Sec. 121.003. DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED. (a) Persons with disabilities have the same right as persons without disabilities to the full use and enjoyment of any public facility in the state.

(b) No common carrier, airplane, railroad train, motor bus, streetcar, boat, or other public conveyance or mode of transportation operating within the state may refuse to accept as a passenger a person with a disability because of the person's disability, nor may a person with a disability be required to pay an additional fare because of his or her use of a service animal, wheelchair, crutches, or other device used to assist a person with a disability in travel.

(c) No person with a disability may be denied admittance to any public facility in the state because of the person's disability. No person with a disability may be denied the use of a white cane, assistance animal, wheelchair, crutches, or other device of assistance.

(d) The discrimination prohibited by this section includes a refusal to allow a person with a disability to use or be admitted to any public facility, a ruse or subterfuge calculated to prevent or discourage a person with a disability from using or being admitted to a public facility, and a failure to:

(1) comply with Chapter 469, Government Code;

(2) make reasonable accommodations in policies, practices, and procedures; or

(3) provide auxiliary aids and services necessary to allow the full use and enjoyment of the public facility.

(e) Regulations relating to the use of public facilities by any designated class of persons from the general public may not prohibit the use of particular public facilities by persons with disabilities who, except for their disabilities or use of assistance animals or other devices for assistance in travel, would fall within the designated class.

(f) It is the policy of the state that persons with disabilities be employed by the state, by political subdivisions of the state, in the public schools, and in all other employment supported in whole or in part by public funds on the same terms and conditions as persons without disabilities, unless it is shown that there is no reasonable accommodation that would enable a person with a disability to perform the essential elements of a job.

(g) Persons with disabilities shall be entitled to full and equal access, as other members of the general public, to all housing accommodations offered for rent, lease, or compensation in this state, subject to the conditions and limitations established by law and applicable alike to all persons.

(h) A person with a total or partial disability who has or obtains a service animal is entitled to full and equal access to all housing accommodations provided for in this section, and may not be required to pay extra compensation or make a deposit for the animal but is liable for damages done to the premises by the animal except for reasonable wear and tear.

(i) A service animal in training shall not be denied admittance to any public facility when accompanied by an approved trainer.

(j) A person may not assault, harass, interfere with, kill, or injure in any way, or attempt to assault, harass, interfere with, kill, or injure in any way, an assistance animal.

(k) Except as provided by Subsection (l), a person is not entitled to make demands or inquiries relating to the qualifications or certifications of a service animal for purposes of admittance to a public facility except to determine the basic type of assistance provided by the service animal to a person with a disability.

(l) If a person's disability is not readily apparent, for purposes of admittance to a public facility with a service animal, a staff member or manager of the facility may inquire about:

(1) whether the service animal is required because the person has a disability; and

(2) what type of work or task the service animal is trained to perform.

Acts 1979, 66th Leg., p. 2426, ch. 842, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1979. Amended by Acts 1981, 67th Leg., p. 3310, ch. 865, Sec. 2, eff. Aug. 31, 1981; Acts 1983, 68th Leg., 1st C.S., p. 57, ch. 7, Sec. 10.03(c), eff. Sept. 23, 1983; Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 278, Sec. 2, eff. June 5, 1985; Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 249, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 890, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1995; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 649, Sec. 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 261, Sec. 1, eff. May 22, 2001; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 710, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.

Amended by:

Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 838 (H.B. 489), Sec. 3, eff. January 1, 2014.

Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1 (S.B. 219), Sec. 4.416, eff. April 2, 2015.