wild living creature [previously captured]. The
term does not include [an uncaptured wild living creature or] a
livestock animal.
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
before that date.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.