Bill
SB 537
The bill requires facilities using dogs or cats for research or testing to establish private adoption pathways, report animal use and dispositions annually to the Maryland Departme
Status snapshot
- Title: Research Facilities and Testing Facilities That Use Animals — Adoption and Reporting Requirements
- Sponsor: Sen. Kramer (Education, Energy, & the Environment)
- Hearing: 2/27 at 1:00 p.m. (per notice)
- Introduced: January 23, 2025 (assigned to committee)
- Proposed effective date: October 1, 2025 (text)
Purpose
- Require transparency and adoption pathways for dogs and cats used in research, education, or testing, and create annual reporting obligations so the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) and the General Assembly can track use and placements of those animals.
Key provisions
- Definitions
- “Research facility”: any facility in the State that uses live animals for research, education, or experimentation (excludes entities that provide only beneficial services such as spay/neuter).
- “Testing facility”: public or private entity that uses animals to test chemical substances, ingredients, drugs, vaccines, products, or product formulations (similarly excludes entities that only provide beneficial services).
- Adoption requirements (applies to research AND testing facilities)
- For dogs or cats deemed suitable for adoption (by an attending veterinarian), facilities must:
1) Establish a private placement process to adopt out animals;
2) Maintain an approved list of animal rescue organizations willing to take animals; and
3) Offer animals to those rescue organizations if private placement fails.
- Facilities may enter collaborative agreements with rescue organizations to carry out adoptions.
- Annual reporting to MDA (deadline: January 31)
- Each research and testing facility that uses live animals must report, for the preceding 12 months:
1) Number of dogs or cats owned and used by the facility; and
2) Number of dogs or cats released to animal rescue organizations, including the names of those organizations.
- The Secretary of Agriculture must aggregate submissions into an annual report and post it on the MDA website.
- School and higher-education reporting (deadline: December 31)
- Any school or institution of higher education that uses animals for research/education/testing must annually report to the General Assembly the results of any MDA inspection, including violations found.
- Regulations and standards
- MDA must adopt regulations to implement the law and to ensure humane treatment and care of dogs and cats consistent with the federal Animal Welfare Act and corresponding regulations.
- Penalties
- First offense: fine up to $1,000.
- Second or subsequent offense: fine up to $5,000.
Who would be affected
- Research facilities and testing facilities in Maryland that use live animals (not limited to higher education but explicitly includes testing entities).
- Schools and institutions of higher education that use animals for research/education/testing.
- Animal rescue organizations receiving animals from these facilities.
- Maryland Department of Agriculture (administration, regulation, and public reporting obligations).
Fiscal and administrative impact
- Fiscal note: implementation can be handled with existing MDA resources; penalty revenue is not expected to materially affect State finances. Local and small-business fiscal impacts are minimal.
- Administrative obligations: facilities will need processes for adoption placement, recordkeeping, and annual reporting; MDA will aggregate and publish data and promulgate implementing regulations.
Compliance timeline (key dates)
- Annual facility reports to MDA: due January 31 (covering prior 12 months).
- Annual school/college inspection reports to General Assembly: due December 31.
- Proposed effective date in bill text: October 1, 2025.
Points to watch
- How MDA implements data collection and public posting (format, confidentiality of facility-level data).
- Interaction with federal USDA reporting/inspections and any overlap with Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUCs).
- Enforcement approach for fines and whether guidance will be issued for “reasonable steps” toward adoption.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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