HBA-JRA H.B. 3243 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3243
By: Green
Agriculture & Livestock
4/7/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, exotic livestock and exotic fowl are not included in the list of
animals which an owner can protect by killing or injuring an animal that
kills or injures them.  Current law also requires that the person kill or
injure the threatening animal at the time of discovery in order to claim a
defense to prosecution.  This may not provide the person adequate or
reasonable means to protect the person's livestock.  H.B. 3243 provides
that killing or injuring an animal is defensible if that animal injures or
kills a person's livestock or exotic fowl and removes the requirement that
the person kill or injure the animal at the time of the discovery. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 42.09(e), Penal Code, to provide that it is a
defense to prosecution for killing, injuring, or administering poison to an
animal, other than cattle, horses, sheep, swine, or goats, belonging to
another without legal authority or the owner's effective consent, that the
animal was discovered on the person's property in the act of or immediately
after injuring or killing the person's exotic livestock or exotic fowl as
defined by Section 142.001 (Definitions), Agriculture Code.  Deletes the
provision that the person killed or injured the animal at the time of the
discovery. Makes conforming changes. 

SECTION 2.  Makes application of this Act prospective.

SECTION 3.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 4.  Emergency clause.