By: Menendez (Senate Sponsor - Uresti) H.B. No. 489
         (In the Senate - Received from the House May 2, 2013;
  May 3, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on Health
  and Human Services; May 17, 2013, rereferred to Committee on
  Veteran Affairs and Military Installations; May 20, 2013, reported
  adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the following
  vote:  Yeas 4, Nays 0; May 20, 2013, sent to printer.)
 
  COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 489 By:  Rodriguez
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to rights and responsibilities of persons with
  disabilities, including with respect to the use of service animals
  that provide assistance to those persons; providing penalties.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Chapter 437, Health and Safety Code, is amended
  by adding Section 437.023 to read as follows:
         Sec. 437.023.  SERVICE ANIMALS. (a) A food service
  establishment, retail food store, or other entity regulated under
  this chapter may not deny a service animal admittance into an area
  of the establishment or store or of the physical space occupied by
  the entity that is open to customers and is not used to prepare food
  if:
               (1)  the service animal is accompanied and controlled
  by a person with a disability; or
               (2)  the service animal is in training and is
  accompanied and controlled by an approved trainer.
         (b)  If a service animal is accompanied by a person whose
  disability is not readily apparent, for purposes of admittance to a
  food service establishment, retail food store, or physical space
  occupied by another entity regulated under this chapter, a staff
  member of the establishment, store, or entity may only inquire
  about:
               (1)  whether the service animal is required because the
  person has a disability; and
               (2)  what type of work the service animal is trained to
  perform.
         (c)  In this section, "service animal" means an animal that
  is specially trained or equipped to help a person with a disability.  
  An animal that provides only comfort or emotional support to a
  person is not a service animal under this section. The tasks that a
  service animal may perform in order to help a person with a
  disability must be directly related to the person's disability and
  may include:
               (1)  guiding a person who has a visual impairment;
               (2)  alerting a person who has a hearing impairment or
  who is deaf;
               (3)  pulling a wheelchair;
               (4)  alerting and protecting a person who has a seizure
  disorder;
               (5)  reminding a person who has a mental illness to take
  prescribed medication; and
               (6)  calming a person who has post-traumatic stress
  disorder.
         SECTION 2.  Sections 121.002(1), (4), and (5), Human
  Resources Code, are amended to read as follows:
               (1)  "Assistance animal" and "service animal" mean a
  canine [means an animal] that is specially trained or equipped to
  help a person with a disability and that [:
                     [(A)]  is used by a person with a disability [who
  has satisfactorily completed a specific course of training in the
  use of the animal; and
                     [(B)     has been trained by an organization
  generally recognized by agencies involved in the rehabilitation of
  persons with disabilities as reputable and competent to provide
  animals with training of this type].
               (4)  "Person with a disability" means a person who has:
                     (A)  a mental or physical disability;
                     (B)  an intellectual or developmental disability;
                     (C)  a [, including mental retardation,] hearing
  impairment;
                     (D)  [,] deafness;
                     (E)  a [,] speech impairment;
                     (F)  a [,] visual impairment;
                     (G)  post-traumatic stress disorder; [,] or
                     (H)  any health impairment that requires special
  ambulatory devices or services.
               (5)  "Public facility [facilities]" includes a street,
  highway, sidewalk, walkway, common carrier, airplane, motor
  vehicle, railroad train, motor bus, streetcar, boat, or any other
  public conveyance or mode of transportation; a hotel, motel, or
  other place of lodging; a public building maintained by any unit or
  subdivision of government; a retail business, commercial
  establishment, or office building to which the general public is
  invited; a college dormitory or other educational facility; a
  restaurant or other place where food is offered for sale to the
  public; and any other place of public accommodation, amusement,
  convenience, or resort to which the general public or any
  classification of persons from the general public is regularly,
  normally, or customarily invited.
         SECTION 3.  Section 121.003, Human Resources Code, is
  amended by amending Subsections (b), (d), (h), and (i) and adding
  Subsections (k) and (l) to read as follows:
         (b)  No common carrier, airplane, railroad train, motor bus,
  streetcar, boat, or other public conveyance or mode of
  transportation operating within the state may refuse to accept as a
  passenger a person with a disability [solely] because of the
  person's disability, nor may a person with a disability be required
  to pay an additional fare because of his or her use of a service [an
  assistance] animal, wheelchair, crutches, or other device used to
  assist a person with a disability in travel.
         (d)  The discrimination prohibited by this section includes
  a refusal to allow a person with a disability to use or be admitted
  to any public facility, a ruse or subterfuge calculated to prevent
  or discourage a person with a disability from using or being
  admitted to a public facility, and a failure to:
               (1)  comply with Chapter 469, Government Code [Article
  9102, Revised Statutes];
               (2)  make reasonable accommodations in policies,
  practices, and procedures; or
               (3)  provide auxiliary aids and services necessary to
  allow the full use and enjoyment of the public facility.
         (h)  A person with a total or partial disability who has or
  obtains a service [an assistance] animal is entitled to full and
  equal access to all housing accommodations provided for in this
  section, and may not be required to pay extra compensation or make a
  deposit for the animal but is liable for damages done to the
  premises by the animal except for reasonable wear and tear.
         (i)  A service [An assistance] animal in training  shall not
  be denied admittance to any public facility when accompanied by an
  approved trainer [who is an agent of an organization generally
  recognized by agencies involved in the rehabilitation of persons
  who are disabled as reputable and competent to provide training for
  assistance animals, and/or their handlers].
         (k)  Except as provided by Subsection (l), a person is not
  entitled to make demands or inquiries relating to the
  qualifications or certifications of a service animal for purposes
  of admittance to a public facility except to determine the basic
  type of assistance provided by the service animal to a person with a
  disability.
         (l)  If a person's disability is not readily apparent, for
  purposes of admittance to a public facility with a service animal, a
  staff member or manager of the facility may inquire about:
               (1)  whether the service animal is required because the
  person has a disability; and
               (2)  what type of work or task the service animal is
  trained to perform.
         SECTION 4.  Section 121.004, Human Resources Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 121.004.  PENALTIES FOR AND DAMAGES RESULTING FROM
  DISCRIMINATION.  (a) A person, including a firm, association,
  corporation, or other public or private organization, or the agent
  of the [a] person, [firm, association, corporation, or other
  organization] who violates a provision of Section 121.003 commits
  an offense. An offense under this subsection is a misdemeanor
  punishable by:
               (1)  a fine of not [less than $300 or] more than $300;
  and
               (2)  30 hours of community service to be performed for a
  governmental entity or nonprofit organization that primarily
  serves persons with visual impairments or other disabilities, or
  for another entity or organization at the discretion of the court,
  to be completed in not more than one year [$1,000].
         (b)  In addition to the penalty provided in Subsection (a)
  [of this section], a person, including a firm, association,
  corporation, or other public or private organization, or the agent
  of the [a] person, [firm, association, corporation, or other
  organization,] who violates the provisions of Section 121.003 [of
  this chapter] is deemed to have deprived a person with a disability
  of his or her civil liberties. The person with a disability
  deprived of his or her civil liberties may maintain a cause of
  action for damages in a court of competent jurisdiction, and there
  is a conclusive presumption of damages in the amount of at least
  $300 [$100] to the person with a disability.
         SECTION 5.  Section 121.006(a), Human Resources Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  A person who uses a service [an assistance] animal with
  a harness or leash of the type commonly used by persons with
  disabilities who use trained animals, in order to represent that
  his or her animal is a specially trained service [assistance]
  animal when training [of the type described in Section
  121.002(1)(B) of this chapter] has not in fact been provided, is
  guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction shall be punished by:
               (1)  a fine of not more than $300; and
               (2)  30 hours of community service to be performed for a
  governmental entity or nonprofit organization that primarily
  serves persons with visual impairments or other disabilities, or
  for another entity or organization at the discretion of the court,
  to be completed in not more than one year [$200].
         SECTION 6.  Section 121.008, Human Resources Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 121.008.  DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION RELATING TO
  PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES.  (a) To ensure maximum public awareness
  of the policies set forth in this chapter, the governor shall [may]
  issue a proclamation each year taking suitable public notice of
  October 15 as White Cane Safety and Service Animal Recognition Day.
  The proclamation must contain appropriate comment about the
  significance of various devices and animals used by persons with
  disabilities to assist them in traveling, and must call to the
  attention of the public the provisions of this chapter and of other
  laws relating to the safety and well-being of this state's citizens
  with disabilities.
         (b)  The comptroller, the secretary of state, and other state
  [State] agencies that regularly mail [mailing] forms or information
  to significant numbers of public facilities and businesses 
  operating within the state shall cooperate with state agencies
  responsible for the rehabilitation of persons with disabilities by
  sending information about this chapter to those to whom regular
  mailings are sent. The information, which must be sent at [only on]
  the request of state agencies responsible for the rehabilitation of
  persons with disabilities and at least [not more than] once each
  year, may be included in regular mailings or sent separately. If
  sent separately, the cost of mailing is borne by the state
  rehabilitation agency or agencies requesting the mailing and,
  regardless of whether sent separately or as part of a regular
  mailing, the cost of preparing information about this chapter is
  borne by the state rehabilitation agency or agencies requesting
  distribution of this information.
         SECTION 7.  The changes in law made by this Act to Sections
  121.004 and 121.006, Human Resources Code, apply 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 when 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 8.  This Act takes effect January 1, 2014.
 
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