Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed House Bill (HB) 365 into law in early June, which will make amendments to the Texas Farm Animal Liability Act (FALA).
The legislation goes into effect Sept. 1 and will impact farm animal owners. FALA is a statute that offers limited liability to farm animal owners if injuries are caused by an inherent risk during farm animal activities.
HB 365 was introduced after the Texas Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that FALA was inapplicable if the injured party was a rancher or ranch hand. Rep. Andrew Murr (R-53) introduced the bill to ensure FALA does cover ranchers or ranch hands—effectively reversing the Supreme Court’s verdict moving forward.
