SB 318 — AN ACT CONCERNING ANIMAL WELFARE.

Substitute Senate GeneralBill Assembly File No.

221318 FebruaryPublic Session,Act 2026 Substitute Senate Bill No.

31826-112 Senate,AN MarchACT 30,CONCERNING 2026ANIMAL TheWELFARE. Committee on Environment reported through SEN.

LOPES of the 6th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the Senate, that the substitute bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING ANIMAL WELFARE.

Not later than January 1, 2027, the commissioner shall submit the findings and any associated recommendations concerning sSB318such /study Fileto No.the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters related to the environment, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes.

221 1 sSB318 File No.

221 such study to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters related to the environment, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes.

Subsection (d) of section 22-26f of the 2026 supplement to the generalSubstitute statutesSenate isBill repealedNo. and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026):

318 general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026):

ThisGovernor's actAction: shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:

SectionApproved 1June October4, 1, 2026 NewPublic sectionAct sSB318 / File No.

22126-112 2 sSB318of File2 No.

221 Sec.

2 October 1, 2026 22-26f(d) Sec.

3 from passage New section ENV Joint Favorable Subst.

sSB318 / File No.

221 3 sSB318 File No.

221 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.

In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.

Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:

None Municipal Impact:

None Explanation The bill clarifies the state veterinarian’s role to issue orders for preventing disease spread among animals and poultry and does not result in a fiscal impact.

Additionally, the bill requires the Department of Agriculture (DoAg) to study how the need for companion animal placement affects domestic violence victims and does not result in a fiscal impact as DoAg has the staff and resources necessary to complete the study.

The Out Years State Impact:

None Municipal Impact:

None sSB318 / File No.

221 4 sSB318 File No.

221 OLR Bill Analysis SB 318 AN ACT CONCERNING ANIMAL WELFARE.

SUMMARY This bill expands the state veterinarian’s authority to issue orders for preventing disease spread among animals and poultry by allowing her to issue them for any disease, rather than just for those that are contagious and infectious.

It correspondingly allows her to protect the public from this broader category of disease.

The bill also requires the Department of Agriculture (DoAg) commissioner to (1) study how the need for companion animal placement affects domestic violence victims and (2) create a working group to study the state’s animal population control program.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

October 1, 2026, except the working group provision is effective upon passage.

COMPANION ANIMAL PLACEMENT STUDY The bill requires the DoAg commissioner, in consultation with the Office of Victim Services, to study how the need for companion animal placement affects domestic violence victims and submit a report on the study and any recommendations to the Environment Committee by January 1, 2027.

Under the bill, the study must:

1.

include resources currently available for domestic violence victims to find temporary or permanent placements;

2.