Guest guest Posted March 11, 2009 Report Share Posted March 11, 2009 In This Issue ACTION ALERT The 81st Texas Legislative Session is in full gear - and many bills have been introduced that deal with animals - some good and some bad. This is our first Action Alert this session, and we thank you in advance for all your efforts between now and the session's end on June 1st to help protect animals in Texas through legislation! IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED TO DEFEAT HB 1046 Background Under current law (Chapter 821B of the Health & Safety Code) when law enforcement officers seize cruelly treated animals the trial to determine whether or not the owner will be divested of ownership is held within 10 days in a Municipal or Justice of the Peace Court and the decision of that court is final and not appealable. HB 1046 will change that and allow the owner to appeal the Municipal or Justice Court's decision and get an entirely new trial. If this bill passes, city and county attorneys will have to try these cruelty cases twice, which will be very costly to the cities and counties and will make the seizure and disposition of cruelly treated animals by law enforcement officers much more difficult and much more expensive. Many small towns and lesser populated counties (where starving horses and puppy mills most often are) will not have the resources to pursue these types of cases. Action Needed This bill has been referred to the Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committee in the House of Representatives. We need to contact each member of that Committee and ask that they oppose HB 1046. Talking Points HB 1046 will make the seizure and disposition of cruelly treated animals by law enforcement officers much more difficult and much more expensive. If this bill passes, many small towns and lesser populated counties (where starving horses and puppy mills most often are) will not have the resources to pursue these types of cases. Allowing appeals will cause additional expense to the cities and counties to keep and care for the animals during the appeal process which could last for months or even years. Also during this time, the seized animals (which often total in the hundreds and are almost always malnourished and sick) will suffer longer and cannot be adopted or, when necessary, be euthanized. Contact Information The members of the Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committee and their contact information is as follows: Representatives Email 512 Phone/Fax Hunter (Chair) todd.hunter 463-0672/463-2101 Bryan Hughes (Vice-Chair) bryan.hughes 463-0271/463-1515 Roberto Alonzo roberto.alonzo 463-0408/463-1817 Dan Branch dan.branch 463-0367/322-9935 Will Hartnett will.hartnett 463-0576/463-7827 Jim Jackson jim.jackson 463-0468/463-1044 David Leibowitz david.leibowitz 463-0269/320-0555 Tryon Lewis tryon.lewis 463-0546/463-8067 Jerry Madden jerry.madden 463-0544/463-9974 Armando "Mando"Martinez mando.martinez 463-0530/463-0849 Beverly Woolley beverly.woolley 463-0696/463-9333 PLEASE CALL, WRITE/FAX OR EMAIL THEM AND ASK THAT THEY OPPOSE THE BILL. ALSO ASK YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS TO DO THE SAME. AS ALWAYS, PLEASE BE COURTEOUS AND POLITE WHEN COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR REPRESENTATIVES. TEXAS HUMANE LEGISLATION NETWORKPromoting the humane treatment of animals throughlegislation, education and advocacy.Visit us at www.thln.org. P.O. Box 685283 Austin, TX 78768-5283action_alerts www.thln.org888-548-6263 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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