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HB26-1229 • 2026

Supporting the Human-Animal Bond

The act acknowledges the human-animal bond as a life-enhancing resource that impacts the length and quality of human life. The act authorizes the health disparities and community grant program (grant

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Rep. L. Feret, Rep. R. Taggart, Sen. J. Amabile, Sen. J. Rich, Rep. S. Camacho, Rep. M. Carter, Rep. C. Clifford, Rep. M. Duran, Rep. L. García, Rep. R. Gonzalez, Rep. E. Hamrick, Rep. J. Jackson, Rep. M. Lindsay, Rep. K. Nguyen, Rep. A. Paschal, Rep. M. Rutinel, Rep. A. Valdez, Rep. S. Woodrow, Sen. A. Benavidez, Sen. J. Carson, Sen. J. Coleman, Sen. L. Cutter, Sen. I. Jodeh, Sen. C. Kipp, Sen. C. Kolker, Sen. J. Marchman, Sen. K. Wallace, Sen. M. Weissman
Last action
2026-05-08
Official status
Governor Signed
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The effective date remains unknown because the provided bill excerpt mentions an election in November 2026 and potential voter approval, but does not confirm if this specific path applies to HB26-1229 or provide a standard enactment date.

Supporting the Human-Animal Bond

This law recognizes that relationships between people and animals improve life quality and allows a state grant program to fund groups supporting these bonds if extra money is provided.

What This Bill Does

  • States that the bond between humans and animals improves how long and well people live.
  • Allows the health disparities and community grant program to give grants for this purpose.

Who It Names or Affects

  • The state's health disparities and community grant program
  • Organizations that support relationships between humans and animals

Limits and Unknowns

  • No grants can be given unless the general assembly provides extra money.
  • The bill text does not list a specific date when this law takes effect.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

L.001

HOU Health & Human Services

Passed [*]

Plain English: This amendment allows a state grant program to give money to groups that help people and their pets, but only if the legislature provides extra funding for this specific purpose.

  • Adds new rules to the Health Disparities and Community Grant Program specifically for supporting the human-animal bond.
  • Allows grants to be given to organizations that treat the relationship between humans and pets as a factor in health outcomes.
  • Defines 'human-animal bond' as a helpful relationship between a person and their pet animal under their care.
  • The grant program can only give out this money if the General Assembly approves additional funding specifically for it.
  • The exact amount of money available is not stated in this amendment text.
L.002

Second Reading

Lost [**]

Plain English: This amendment adds a statement to the bill clarifying that recognizing the human-animal bond does not give animals any legal rights equal to those of humans.

  • It strikes existing text and replaces it with new language stating the law only acknowledges the relationship between people and animals.
  • The amendment was marked as 'Lost', meaning this change did not pass and is not part of the final bill.
  • The official text references a committee report dated March 10, 2026, which appears to be in the future relative to current dates.
L.005

Second Reading

Lost [**]

Plain English: This amendment adds a rule to the bill stating that animals are not legal people and cannot sue or be sued in court.

  • It clarifies that nothing in this law makes an animal a 'legal person'.
  • It prevents animals from having the right to start lawsuits (standing) in civil cases.
  • It prevents animals from being charged with crimes in criminal proceedings.
  • The amendment text only shows what words are added, not how they fit into the full bill context.
  • This specific version of the amendment was voted down and did not pass (Status: Lost).
L.006

Second Reading

Lost [**]

Plain English: This amendment adds a rule stating that owning pets or animals cannot be used as a reason to qualify for state health programs.

  • It clarifies that pet ownership is not considered a social factor affecting health eligibility.
  • The official text only shows the specific sentence being added, so it does not explain how this change affects other parts of the bill.
  • This amendment was marked as 'Lost,' meaning it did not pass and is not part of the final law.

Bill History

  1. 2026-05-08 Governor

    Governor Signed

  2. 2026-05-01 Governor

    Sent to the Governor

  3. 2026-05-01 Senate

    Signed by the President of the Senate

  4. 2026-05-01 House

    Signed by the Speaker of the House

  5. 2026-04-09 Senate

    Senate Third Reading Passed - No Amendments

  6. 2026-04-08 Senate

    Senate Second Reading Passed - No Amendments

  7. 2026-04-02 Senate

    Senate Committee on Health & Human Services Refer Unamended - Consent Calendar to Senate Committee of the Whole

  8. 2026-03-18 Senate

    Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Health & Human Services

  9. 2026-03-13 House

    House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments

  10. 2026-03-12 House

    House Second Reading Special Order - Passed with Amendments - Committee

  11. 2026-03-10 House

    House Committee on Health & Human Services Refer Amended to House Committee of the Whole

  12. 2026-02-18 House

    Introduced In House - Assigned to Health & Human Services

Official Summary Text

The act acknowledges the human-animal bond as a life-enhancing resource that impacts the length and quality of human life. The act authorizes the health disparities and community grant program (grant program) to award grants to entities that support the human-animal bond if the grant program is appropriated additional funds for that purpose by the general assembly.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
approved by the people at the general election to be held in November 2026
and, in such case, will take effect on the date of the official declaration of
the vote thereon by the governor.
Ju�
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES
.,.
Vanessa Reilly
CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES
James Rashad Coleman, Sr.
PRESIDENT OF
THE SENATE
� Esther van Mourik
SECRETARY OF
THE SENATE
APPROVED o\'\ trt� M� S-tL. UJ2.e � , ,�,sliJm
(Date and Time)
Jared S. Polis
GOVERNO 0
PAGE 3-HOUSE BILL 26-1229
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