Bill
A 663
Creates a dedicated fund to monitor and support health care for police/service dogs, funding veterinary care, screenings, and related health services for canine units.
Status and basics
- Bill number: A 663
- Title: Relates to establishing the canine officer health monitoring fund
- Sponsorship: Marianne Buttenschon (primary)
- Introduced: January 8, 2025
- Current status: REFERRED TO GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS
- Legislative actions: On 2025-01-08, the bill was referred to the Governmental Operations committee
- Related bills: A 8065 (prior-session), A 1494 (prior-session); S 1294 (companion)
Purpose and intent
- The bill aims to create a dedicated fund—the canine officer health monitoring fund—to support health-related activities for canine officers serving in law enforcement or related agencies.
- The underlying intent is to provide a stable financing mechanism to monitor and protect the health and well-being of canine officers (the police/service dogs) and to ensure ongoing access to health-related services.
Key provisions (as implied by the title; the exact text is not provided in the summary)
- Establishment of a new fund dedicated to canine officer health monitoring.
- Authorization for use of fund resources to support health monitoring and related health interventions for canine officers.
- Potential governance, administration, and reporting requirements (specific provisions would be defined in the bill text).
- Scope could include veterinary care, preventive health services, health screenings, and other health-monitoring activities for canine units.
- Mechanisms for appropriations or transfers to the fund, as well as eligible recipients (e.g., state and local law enforcement agencies with canine units).
Who would be affected
- Primary beneficiaries: canine officers (police/service dogs) and the agencies that employ or utilize canine units.
- Potential secondary beneficiaries: law enforcement agencies charged with maintaining canine units, veterinary service providers, and oversight or accountability bodies that track health monitoring outcomes.
- Fiscal impact: the bill would create a funding stream; the specific revenue sources and budgetary impact would be detailed in the full text.
Procedural and timeline aspects
- The bill has been referred to the Governmental Operations committee, indicating it will be examined for policy, fiscal impact, and implementation considerations.
- If advanced, it would move through committee votes, potential amendments, and then to the floor for a full chamber vote, followed by the other house (if applicable) and eventual governor action or veto.
- Related companion and prior-session bills suggest ongoing legislative interest in canine health monitoring across sessions.
Notes and next steps
- The summary is based on the bill’s title and metadata; the full text will define specific funding sources, eligible expenditures, governance, reporting requirements, and implementation timelines.
- To understand precise provisions, fiscal impact, and any reporting obligations, review the official bill text and any fiscal notes during committee hearings or subsequent updates.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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