(a) The owner, manager, or operator of a public facility, or an employee or other agent of the owner, manager, or operator, may not deny a search and rescue dog admittance to the facility.
(b) The owner, manager, or operator of a public facility, or an employee or other agent of the owner, manager, or operator, may not deny a search and rescue dog's handler admittance to the facility because of the presence of the handler's search and rescue dog.
(c) The owner, manager, or operator of a common carrier, airplane, railroad train, motor bus, streetcar, boat, or other public conveyance or mode of transportation operating within this state, or an employee or other agent of the owner, manager, or operator, may not:
(1) refuse to accept as a passenger a search and rescue dog or the dog's handler; or
(2) require the dog's handler to pay an additional fare because of the search and rescue dog.
(d) The discrimination prohibited by this section includes:
(1) refusing to allow a search and rescue dog or the dog's handler to use or be admitted to a public facility;
(2) a ruse or subterfuge calculated to prevent or discourage a search and rescue dog or the dog's handler from using or being admitted to a public facility; and
(3) failing to make a reasonable accommodation in a policy, practice, or procedure to allow a search and rescue dog or the dog's handler to be admitted to a public facility.
(e) A policy relating to the use of a public facility by a designated class of persons from the general public may not prohibit the use of the particular public facility by a search and rescue dog or the dog's handler.
(f) A search and rescue dog's handler is entitled to full and equal access, in the same manner as other members of the general public, to all housing accommodations offered for rent, lease, or compensation in this state, subject to any condition or limitation established by law that applies to all persons, except that the handler may not be required to pay an extra fee or charge or security deposit for the search and rescue dog.
Added by Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 466 (S.B. 1010 ), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2013.
