Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
House panel backs tax checkoff to fund Colorado Animal Protection Fund; moves bill to appropriations
Summary
The House Finance Committee voted 11-2 to send House Bill 1299 to the Appropriations Committee. The bill would create a voluntary state income-tax "checkoff" to direct donations to the Colorado Animal Protection Fund to pay for emergency animal sheltering, veterinary care and other responses to neglect, cruelty and disasters.
House Bill 1299, which would create a voluntary state income-tax checkoff to fund the Colorado Animal Protection Fund, advanced from the House Finance Committee to appropriations on a favorable recommendation, 11-2.
The bill would add a dedicated option on Colorado tax returns that allows taxpayers to donate part of their refund to the Animal Protection Fund, a cash fund administered by the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA). The Department of Revenue would retain designated checkoff contributions and transfer them once a year to the CDA, and the bill would give the department continuous spending authority for the fund because the revenue is TABOR-exempt.
The measure’s sponsors and witnesses said the fund would be used for emergent housing, feed and veterinary care for livestock and companion animals affected by wildfires, storms, cruelty investigations or prolonged legal cases.
“House Bill 12 99 is incredibly important to address the urgent need for enhanced…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
