Our Senate Agriculture Committee hearing has been confirmed for March 20 at 1:30 p.m. This is great news!
Please reach out directly to all senators on the agriculture committee, as well as your designated senator (based on zip code), to voice that you want them to vote YES on CPOF (HB-1137).
Recent amendments have been made to help this bill make the biggest impact on Colorado CPOF procedures. Scroll to read about these changes.
Our bill, CPOF (HB-1137), is being voted on in the Senate right now, and we need you!
Find your senator and their contact information by clicking here or searching below.
We are looking for folks to testify who are equally shocked to learn that No Kill shelters have been actively blocked from receiving these funds.
We are also seeking anyone to testify during the hearing who have paid into the License Plate fund thinking their donation to the fund supported No Kill shelters.
Please email advocacy@maxfund.org as soon as possible, and thank you so much for your support.
“This amendment changed the make-up of the Board by replacing the CFAWA seat with any PACFA licensed shelter; replacing the association of animal control officers with an individual animal control officer; replacing the association of pet animal rescue with a representative of a rescue; adding representatives of Eastern CO and Southern CO (in addition to Western CO); adding a representative from a small, rural county (under 50,000 population); and removing the NKC board seat. The amendment also allows CPOF to be used for TNR without a set percentage and removes allowance for funds to be used for TNR education. Lastly, the amendment specifies that any CPOF board member must recuse themselves from any vote that could create a conflict of interest. Everything else remains the same.”
MaxFund maintains a fervent commitment to supporting the needs of animal welfare organizations throughout Colorado, particularly nonprofit, No Kill organizations that dedicate their efforts and funding to ensure long-standing impacts in defense of homeless pets. With each legislative session, MaxFund prioritizes the public support of legislation that will further meaningful and comprehensive initiatives to save lives.
Sponsors: Representative Lindsay, Representative Velasco
The Colorado Pet Overpopulation Fund (CPOF) has been a powerful resource for rescues and shelters in our state, raising nearly $1 million annually. Despite this progress, Colorado still faces challenges with pet overpopulation, particularly with community cat colony populations still on the rise due to lack of resources during the pandemic.
This presents many concerns including strain on local Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) organizations, rescue, and shelter resources. TNR programs remain the most effective tool to lower community cat populations, but are currently not eligible to receive grant funding from the CPOF despite the clear nexus.
Further, CPOF’s transparency and accountability has seemingly dwindled, currently representing the large shelter and animal welfare organizations that dominate its use. There is an opportunity to help hundreds of smaller organizations doing good local work in Colorado’s underserved areas with a few updates that increase transparency and equity.
This bill will allow the Colorado Pet Overpopulation Fund to award grants to spay/neuter organizations as well as shelters/rescues operating TNR programming and requires that 20% of funds awarded annually are used for that purpose.
This bill will also enshrine the fund’s current practice of awarding 70% of grants annually to organizations in rural areas. Transparency is vital to maintaining the trust of the public.
This bill will require CPOF to publish the fund grantees, their grant amount, and the fund board members annually.
At least 20% of funds to spay/neuter and TNR programs; 70% to rural areas; annual publication of grant recipients and board members; more equitable and effective funding statewide.
For more information and ways to get involved, email advocacy@maxfund.org.