Where do Texas Democrats and Republicans really come together? Dog bills. – Houston Chronicle

Dogs have fared well this Texas legislative session.

While intensely partisan battles over voting rights, abortion and guns have demanded their attention for the last four months, lawmakers have found overwhelming unity when it comes to taking care of mans best friend.

A bill that bans the use of heavy chains to tether dogs, another requiring animal control and shelters to scan lost dogs for microchips and yet another to give tax breaks to pet rescue facilities have passed the House and Senate and are heading to Gov. Greg Abbott, a dog owner, for final approval.

It has been a good session, said Stacy Kerby, director of government relations at the Texas Humane Legislation Network, a nonprofit that promotes anti-cruelty legislation.

The biggest victory for those groups has been the tethering legislation, which has been bottled up for nearly a decade. State Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., a Cameron County Democrat, has been fighting for years not only to ban the heavy chains but also to give law enforcement more power to save dogs that are in danger.

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His Senate Bill 474 would get rid of a notice requirement in state law requiring law enforcement to give a dog owner 24 hours to correct a situation before citing the owner or taking custody of the dog. During hearings, animal control experts testified that the 24-hour rule proved fatal for many dogs during the winter storm and extends the suffering of animals unnecessarily when an officer can see that unsafe conditions are causing harm.

Twenty-four hours can be the difference between life or death, said Jamey Cantrell, president of the Texas Animal Control Association.

The bill spells out that dog owners can have dogs outside but cannot restrain them with chains, short lines or anything that causes pain or injury to the dog.

A first offense is a class C misdemeanor, which can mean a penalty of up to $500. For people previously cited, the penalty can jump to a class B misdemeanor, meaning a fine of up to $2,000 and 180 days in jail.

Lucio has added changes to the bill to exempt dogs used for ranching and other agricultural purposes and for dogs kept in the backs of pickups key provisions that played a big role in keeping the bill from passing in previous legislative sessions.

Cities such as San Antonio already have ordinances that ban chains. Dog advocacy groups say heavy tow chains can cause great damage to a dogs neck, tangle easily and severely restrict a dogs movement.

Rural sheriffs have backed the bill, saying it allows them to now take action, rather than having to let dogs suffer up to 24 more hours before anything changes.

In the county world, we dont have the ability to have leash laws and other ordinances that they do in the cities, said Chambers County Sheriff Brian C. Hawthorne. So this is a tool for a sheriff or a county animal control service to have the ability to deal with these issues.

Its all about protecting the lives of animals, said Lucio, who has nine cats and five dogs.

This bill will make dogs safer, he said.

The bill passed the Senate 28-3 in April and cleared the House 83-32 this month.

Another bill is aimed at speeding up the process of getting lost dogs and cats back to their owners.

House Bill 604 by Rep. Candy Noble, a Collin County Republican, requires lost animals to be scanned for a microchip as soon as possible after being taken into custody by a shelter or law enforcement agency.

Noble said pet owners spend money on microchipping in hopes it will make the recovery of their animals easier if they get lost.

While all the best-practice shelters and rescues do scan animals on intake, some are not doing so, she said.

Noble said scanners can cost between $40 and $400, but she said the cost of having animals left in a shelter can be between $300 and $425, making her bill not just good for the animals but also a cost savings for shelters and animal control officials.

Kerby said studies show that once animals get into a shelter, the likelihood of being reunited with their owners drops.

Nobles bill passed the House 147-2 in mid-April and cleared the Senate 30-0 last week.

A third bill is aimed at extending tax breaks that many animal shelters already get. State Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, said that currently the tax code eliminates sales taxes for animals sold by nonprofit shelters. But that tax break doesnt apply to rescue groups that dont have shelters but use networks of foster homes until a dog or cat is adopted.

Passing SB 197 supports our local rescue groups and helps connect more animals to people who will love and care for them, Nelson said.

Nelsons bill passed 31-0 in early April and cleared the House 143-0 last week.

jeremy.wallace@chron.com

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Where do Texas Democrats and Republicans really come together? Dog bills. - Houston Chronicle