Relating to the prosecution of the offense of cruelty to nonlivestock animals.

Contracts

• Vendor MSAs: Update Master Services Agreements with third-party transporters or walkers. Mandate certification of compliance with Texas Penal Code 42.092 and broaden indemnification to cover criminal defense costs arising from their negligence.
• Employment Agreements: Revise employee handbooks to define "conduct constituting criminal negligence" as grounds for immediate termination for cause. This is necessary to protect the entity’s unemployment tax rating and distance the business from individual criminal acts.

Hiring/Training

• Curriculum Update: Training must shift from "identifying abuse" to "preventing negligence." Staff must understand that leaving an animal unattended in a vehicle or dryer, even accidentally, is now a criminal offense.
• Signed Acknowledgments: Require all staff to sign a document acknowledging they understand the new "criminal negligence" standard and their personal liability under the law.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

• Mandatory Care Logs: Implement timestamped logs for water, feeding, and visual checks (recommended interval: 60 minutes). In a negligence prosecution, a lack of documentation will be interpreted as a failure to provide care.
• Incident Reports: Update forms to include a "Remedial Action" field. You must document immediate mitigation steps taken after any injury to disprove "unreasonable" failure to care.

Fees & Costs

• Insurance Riders: Review General Liability and Animal Bailee policies immediately. Most policies exclude criminal acts. You may need to purchase "Innocent Party" coverage riders to protect the business entity if an employee is charged.
• Legal Retainers: Budget for increased legal costs; criminal defense requires different counsel than standard civil liability claims.