Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed the Ramon Najera Act passed during the 88th Texas Legislature session, blocking the bill that would have allowed local animal care service departments to launch their own dangerous dog investigations without affidavits and offered protection for those who report them.
House Bill 4759, which sponsor Sen. José Menéndez (D-San Antonio) dubbed the Ramon Najera Act, was named after the 81-year-old veteran who was killed in a February dog attack in San Antonio.
The law would have included unprovoked attacks in the determination of what is considered a dangerous dog and increased penalties for repeat offenders.
In a proclamation published Friday, Abbott said the state’s existing laws already penalize attacks by dangerous dogs “so much that felony arrests have already been made of the dog owners responsible for the tragic attack that took the life” of Najera.
“That was the catalyst for House Bill No. 4759. The justice system should be allowed to work, without the overcriminalization found in this bill,” the governor wrote as his reason for vetoing the legislation.
San Antonio’s Animal Care Services department told the San Antonio Report in May that it had strengthened its internal processes for dealing with dangerous dogs, leading to an increase in dangerous dog reports, which tripled since the February mauling.
The law would have given ACS more tools to hold pet owners of dangerous dogs accountable, and at the same time, would have given victims or witnesses peace of mind by not sharing their information with others involved, ACS spokeswoman Lisa Noorwood said at the time.
Abbott added that he looks forward to working with state Rep. Elizabeth “Liz” Campos (D-San Antonio), who authored the bill, to create investigations and procedures that stop dog attacks before they happen.
Campos, Menéndez and state Reps. Diego Bernal and Josey Garcia (both D-San Antonio), Jeff Leach (R-Plano), and Penny Morales-Shaw (D-Houston) sponsored the bill.
