(a) It is the intent of the Legislature that a five-year program, which shall be known as the Animal Shelter Assistance Program, be established to support the stateâs policy goal that no adoptable or treatable animal is euthanized, and that the program be administered by the University of California pursuant to all of the following principles: (1) The program shall provide support to all California animal shelters in the form of outreach, regional conferences, and provision of web-based resources based on current best practices. Best practices may include, but is not limited to, all of the following: (A) Reducing intake by providing other solutions to keep animals safe and healthy in their homes, which may include spay or neuter as part of that approach, as well as vaccination, microchipping, and setting up technology and communication to help pet owners rehome their own pets instead of taking them to a shelter. (B) Improving animal health and care in the shelter, which may include adequate housing, good ventilation, appropriate treatment and isolation facilities as well as good husbandry practices to help animals stay healthy, lower costs, and increase adoptions. (C) Removing barriers to live outcomes, which may include technology, staffing and capacity solutions, and expanding spay or neuter capacity to keep up with outflow. This may also include systems to reunite lost pets and developing an adoption presence in the community. (2) The program shall offer in-person assessments and in-depth online training to California city, county, or city and county animal control agencies or shelters, societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals, and humane societies, upon request and as feasible. (3) As a supplement to its outreach and programmatic support, the program shall administer a grant program to aid implementation of best practices in California animal shelters. All funds shall be awarded on the basis of need as determined by an open, competitive process that ensures objectivity, fairness, and sustainability. All California city, county, or city and county animal control agencies or shelters, societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals, and humane societies shall have access and opportunity to voluntarily compete for the funds. The program shall do all of the following: (A) Develop criteria, procedures, and accountability measures as may be necessary to implement the grant program. (B) Administer the grant program to ensure that priority is given to underserved populations, including both urban and rural areas and low-income communities, where achievement of the stateâs goal that no adoptable or treatable animal is euthanized has not yet been met. (C) In developing criteria, procedures, and accountability measures, include a focus on preventing pet overpopulation, such as measures to offer no or low cost spay or neuter services. (4) For purposes of this section, a society for the prevention of cruelty to animals or a humane society shall be a California corporation, duly incorporated in the State of California, in active status, as described on the business search page of the Secretary of Stateâs internet website, and exempt from federal income taxation as an organization described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. (5) For purposes of this section, the program is encouraged to prioritize assistance for California city, county, or city and county animal control agencies or shelters, societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals, and humane societies that are current on relevant data reporting required under law, and that offer the greatest likely return on one-time investment of state funds. (b) In designing and promoting the services outlined in subdivision (a), the program shall seek input from relevant stakeholders to ensure that program services and grants effectively reach a wide geography throughout the state, and that regions in northern, central, and southern California, including
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