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Subject: BSL legislation in TX - Houston to be exempt from law
banning BSL
Please cross post and forward. HB 1096 will exempt the city of Houston from the current state law prohibiting Breed Specific Legislation in Texas! Representative Al Edwards has told RPOA that he wants to pass Breed Specific Legislation regarding Rottweilers and so-called “Pit Bulls” in the city of Houston. Since existing Texas law prohibits this, Edwards said he wants to exempt Houston from the existing law. He has ignored RPOA and AKC letters of opposition and phone calls and filed HB 1096 in spite of our protests. Edwards stated to the media that he hopes his bill will be amended to include the entire state. At the present time, it only applies to a municipality with a population of 1.9 million or more. This will include San Antonio (population 1.4 million now) in the not-too-distant future. Edwards’ bill is cleverly written and the significance of it is easily overlooked if you don’t reference current state law. HB 1096 establishes Subchapter F. Regulation of Dogs in Certain Municipalities. BUT it states under (b): SUBCHAPTER D [IN CURRENT LAW] DOES NOT APPLY TO A MUNICIPALITY SUBJECT TO THIS CHAPTER. Subchapter D is where current law prohibits Breed Specific Legislation being passed in Texas municipalities. This is confusing but read it carefully. HB 1096 clears the way to pass BSL in Texas. One more time: Houston will not be subject to our state law prohibiting BSL in municipalities if this law passes. Houston could ban or restrict ownership of certain dog breeds. To read the entire bill, go to: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us and type in the bill number. Information on all the committee members is on the web site also. You may have to go to the web site to send emails directly to legislators. CONTACT ALL OF THEM! The president of the American Temperament Test Society, Inc. (ATTS) has stated that the rate of passing for the “Pit Bull Breeds” is slightly better than the national average for all breeds tested. He further states ATTS has tested over 190 different breeds. Unfortunately the media is not interested in good dogs. Breed Specific Legislation is opposed by the American Veterinary Medical Association, Humane Society of the United States, American Kennel Club, American Dog Owners Association, National Animal Interest Alliance, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA),United Kennel Club, and other national organizations. HB 1096 requires ALL dog owners to meet the requirements of a secured enclosure without regard to whether the dog was dangerous. If serious bodily injury or death occurs, it becomes a felony. ALL other offenses under Chapter 822 are misdemeanors! There is no Hearing Requirement. It would prohibit the use (or training) of agility dogs, herding dogs, and many American Kennel Club outdoor performance events. And NO, we don’t want an exemption. We want this bill KILLED! HB 1096 passed the Urban Affairs Committee unanimously and is now in the Calendars Committee. This is a powerful committee which schedules bills to be heard on the House Floor. We must bombard them with phone calls, faxes and e-mails OPPOSING this bill. Since the chairman and four other committee members have Houston offices, our work is cut out for us. We must convince the committee that there is no such breed as “pit bull” and these laws unfairly discriminate against responsible pet owners of many breeds. Punish the deed, not the breed. AKC and RPOA oppose all breed specific laws. A Richardson, TX, breed specific law was overturned in 1988 which led to our existing state law prohibiting BSL. We don’t want history repeating itself. [Illinois now has a bill filed affecting 10 breeds of dogs!] Bill Author: Rep. Al Edwards (Has Houston district office.) Phone: (512) 463-0518 Fax: (512) 463-7968 Al.Edwards@house.state.tx.us All addresses are: PO Box 2910, Austin, TX 78768 Committee on Calendars Clerk: Amy Ehlert, Phone: (512) 463-0758, Room: EXT E2.1010 Chairman: Rep. Beverly Woolley (Website states: “works closely with elected officials in Houston/Harris County. Has Houston district office.) Phone: (512) 463-0696 Fax: (512) 463-9333 Beverly.Woolley@house.state.tx.us Vice-Chair: Rep. Gene Seaman (Has Corpus Christi district office.) Phone: (512) 463-0672 Fax: (512) 463-3509 Gene.Seaman@house.state.tx.us Members: Rep. Bill Callegari (Has Houston district office.) Phone: (512) 463-0528 Fax: (512) 463-7820 Bill.Callegari@house.state.tx.us Rep. Gary Elkins (Has Houston district office.) Phone: (512) 463-0722 Fax: (512) 472-5610 Gary.Elkins@house.state.tx.us Rep. Lois W. Lolkhorst (Has Brenham district office.) Phone: (512) 463-0600 Toll Free: (866) 829-6370 Fax: (512) 463-5240 Lois.Lolkhorst@house.state.tx.us Rep. Vilma Luna (Has Corpus Christi district office.) Phone: (512) 463-0484 Fax: (512) 463-8090 Vilma.Luna@house.state.tx.us Rep. Brian McCall (Has Plano district office.) Phone: (512) 463-0594 Fax: (512) 463-5896 Brian.mccall@house.state.tx.us Rep. Sid Miller (Has Stephenville district office.) Phone: (512) 463-0628 Fax: (512) 463-3644 Sid.miller@house.state.tx.us Rep. Patrick M. Rose (Has San Marcos district office.) Phone: (512) 463-0647 Fax: (512) 473-9946 Patrick.Rose@house.state.tx.us Rep. Sylvester Turner (Has Houston district office.) Phone: (512) 463-0554 Fax: (512) 463-8380 Sylvester.Turner@house.state.tx.us Rep. Corbin Van Arsdale (Has Houston district office.) Phone: (512) 463-0661 Fax: (512) 463-4130 Corbin.van.arsdale@house.state.tx.us To share information, subscribe or unsubscribe, please send an e-mail message to rpoa@texas.net. Responsible Pet Owners Alliance 900 NE Loop 410 #205-D San Antonio, TX 78209 Phone: (210) 822-6763 Fax: (210) 822-9038 E-mail: rpoa@texas.net
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