1. (1) There is hereby created the Colorado pet overpopulation authority, also referred to in this section as the authority, which shall be a body corporate and a political subdivision of the state. The authority is not an agency of state government and is not subject to administrative direction by any state agency except as provided in this article.

2. (2)

   1. (a) The powers of the Colorado pet overpopulation authority are vested in a board of directors consisting of the following:

      1. (I) One representative of the animal assistance foundation or its successor organization;
      2. (II) One representative of an animal shelter, as defined in section 35-80-102 (1);
      3. (III) One representative of a state veterinary medical association;
      4. (IV) One representative of a Colorado animal control agency;
      5. (V) One representative from the department of agriculture;
      6. (VI) One member from a pet animal rescue, as defined in section 35-80-102 (11.2);
      7. (VII) One member of the general public who has an interest in animal welfare who is not a member of a board of any animal welfare organization;
      8. (VIII) One representative of an animal shelter, as defined in section 35-80-102 (1); a pet animal rescue, as defined in section 35-80-102 (11.2); or a veterinary professional registered with the state board of veterinary medicine, from western Colorado;
      9. (IX) One representative of an animal shelter, as defined in section 35-80-102 (1); a pet animal rescue, as defined in section 35-80-102 (11.2); or a veterinary professional registered with the state board of veterinary medicine, from eastern Colorado;
      10. (X) One representative of an animal shelter, as defined in section 35-80-102 (1); a pet animal rescue, as defined in section 35-80-102 (11.2); or a veterinary professional registered with the state board of veterinary medicine, from southern Colorado; and
      11. (XI) One representative from a pet animal facility licensed and in good standing pursuant to section 35-80-104 located in a county with a population of fifty thousand or less.
   2. (b) The commissioner shall appoint the board members to three-year terms; except that three of the members appointed on September 1, 2001, shall serve an initial term of two years. Each member shall serve at the pleasure of the commissioner and shall continue in office until the member's successor is appointed and qualified. Initial members of the authority shall be appointed no later than September 1, 2001.
   3. (c) On the expiration of the term of a member of the board, that member's successor shall be appointed by the commissioner for a term of three years; except that, in the case of a vacancy, the commissioner shall appoint a person who shall serve for the unexpired term.

3. (3)

   1. (a) Each board member shall meet the following qualifications at the time of appointment and throughout the member's term of office:

      1. (I) Residency in this state; and
      2. (II) Demonstration of an active interest in the education of the community regarding the benefits of pet overpopulation control in Colorado.
   2. (b) The commissioner shall immediately declare the office of any member of the board vacant whenever the commissioner finds that the member is not qualified under this subsection (3) or that the member is unable to perform the duties of the office.
   3. (c) Members shall serve without compensation for any service provided to the Colorado pet overpopulation authority. Members shall not receive any reimbursement from the board for any expenses incurred fulfilling their responsibilities pursuant to this section.
   4. (d) Except as provided in subsection (2)(a)(VII) of this section, a board member may be a member of a board or subcommittee of a board of an animal welfare organization, but no more than one member of the board may be on the board or subcommittee of the board of the same animal welfare organization.
   5. (e) A member of the board shall recuse themself from any board action or vote if they have a conflict of interest in relation to the board action or vote, including any allocation of funding to the member made pursuant to this section.

4. (4) The board may:

   1. (a) Adopt an education program concerning pet overpopulation with emphasis on the importance of spaying and neutering to control pet overpopulation;
   2. (b) Develop, adopt, and implement a process to fund and expend moneys for the activities and responsibilities of the board. Funding for the board includes the moneys available in the pet overpopulation fund created in subsection (5) of this section.
   3. (c) Accept gifts, grants, and donations, including personal services, for the activities and responsibilities of the board. Any gift, grant, or donation other than personal services shall be deposited into the pet overpopulation fund created in subsection (5) of this section.
   4. (d) Develop, adopt, and implement a cooperative process to work with local veterinarians, licensed animal shelters, and local communities concerning animal sheltering and pet overpopulation control in this state.
   5. (4.5) The board shall annually publish on the pet overpopulation fund website the name of each grantee receiving money from the pet overpopulation fund, the amount of each grant provided to a grantee, when a grantee received a grant, and the names of each board member.

5. (5)

   1. (a) Donations collected pursuant to subsection (4) of this section and section 39-22-2201, C.R.S., shall be transmitted to the state treasurer and credited to the pet overpopulation fund, which fund is hereby created in the state treasury. All interest derived from the deposit and investment of moneys in the fund shall be credited to the fund.
   2. (b) All unexpended and unencumbered moneys remaining in the fund at the end of any fiscal year shall remain in the fund and not revert back to the general fund or any other fund or be used for any purpose other than the purposes set forth in this section. Such moneys shall be appropriated continually to the state treasurer, who shall transfer all available moneys in the pet overpopulation fund to the pet overpopulation authority at least quarterly unless the board expressly requests otherwise. The board shall expend moneys from the pet overpopulation fund for the implementation of this section.
   3. (c) When expending funds to implement this section, the Colorado pet overpopulation authority shall give priority to the areas that have an insufficient number of pet animal veterinary resources to adequately meet local needs.
   4. (c.5) At least seventy percent of the money annually awarded for all grants that are funded by the pet overpopulation fund must be annually allocated for rural community facilities. The board shall consider awarding at least fifty percent of the funds designated for rural community facilities to counties with a population of fifty thousand or less.
   5. (d) There is hereby created in the pet overpopulation fund the adopt a shelter pet account, which consists of moneys donated to qualify for the adopt a shelter pet special license plate pursuant to section 42-3-234, C.R.S.

   6. (e)

      1. (I) The authority shall use the money in the adopt a shelter pet account to support the spaying and neutering and other medical costs of animals in animal shelters and rescues, to support overpopulation education programs, and to support the trap-neuter-return established in subsection (9)(b) of this section; except that up to ten percent of the money in the adopt a shelter pet account may be used for the administration of the account.
      2. (II) The authority must not favor a particular shelter model when allocating money from the adopt a shelter pet account.
6. (6) Except as provided in section 42-3-234, C.R.S., the Colorado pet overpopulation authority, created pursuant to this section, shall not be funded by or through any state agency.
7. (7) Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the Colorado pet overpopulation authority to promulgate rules to implement this section.
8. (8) A pet animal facility applying for a grant described in subsection (9)(b) of this section from the adopt a shelter pet account must be licensed and in good standing pursuant to section 35-80-104.

9. (9)

   1. (a) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:

      1. (I) Animal welfare facility means a pet animal facility, as defined in section 35-80-102 (11); a pet animal rescue, as defined in section 35-80-102 (11.2); or a spay and neuter organization, as defined in subsection (9)(a)(V) of this section.
      2. (II) Community cat means a free-roaming domestic cat that may have a caretaker and is not socialized to humans.
      3. (III) Ear-tipping means the removal of approximately one quarter of a community cat's left ear while under anesthesia, which serves as a visual indicator of sterilization.
      4. (IV) Rural community facility means an animal welfare facility that is located in a Colorado county with a population of two hundred thousand or less.
      5. (V) Spay and neuter organization means a nonprofit organization primarily offering spay and neuter services performed by a licensed veterinarian, as defined in section 35-80-102 (8.7).
      6. (VI) Trap-neuter-return means a nonlethal process of humanely trapping, sterilizing, vaccinating for rabies, ear-tipping, and returning community cats to their habitats.
   2. (b) The authority shall establish a trap-neuter-return funded by the adopt a shelter pet account. The authority may award money from the adopt a shelter pet account to animal welfare facilities located in Colorado to implement trap-neuter-return for the purposes described in subsection (9)(c) of this section.

   3. (c) An animal welfare facility awarded money for the trap-neuter-return is authorized to spend the money only on:

      1. (I) Trapping, sterilizing, vaccinating, and ear-tipping community cats in Colorado;
      2. (II) Veterinary care for the treatment and sterilization of community cats in Colorado;
      3. (III) Training for community cat caretakers and animal control personnel in humane trapping and trap-neuter-return protocols in Colorado; and
      4. (IV) For an animal welfare facility that is a spay and neuter organization, veterinary materials and support for mobile clinics in Colorado.

Source: L. 2001: Entire section added, p. 1053, § 1, effective August 8. L. 2010: (2)(a) and (6) amended and (5)(d) and (5)(e) added, (HB 10-1214), ch. 394, pp. 1871, 1872, §§ 1, 2, effective August 11. L. 2025: IP(2)(a), (2)(a)(II), (2)(a)(IV), (2)(a)(VI), (2)(a)(VII), (2)(a)(VIII), and (5)(e) amended and (2)(a)(IX), (2)(a)(X), (2)(a)(XI), (3)(d), (3)(e), (4.5), (5)(c.5), (8), and (9) added, (HB 25-1137), ch. 79, p. 332, § 2, effective August 6.

Cross references: For the legislative declaration in HB 25-1137, see section 1 of chapter 79, Session Laws of Colorado 2025.