Spay Neuter Bill Passed and Signed into Law!

Posted on , updated on by Adlaadmin

We are pleased to report that Spay Neuter Bill – HB 2523 passed the Arizona Legislature and was signed into law by Governor Ducey!

This will allow Arizona residents to make a voluntary contribution through the tax check-off program to fund much-needed affordable spay/neuter services throughout Arizona. Monies raised via this voluntary check off program will be administered at no additional cost through an existing fund.

Thanks to everyone who took action and reached out to their elected officials asking for support of Arizona’s animals! HB 2523 passed the House by a vote of 42-11-2 and passed the Senate 23-6-1.  If your legislators voted ‘yes’ on the bill, please thank them for their support. Special thanks to Representative Drew John, who sponsored HB 2523, and to Senator Kate Brophy McGee, who sponsored the original version of the bill. ADLA and its partners in the Humane Legislative Coalition of Arizona* led efforts to pass HB 2523.

ADLA believes that many problems that confront companion animals are a result of their overpopulation. That is why virtually all of our resources for companion animals are devoted to the Spay Neuter Hotline. For a small organization like ours, spay/neuter programs are the most cost effective use of scarce resources. For animal care & control agencies, they are often not funded in their budget.

Three years ago, ADLA joined with six other Maricopa County based nonprofits committed to tackling pet overpopulation- through Fix Adopt Save. Over the past three years, this coordinated effort has resulted in a 27 percent increase in the number of spay/neuter surgeries performed; which in turn has resulted in a 39 percent decrease in shelter intake and euthanasia rates have plummeted by 79 percent.

Thank you for speaking for Arizona’s animals!

*Humane Legislative Coalition of Arizona includes ADLA, Arizona Humane Society, Humane Society of Southern Arizona, and Humane Voters of Arizona. Thanks to HLCA’s government consultant, Brian Tassinari for his efforts to get HB 2523 passed and signed into law.

Photo of rescue puppies by Karen Anderson