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House rejects specialty spay/neuter license plate bill after close vote
Summary
HB 92, which would have created a specialty license plate to raise funds for spay/neuter programs, failed on the House floor after debate about expected revenue and proliferation of specialty plates; sponsor cited tens of thousands of animals euthanized annually.
The Utah House considered HB 92, a bill to create a specialty 'spay and neuter' license plate intended to fund spay/neuter programs and reduce euthanasia of unwanted animals. Sponsor Representative Jackie Biskupski said nearly 46,000 animals were euthanized in Utah the previous year and argued the plate would raise voluntary funds without taxpayer cost and use existing nonprofit infrastructure (No More Homeless Pets in Utah) to distribute grants.
Members questioned the fiscal yield of existing specialty plates and expressed concern about proliferation of plate types. The sponsor cited revenue examples from other states (New Jersey and Texas raising roughly $300,000 per year; Tennessee raising $100,000 in its first two years) but said Utah’s potential would depend on local take-up. After a call of the House and a division, the clerk recorded 36 yes votes and 39 no votes, and HB 92 failed and was filed.
Floor remarks emphasized both the animal-welfare need and opposition grounded in concerns about too many specialty plates and uncertain revenue estimates. No successful amendment was recorded before the final vote; the measure will not proceed in the current legislative cycle.
