(a) It is the intent of the Legislature that a five-year program, which shall be known as the Animal Shelter Assistance Program, be established to support the state’s policy goal that no adoptable or treatable animal is euthanized, and that the program be administered by the University of California pursuant to all of the following principles:

(1) The program shall provide support to all California animal shelters in the form of outreach, regional conferences, and provision of web-based resources based on current best practices. Best practices may include, but is not limited to, all of the following:

(A) Reducing intake by providing other solutions to keep animals safe and healthy in their homes, which may include spay or neuter as part of that approach, as well as vaccination, microchipping, and setting up technology and communication to help pet owners rehome their own pets instead of taking them to a shelter.

(B) Improving animal health and care in the shelter, which may include adequate housing, good ventilation, appropriate treatment and isolation facilities as well as good husbandry practices to help animals stay healthy, lower costs, and increase adoptions.

(C) Removing barriers to live outcomes, which may include technology, staffing and capacity solutions, and expanding spay or neuter capacity to keep up with outflow. This may also include systems to reunite lost pets and developing an adoption presence in the community.

(2) The program shall offer in-person assessments and in-depth online training to California city, county, or city and county animal control agencies or shelters, societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals, and humane societies, upon request and as feasible.

(3) As a supplement to its outreach and programmatic support, the program shall administer a grant program to aid implementation of best practices in California animal shelters. All funds shall be awarded on the basis of need as determined by an open, competitive process that ensures objectivity, fairness, and sustainability. All California city, county, or city and county animal control agencies or shelters, societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals, and humane societies shall have access and opportunity to voluntarily compete for the funds. The program shall do all of the following:

(A) Develop criteria, procedures, and accountability measures as may be necessary to implement the grant program.

(B) Administer the grant program to ensure that priority is given to underserved populations, including both urban and rural areas and low-income communities, where achievement of the state’s goal that no adoptable or treatable animal is euthanized has not yet been met.

(C) In developing criteria, procedures, and accountability measures, include a focus on preventing pet overpopulation, such as measures to offer no or low cost spay or neuter services.

(4) For purposes of this section, a society for the prevention of cruelty to animals or a humane society shall be a California corporation, duly incorporated in the State of California, in active status, as described on the business search page of the Secretary of State’s internet website, and exempt from federal income taxation as an organization described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

(5) For purposes of this section, the program is encouraged to prioritize assistance for California city, county, or city and county animal control agencies or shelters, societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals, and humane societies that are current on relevant data reporting required under law, and that offer the greatest likely return on one-time investment of state funds.

(b) In designing and promoting the services outlined in subdivision (a), the program shall seek input from relevant stakeholders to ensure that program services and grants effectively reach a wide geography throughout the state, and that regions in northern, central, and southern California, including both urban and rural areas, are adequately considered, with an emphasis on addressing the lifesaving needs within these regions.

(c) The program may give additional consideration to working with communities that do any of the following:

(1) Seek to maximize the number of animals whose lives can be saved.

(2) Demonstrate partnerships among public, private, corporate, or nonprofit entities.

(3) Emphasize volunteer engagement and community outreach components for purposes of increasing the sustainability of the program’s investments.

(d) (1) On or before March 31, 2023, the University of California shall report to the relevant policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature and the Department of Finance on the program. At a minimum, the report shall include all of the following information:

(A) The amount spent on each type of activity set forth in paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, of subdivision (a).

(B) Pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), a summary of the outreach activities that were supported by funds.

(C) Pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), a list of shelters that received in-person assessments and in-depth training.

(D) Pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), a list of grant recipients, along with each recipient’s grant amount, the amount of matching funds, if any, and a description of the funded activities.

(E) An analysis of the program’s impact on the number of animals that are euthanized for all shelters participating in the activities described in paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (a). The analysis shall include annual data on the number of animals that were euthanized at least five years preceding the establishment of the program and throughout the duration of the program. To the extent possible, the analysis shall use the best available data to estimate the number of treatable and adoptable animals that are euthanized in the state. The University of California, Davis Koret Shelter Medicine program may require any data from program participants as needed to complete this analysis.

(F) A long-term plan to sustain any improvements in euthanized rates once the one-time funding expires and continue progressing toward the state’s policy objective that no adoptable or treatable animal be euthanized.

(G) Financial information on the University of California, Davis Koret Shelter Medicine program, including funding by source, spending by program and function, and end-of-year fund balances. The report shall include this information for the 2018-19 through 2023-24 fiscal years.

(2) On or before March 31, 2026, the University of California shall submit a second report to the relevant policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature and the Department of Finance on the program. At a minimum, the report shall include all of the information described in paragraph (1).

(e) Subject to the conditions and requirements established elsewhere in statute, the State Department of Public Health and the Department of Food and Agriculture shall provide to the program, upon proper request, data that will help ensure effective administration of the program.

(f) Toward these ends, the Legislature requests the Regents of the University of California to establish the Animal Shelter Assistance Program and direct the University of California, Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program to administer the program pursuant to, and consistent with, the principles and goals stated in this article.

(Added by Stats. 2021, Ch. 144, Sec. 67. (AB 132) Effective July 27, 2021.)