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Texas Disability Law - Assistance Animals

Texas Law

  • Requires public facilities and common transportation carriers to admit people with disabilities who use assistance animals, or an assistance animal in training accompanied by a trainer.
  • Requires evacuation, transport and temporary shelter of service animals in a disaster.
  • Provides a criminal penalty for those who deny access to people with disabilities because of an assistance animal. Offenses are punishable by fines of not less than $300 and not more than $1,000.
  • Provides full and equal access to housing accommodations for people with disabilities with assistance animals.
  • Provides that people with disabilities may not be charged extra compensation for assistance animals, however, any damages caused by an assistance animal are the responsibility of the person with a disability using the animal.
  • Provides that assistance animals must be trained by organizations generally recognized as reputable and competent by agencies involved in rehabilitation of people with disabilities.
  • State employees may obtain up to ten days of paid leave to attend a training program to familiarize themselves with an assistance dog.
  • Provides protection if an assistance animal is attacked, injured or killed by an individual or an individual's animal.

Texas Legal Citation

Access:

Texas Human Resources Code, Section 121.003 - 121.006

Assistance Animal Defined:

Texas Human Resources Code, Section 121.002

Disaster

Texas Government Code, Section 418.043

Protection Against Attack:

Texas Human Resources Code, Section 121.003(j)

Texas Penal Code, Chapter 42, Section 42.091

State Employees:

Texas Government Code, Section 661.910

Contact

Contact local law enforcement agencies to report violations of this law.

For information about training organizations contact:

Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services, Division for Rehabilitation Services
1-800-628-5115 or TTY 1-866-581-9328


For More Information

Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services, Division for Blind Services
1-800-628-5115 or TTY 1-866-581-9328

The Office of the Attorney General:

Opinion regarding enforcement of the support dog laws under chapter 121 of the Human Resources Code (Opinion JM-1089)

 

Relevant Federal Laws

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Information and Referral: 1-800-843-5789 | Citizen's Opinion Hotline: 1-800-252-9600
Office of the Governor, P.O. Box 12428, Austin, Texas 78711, Phone: (512) 463-2000, Fax: (512) 463-1849

Header Photo by Bob Daemmrich