D.A.W.N. believes that it's time for an Added Fee trust fund assessment program to help reduce the number of unsterilized animals who are capable of adding to the animal overpopulation problem. Every animal that is spayed or neutered reduces the number of strays that will have to be sheltered or euthanized in the future.
We believe it is just and appropriate that people who have violated the animal-related laws of the State of Michigan (licensing violations, permitting animals to run at large, animal abuse, whatever) should be assessed a small fee to help pay for spaying and neutering of animals who are capable of breeding, one of the most effective strategies that we have available for animal control.
With all this in mind, we optimistically offer a proposed Act of the State of Michigan:
THE ANIMAL SHELTERS TRUST FUND ACT OF 2011
Section 1 -- Animal shelters trust fund defined; creation as charitable endowment fund; funding by court assessments; investment; accounting of revenues and expenditures
(1) The Animal Shelters Trust Fund is created as a charitable endowment fund in the department of treasury to provide funds to permit Michigan-registered animal shelters to finance the spaying or neutering of animals. The trust fund shall be governed by the state treasurer, and shall be expended only as provided in this act.
(2) Definitions:
(a) As used in this act, "trust fund" means the Animal Shelters Trust Fund created
in subsection (1)
(b) "Shelter" means a Michigan-registered Animal Control Shelter or Animal Protection Shelter
(3) A person who is found guilty of a felony or misdemeanor, or is found responsible for a civil infraction or a municipal ordinance violation, in violation of any act or ordinance regarding or involving one or more domestic animals, shall be ordered by the judge or magistrate or municipal ordinance violations bureau to pay an Animal Shelters Trust Fund assessment of $10.00 in addition to any other fine, costs, penalty or assessment. Upon payment of the trust fund assessment, the clerk of the court or treasurer of the municipality shall transmit the trust fund assessment collected to the state treasurer for deposit in the Animal Shelters Trust Fund. This subsection shall include but not be limited to violations of 1919 PA 339, MCL 287.261 to 287.290, 1939 PA 309, MCL 287.301 to 287.308, 1988 PA 426, MCL 287.321 to 287.323, 1969 PA 287, MCL 287.331 to 287.340, 1939 PA 73, MCL 287.351, 1969 PA 224, MCL 287.381 to 287.395, and the ordinances of any county, city, township or village.
(4) The state treasurer shall direct the investment of the trust fund.
(5) The state treasurer annually shall prepare an accounting of revenues and expenditures from the trust fund. This accounting shall be provided to judiciary committees of the senate and house of representatives, and shall be posted on the Internet in a manner readily accessible to the officials and citizens of the State of Michigan.
(6) This being an invested trust fund, money in the trust fund at the close of the year shall remain in the trust fund and shall not lapse to the general fund.
Section 2 -- Amount available for disbursement; proportional disbursement; spending criteria; record-keeping
(1) Three-fourths(75%) of the revenue received by the trust fund plus the interest and earnings, excluding unrealized gains and losses, credited to the trust fund during the previous fiscal year shall be disbursed to shelters by the state treasurer according to the following provisions. One-fourth(25%) of the previous year's revenue shall be invested to provide future earnings.
(2) Any shelter that wishes to apply for a payment from the trust fund for the previous year shall send an application to the state treasurer postmarked by March 31st of the current year. The Individual Michigan Animal Shelter Reports for the previous year shall be used to determine the payment to each applying shelter. Any shelter which has not filed their previous year's Individual Michigan Animal Shelter Report by the due date shall not receive a payment from the trust fund.
(3) By August 1st, the state treasurer shall remit a payment to each applying qualified shelter. The payment shall be a percentage of the total disbursement which shall be determined by the percentage of the applying shelter's number of domestic animals received/admitted compared to the total number of domestic animals received/admitted by all applying shelters, based on the previous year's Individual Michigan Animal Shelter Reports.
(4) Trust payments shall be expended only for the spaying or neutering of dogs or cats. The specific details of expenditures shall be determined by the shelter manager.
(5) The shelter manager shall maintain an accurate record detailing trust expenditures. Before the end of the year, the shelter manager shall furnish copies of this record to the governing body of the shelter and to the state treasurer. The shelter manager shall make a copy of this record available at any time without charge upon the request of any citizen.
(6) A shelter determined by the state treasurer to be abusing or exploiting this act by falsified reports or any other fraudulent means shall not be permitted to apply for trust fund payments for a period of ten years. Abusing or exploiting this act by any fraudulent means is a state civil infraction.
Section 3 -- Repeal or amendment of inconsistent acts.
All Acts or provisions of Acts that are inconsistent with this Act are repealed or amended to the extent that they are in conflict with this Act.
