00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 258(RES) 01 "An Act establishing a statewide spay and neuter assistance fund; establishing the 02 statewide spay and neuter assistance program; relating to companion animal spay and 03 neuter special request registration plates; relating to contributions from permanent 04 fund dividends; and providing for an effective date." 05 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06  * Section 1. AS 03.55 is amended by adding new sections to read: 07 Article 3. Statewide Spay and Neuter Assistance Fund and Program.  08 Sec. 03.55.200. Statewide spay and neuter assistance fund. (a) The 09 statewide spay and neuter assistance fund is established as a separate account in the 10 general fund. The fund consists of 11 (1) program receipts from the special request companion animal spay 12 and neuter plates issued under AS 28.10.421(d)(28); 13 (2) donations to the fund; 14 (3) federal or private funding that may be available to the state to 01 support spay and neuter services; and 02 (4) interest earned on money in the fund. 03 (b) The department shall administer the fund in accordance with the 04 provisions of AS 03.55.200 - 03.55.240. 05 (c) The legislature may appropriate money from the fund to the department to 06 implement AS 03.55.200 - 03.55.240 and to pay the costs of administering the fund. 07 (d) Nothing in this section creates a dedicated fund. 08 Sec. 03.55.210. Statewide spay and neuter assistance program; eligibility.  09 (a) The statewide spay and neuter assistance program is established in the department. 10 (b) The program shall provide direct reimbursement to a participating 11 veterinarian, veterinary clinic, animal shelter, or nonprofit organization in the state 12 that provides a spay or neuter surgery or presurgical examination or administers 13 required vaccinations without charge or at a reduced rate to a pet belonging to a 14 household in the state with an annual family or household income equal to or less than 15 130 percent of the most recent poverty guidelines for the state set by the United States 16 Department of Health and Human Services. 17 (c) The department shall adopt regulations to carry out the program, including 18 establishing 19 (1) a process for verifying whether a pet owner qualifies as an eligible 20 household under (b)of this section; 21 (2) a fee reimbursement process and standard reimbursement rate 22 schedule of up to 80 percent of the prevailing rates for the services covered by the 23 program. 24 Sec. 03.55.220. Statewide spay and neuter assistance fund and program  25 awareness and education. The department shall promote public awareness of the 26 fund and the program and educate the public about the dangers of uncontrolled 27 breeding of domestic dogs and cats. The department shall publish a list of providers 28 that participate in the program on the department's Internet website. 29 Sec. 03.55.230. Annual report. The department shall submit an annual report 30 to the legislature on or before the first day of each regular session of the legislature 31 that details, for the preceding year, the number and type of services provided under the 01 program and the program revenue and expenditures. The department shall deliver the 02 report to the senate secretary and the chief clerk of the house of representatives and 03 notify the legislature that the report is available. 04 Sec. 03.55.240. Definitions. In AS 03.55.200 - 03.55.240, 05 (1) "department" means the Department of Environmental 06 Conservation; 07 (2) "fund" means the statewide spay and neuter assistance fund 08 established under AS 03.55.200; 09 (3) "program" means the statewide spay and neuter assistance program 10 established under AS 03.55.210. 11  * Sec. 2. AS 28.10.181 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 12 (pp) Special request companion animal spay and neuter plates. Upon 13 application by the owner of a motor vehicle, the department may design and issue 14 registration plates representing the statewide spay and neuter assistance program 15 established under AS 03.55.210. The department may disapprove the issuance of 16 registration plates under this subsection when the requested plates are a duplication of 17 an existing registration. 18  * Sec. 3. AS 28.10.421(d) is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 19 (28) special request companion animal spay and neuter plates 20 registered under AS 28.10.181(pp) ............................ $100 21 plus the fee required for that vehicle under (b), (c), (h), or (i) of this section; the fee 22 required by this paragraph shall be collected only on the first issuance of and the 23 replacement of the special request plates; the commissioner shall separately account 24 for the fees received under this paragraph that the department deposits into the general 25 fund; notwithstanding (g) of this section, the annual estimated balance in the account 26 that is in excess of the cost of issuing special request plates may be appropriated by 27 the legislature into the statewide spay and neuter assistance fund established in 28 AS 03.55.200. 29  * Sec. 4. AS 37.05.146(c) is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 30 (88) statewide spay and neuter assistance fund (AS 03.55.200). 31  * Sec. 5. AS 43.23.130(a) is amended to read: 01 (a) Notwithstanding AS 43.23.200, the Department of Revenue shall prepare 02 the electronic Alaska permanent fund dividend application to allow an applicant who 03 files electronically to direct that money be subtracted from the dividend payment and 04 contributed to the crime victim compensation fund (AS 18.67.162), the peace officer 05 and firefighter survivors' fund, the statewide spay and neuter assistance fund  06 (AS 03.55.200), or one or more of the educational organizations, community 07 foundations, or charitable organizations that appear on the contribution list contained 08 in the application. A contribution to the crime victim compensation fund, the peace 09 officer and firefighter survivors' fund, the statewide spay and neuter assistance  10 fund, or [TO] an organization may be $25, $50, $75, $100, or more, in increments of 11 $50, up to the total amount of the permanent fund dividend that the applicant is 12 entitled to receive. If the total amount of contributions elected by an applicant exceeds 13 the amount of the permanent fund dividend that the applicant is entitled to receive, 14 contributions shall be deducted from the dividend in the order of priority elected by 15 the applicant on the application until the entire amount of the dividend that the 16 applicant is entitled to receive is allocated for contribution. The electronic dividend 17 application form must include notice that seven percent of the money contributed will 18 be used for administrative costs incurred in implementing this section, and money 19 from the dividend fund will not be used for that purpose. 20  * Sec. 6. AS 43.23.130(b) is amended to read: 21 (b) The department shall list each educational organization, community 22 foundation, or charitable organization eligible under (c) and (d) of this section, each 23 university campus that applies under (l) of this section, the crime victim compensation 24 fund, [AND] the peace officer and firefighter survivors' fund, and the statewide spay  25 and neuter assistance fund on the contribution list. The department shall maintain an 26 electronic database for the contribution list that is accessible to the public and that 27 permits searches by organization or fund name, geographic location, and type. The 28 department shall provide a statement of the contributions made by an individual that is 29 suitable for federal income tax purposes to each individual who elects to contribute 30 under (a) of this section. 31  * Sec. 7. AS 43.23.130(m) is amended to read: 01 (m) In addition to the application fee in (f) of this section, the department shall 02 withhold a coordination fee from each organization, foundation, or university campus 03 that receives contributions under this section in the immediately preceding dividend 04 year. The coordination fee for an organization, foundation, or university campus that 05 receives contributions under this section shall be seven percent of the amount of 06 contributions reported by the department under (j) of this section for the organization, 07 foundation, or university campus for the immediately preceding dividend year. The 08 coordination fee shall be separately accounted for under AS 37.05.142 and shall be 09 accounted for separately from the application fee collected under (f) of this section. 10 The annual estimated balance in the account maintained under AS 37.05.142 for 11 coordination fees collected under this subsection may be appropriated for costs of 12 administering this section. The department may not withhold a coordination fee for 13 contributions to the crime victim compensation fund, [OR] the peace officer and 14 firefighter survivors' fund, or the statewide spay and neuter assistance fund. 15  * Sec. 8. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 16 read: 17 REPORT TO LEGISLATURE. The Department of Environmental Conservation shall 18 submit the first annual report required by AS 03.55.230, enacted by sec. 1 of this Act, on or 19 before January 18, 2028. 20  * Sec. 9. This Act takes effect January 1, 2027.