HB 364 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO ANIMAL CONTROL.

Summary

Establishes the Spay and Neuter Special Fund to reduce pet overpopulation, including the free-roaming cat population, and authorizes an income tax designation to provide revenues into the special fund. Requires that female cats over the age of three months and male cats over the age of five months be surgically sterilized, with certain exceptions. Authorizes county animal control authorities to establish and enforce a permit program to allow the responsible breeding of cats. Establishes minimum requirements for breeding permits and penalties. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/3000. Applies to taxable years after 12/31/2025. (HD1)

Issues: ✓ Budget & Taxes

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 16, 2025 Last action Dec 8, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

HB364 → HB364_HD1 · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was significantly rewritten to establish a new 'Spay and Neuter Special Fund' in Chapter 36 of the statutes, replacing the previous version which referenced a different chapter. The core policy regarding cat sterilization was modified to require surgery for female cats over three months and male cats over five months. The breeding permit program was tightened with stricter age limits and genetic testing requirements, while the special fund's funding sources were updated to include tax refunds but removed revenue from special license plates.

Scope change

The bill's scope shifted from referencing Chapter 143-A and 143-B to establishing a new Chapter 36 for the special fund, while moving the sterilization and permit rules into Chapter 143. The applicability of the sterilization rules changed based on the cat's gender and specific age thresholds.

FISCAL

Added a new Chapter 36 establishing the Spay and Neuter Special Fund, including an advisory committee and specific eligibility criteria for fund disbursement.

Removed the provision for special license plates (Section 3) as a funding source for the special fund.

REQUIREMENT

Changed sterilization requirements to apply to female cats over 3 months and male cats over 5 months, whereas the original text applied the age limit to all cats.

Tightened breeding permit requirements by raising the minimum age for breeding cats to 18 months, lowering the maximum age to 7 years, and requiring genetic testing to ensure no similarity with breeding partners.

TIMELINE

Changed the effective date of the Act to July 1, 3000, and the application date for tax refunds to years after December 31, 2025.

TECHNICAL

Replaced the placeholder appropriation amount of '$500,000' with a blank line, indicating the amount must be filled in during the legislative process.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 6, 2025

Committee

Reported from CPC (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 236) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA.

lower

Jan 29, 2025

Lower · Passed

The committee on CPC recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Matayoshi, Chun, Ilagan, Ichiyama, Iwamoto, Marten, Tam; Ayes with reservations: none; 2 Noes: Representative(s) Kong, Pierick; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Lowen.

lower

Jan 21, 2025

Committee

Referred to CPC, JHA, FIN, referral sheet 1

lower

Jan 17, 2025

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 16, 2025

Introduced

Pending introduction.

lower

5 primary · 1 co-sponsor