Senate committees back spay‑neuter special fund after broad testimony from conservation and animal‑welfare groups

Senate committees on Agriculture and Environment, Transportation, Culture and the Arts, and Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs heard hours of testimony on Feb. 5 on SB1023, a bill that would establish a spay and neuter special fund to reduce pet overpopulation and free‑roaming cats.

The measure drew support from a cross‑section of conservation groups and animal‑welfare organizations while also prompting scientific questions about TNR (trap‑neuter‑return) programs. Chelsea Arnott of the Hawaii Invasive Species Council told the committee, “I don't foresee this bill doing a reduction in cats on the landscape, but I think it's a, a helpful measure and just wanna highlight, you know, no re release, trap neuter release we're against,” saying the council’s 2018 resolution and its review of the science do not find TNR effective at reducing landscape populations.

Hawaiian Humane Society policy director Stephanie Kendrick said the state currently lacks dedicated funding outside grants-in-aid and urged the committees to pass the bill. “Spay neuter is 1 of the areas where conservation and animal welfare can meet in the middle and try and create the best outcomes for all of the animals in our community,” Kendrick said, adding that county funding in Oahu raised caregiver‑reported sterilization rates from about 38% to 71% over five years.

Public witnesses described local needs and practical efforts. Angela Melody Young (Roar Cares) recounted pop‑up clinics serving low‑income households and said a female cat can produce “12 to 18 kittens in a year,” arguing a statewide funding mechanism would spread costs and support existing nonprofit clinics. Holly Holowak, founder of Pupoke Place Oahu Cat Sanctuary, described four years of effort to secure land for a large island sanctuary and urged a voluntary fund people could opt into.

Budget and administrative concerns were raised by Tom Yamachika of the Tax Foundation of Hawaii, who warned the proposed income tax check‑off would be the fifth and could create administrative burdens and questioned whether the special fund met statutory criteria for special funds (citing 37‑52.3).

After discussion, the AEN committee chair recommended passing SB1023 with amendments from Department of Taxation staff, blanking appropriation amounts, inserting report language that notes Department of Budget and Finance concerns, and defecting the effective date to July 1, 2050. The AEN committee recorded the recommendation adopted with five in favor. The Committee on Transportation, Culture and the Arts and the Committee on Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs registered the same recommendation or deferred as noted in the record.

Next steps: the bill was forwarded with amendments and committee notes; committees asked staff to work on language and to provide additional technical and financial details before final floor action.