Gov. Greg Abbott vetoes San Antonio-backed bill that that would stiffened dog-attack penalties

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Saturday vetoed the Ramon Najera Act, a bill that would have made it easier for cities across the state to investigate attacks by dangerous dogs and to levy stiffer penalties against their owners.

Authored by San Antonio State Rep. Liz Campos, a Democrat, House Bill 4759 was named in honor of an 81-year-old Air Force veteran who was mauled to death in February in a dog attack.

The incident grabbed national headlines and led to a spike in sworn statements reporting dangerous dogs to San Antonio Animal Control Services, according to the San Antonio Report.

For a dog to be designated as dangerous under Texas law, a witness must sign a sworn affidavit saying that they saw the dog act in a threatening manner. Critics said the rule leaves some people unwilling to file a report under fear of retaliation.

Although witnesses would still have to sign a sworn statement under the Ramon Najera Act, the legislation would have allowed witnesses to stay anonymous, potentially getting more dangerous dogs off the streets. The bill also would have created stronger penalties for owners of dogs who attack or kill a person.

“Texas’ existing criminal laws penalize attacks by dangerous dogs — so much so that felony arrests have already been made of the dog owners responsible for the tragic attack that took the life of distinguished Air Force veteran in San Antonio,” Abbott said in a veto proclamation. “And that was the catalyst for House Bill 4759.”

Despite the veto, Abbott said in the proclamation that he looks forward to working with San Antonio lawmaker Campos to “create investigations and procedures that stop attacks before they happen.”

Campos' bill received sponsorship from other San Antonio Democrats, including State Sen. Jose Menendez and Reps. Diego Bernal and Josey Garcia.

HB 4759 was one of 76 bills Abbott vetoed this session, most of those coming over the past week in retaliation for the Texas Senate not moving ahead on House legislation to cut property taxes. That's the second-highest number of vetoes in state history for a single session, just behind a Gov. Rick Perry's 2001 flurry of vetoes.

“At this time, the legislature must concentrate on delivering property tax cuts to Texans,” Abbott said in multiple veto proclamations.

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