Senate committee amends Colorado Pet Overpopulation Fund law; removes TNR mandate and changes board makeup

The Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee on Monday adopted amendments to House Bill 1137 (HB 1137) that change how the Colorado Pet Overpopulation Fund (CPOF) is governed and remove a statutory requirement that a fixed portion of the fund be awarded to trap‑neuter‑return (TNR) programs.

Sponsor Senator Winter told the committee HB 1137 is designed to increase transparency and geographic equity in how CPOF distributes grants and to allow optional funding for TNR programs in communities that request it. Winter said legislative staff had found that “only 58 organizations have been awarded out of 350 potential organizations” over four years and that the fund’s membership lists and awards information were not readily available until the legislature requested them.

Two amendments were adopted in committee. Amendment L007 revised board composition to remove designated activist seats and add representation for eastern and southern shelter, rescue and veterinary professionals; it also required board members to recuse themselves on conflicts of interest and clarified that rural satellite organizations could qualify for rural allocations even if the headquarters are not located in that same locale. Amendment L008 removed a statutory requirement that 10 percent of the fund be awarded to TNR programs, changing that use from mandatory to optional.

Witnesses for and against the bill testified for about three hours. Small spay‑neuter clinics and TNR volunteers urged senators to reject the changes, saying many rural providers lack veterinary capacity and that shifting formulae could remove funds from existing high‑volume clinics. Stacy Baum of Feline Fix described her Commerce City clinic’s work and told the committee “changes in funding will abolish currently funded already successful and proven spay‑neuter initiatives across Colorado.”

Supporters — including No Kill Colorado, MaxFund and several rural TNR advocates — argued the bill increases transparency and expands access to underfunded rural programs and all‑volunteer rescue groups. As MaxFund Executive Director Kathy Gaines told the committee, “CPoF dollars only go to the same small number of almost exclusively large shelters year after year,” and the amendment’s transparency provisions would require award amounts and board membership to be posted consistently.

Committee members discussed concerns about permitting backlogs at the Department of Public Health and Environment and the sunset review of the Pet Overpopulation Authority, but the committee ultimately approved HB 1137 as amended and moved it to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. The committee recorded a vote of 5‑2 in favor of the amended bill.

The bill’s amendments do not appropriate new money; rather they change board membership, require conflict recusal and turn the TNR allocation into an optional allowable use. The bill also directs CPOF to post award amounts and board membership information, and expands eligibility definitions to better include satellite rural providers.

With the L007 and L008 amendments adopted, HB 1137 moves to the Committee of the Whole for further legislative consideration.