Key Points:

• Bill expands criminal charges for the cruel neglect of pets

• Bill received bipartisan support

• Bill will now head to the Senate for final read

After weeks of negotiations, the House approved an animal cruelty bill that would bring criminal charges against people who abuse their pets.

Senate Bill 1658 passed the House 34-18 on June 12 with bipartisan support despite objections from some Republicans who viewed certain provisions of the bill as overly punitive.

Most of the Democrats voted for the bill, while the majority of Republicans disapproved of the measure. Republican Sen. Shawnna Bolick, R-Phoenix, sponsored the bill and worked with Rep. Walt Blackman, R-Snowflake, to move it through the House. 

The legislation would require pet owners to provide food, water and shelter to their animals, and expand the definition of animal cruelty to include failing to provide medical attention for a pet. It also adds charges for subjecting an animal to cruel neglect.

“It is common sense, does not affect livestock, does not affect people experiencing homelessness, very straightforward language,” said Humane Society President and CEO Dr. Steven Hansen in an interview earlier this month.

During the House third reading hearing, Rep. Alexander Kolodin, R-Scottsdale, said the bill troubled him on a “personal level” because it could affect pet owners who are struggling financially.

“They’re the folks that are clinging to the family cat through financial hardship, where they may not have a safe and healthy place to live, where they may be draining their bank account, facing bankruptcy and just trying to hold on, and this body proposes to make them into criminals without a second thought,”  Kolodin said.

Lawmakers who supported the bill said it would give law enforcement the necessary tools to quickly arrest people who abuse animals.

“This bill gives law enforcement and prosecutors clear standards to act quickly, protect animals in danger and hold abusers accountable,” said Rep. Matt Gress, R-Phoenix, during the House Committee of the Whole session on June 11.

The bill was prompted by an animal cruelty case in September 2023, when 55 disabled dogs were seized from a Chandler home. The homeowner was arrested on multiple charges of animal cruelty, fraud and theft.

The bill was initially introduced as Senate Bill 1234, but was double assigned to the the House Natural Resources, Energy & Water Committee and House Judiciary Committee after it was approved in the Senate with bipartisan support.

Blackman used a striker amendment on another Bolick bill after the original animal cruelty measure was double assigned.

The legislation still faced obstacles as Republicans questioned the vagueness of the language and harshness of the penalties. 

Blackman worked on a series of amendments that sought to clearly define the language and other aspects of the bill in order to garner the necessary support.

The bill will now head to the Senate for a final read and, if approved, to the governor’s desk.