Chairman Pete Bettencourt opened discussion of House Bill 27 31, saying the panel would hear the bill and the committee recognized Senate sponsor Senator Juan Hinojosa to lay out the proposal.

Senator Juan Hinojosa, sponsor of the measure, said the committee substitute "relates to roadside vendors" and that "roadside vending of unregulated pets... has raised concerns about public safety, traffic hazards, and animal welfare." He told members the bill narrows an earlier House-filed version by limiting the regulatory authority to live-animal vendors in certain border counties and by changing a population threshold that determines which counties may act.

The substitute would change the population threshold only for border counties and limit county authority in unincorporated areas to live animals (excluding livestock), Hinojosa said. He added the change was intended to keep the bill regional in scope and avoid impacting livestock sales important to South Texas.

Chairman Bettencourt and committee members clarified scope: Bettencourt asked whether the bill would prohibit livestock sales; Hinojosa replied the bill "does not include the prohibition of the sale of livestock, which is very important for us in South Texas." Committee members also noted the focus was on unincorporated areas and highway rights-of-way where counties currently lack tools to enforce against vendors.

The chair opened public testimony on the committee substitute; no one offered public comment. The committee closed public testimony and "the committee substitute to House Bill 27 31 will be left pending subject to call of the chair," Bettencourt said.

What happened next: there was no roll-call vote recorded on the substitute during the hearing; the committee left the substitute pending for future action.

Why this matters: supporters said the change would give border counties a narrowly tailored enforcement tool for public-safety and animal-welfare concerns arising from unregulated roadside live-animal sales in high-traffic, unincorporated areas.