HB238 Alabama 2013 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Steve McMillan

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2013

Title

Animals, animal shelters, animal control, animal shelter owner or operator to submit annual report detailing number of animals entering facility and the disposition of the animals

Summary

HB238 requires Alabama animal shelters to annually report intake, outcomes, and related costs to the Department of Public Health and make the reports public, with penalties for noncompliance.

What This Bill Does

If passed, the bill requires shelter owners or operators to submit a yearly report detailing how many animals entered the facility, where they came from, and what happened to them (e.g., adopted, claimed, transferred, euthanized), including sterilization status and related care costs (excluding salaries). Reports must be filed within 90 days after year-end and made available to the public; shelters may publish in a compatible format and may charge a reasonable copy fee, keeping records for at least four years. It creates a Class B misdemeanor for failing to file or knowingly submitting fraudulent information and states the bill is exempt from certain local-fund requirements due to defining a crime.

Who It Affects

• Animal shelters (owners, operators, managers, or directors): must collect and annually report detailed intake, disposition, sterilization, and cost data; subject to penalties for noncompliance; must maintain records for four years.
• Public and government entities (Department of Public Health and general public): will have access to the annual reports as public records; data can be published and viewed by anyone.

Key Provisions

• Defines 'animal shelter' as facilities that receive public funds to impound or harbor animals and protect them from cruelty or neglect.
• Requires annual reporting of: (a) number of animals taken in by source (owner surrender, strays, other shelters, animal control, other) and (b) disposition of those animals (adopted, released/claimed, transferred, euthanized/died, transferred to other facilities or rescues, sterilization status).
• Requires reporting of costs for housing, maintenance, feeding, medications, transfers, euthanasia, and related care (excluding salaries).
• Reports due within 90 days after the end of each calendar year; reports must be public; may be published in various formats and kept for at least four years; copies may be charged a reasonable fee; includes a certification of truth by the author.
• Failure to file or knowingly submitting fraudulent reports is a Class B misdemeanor.
• Exempts the bill from some local-fund expenditure restrictions under Amendment 621 because it defines a crime; becomes effective on the first day of the third month after passage and governor approval.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Animals