HF2521 • 2026

A bill for an act relating to the abandonment of cats and dogs including delivery to an animal shelter or pound, and making penalties applicable.(Formerly HF 2157 .)

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Last action: 2026-04-06
Official status: Amendment S-5155 filed. S.J. 730 .
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

A bill for an act relating to the abandonment of cats and dogs including delivery to an animal shelter or pound, and making penalties applicable.(Formerly HF 2157 .)

What This Bill Does

A bill for an act relating to the abandonment of cats and dogs including delivery to an animal shelter or pound, and making penalties applicable.(Formerly HF 2157 .)

Limits and Unknowns

This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

2026-04-06 Iowa Legislature
Amendment S-5155 filed. S.J. 730 .
2026-04-06 Iowa Legislature
Deferred. S.J. 727 .
2026-03-26 Iowa Legislature
Placed on calendar under unfinished business. S.J. 658 .
2026-03-12 Iowa Legislature
Placed on calendar.
2026-03-12 Iowa Legislature
Committee report, recommending passage. S.J. 562 .
2026-03-10 Iowa Legislature
Subcommittee recommends passage.
2026-03-05 Iowa Legislature
Subcommittee Meeting: 03/10/2026 12:30PM Room 315.
2026-02-25 Iowa Legislature
Subcommittee: Webster, Evans, and Quirmbach. S.J. 412 .
2026-02-24 Iowa Legislature
Read first time, referred to Judiciary. S.J. 376 .
2026-02-24 Iowa Legislature
Message from House. S.J. 376 .
2026-02-23 Iowa Legislature
Immediate message. H.J. 395 .
2026-02-23 Iowa Legislature
Passed House , yeas 89, nays 0. H.J. 387 .
2026-02-20 Iowa Legislature
Fiscal note .
2026-02-16 Iowa Legislature
Introduced, placed on calendar. H.J. 302 .

Official Summary Text

A bill for an act relating to the abandonment of cats and dogs including delivery to an animal shelter or pound, and making penalties applicable.(Formerly HF 2157 .)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

House

File

2521

-

Introduced

HOUSE

FILE

2521

BY

COMMITTEE

ON

LOCAL

GOVERNMENT

(SUCCESSOR

TO

HF

2157)

A

BILL

FOR

An

Act

relating

to

the

abandonment

of

cats

and

dogs

including

1

delivery

to

an

animal

shelter

or

pound,

and

making

penalties

2

applicable.

3

BE

IT

ENACTED

BY

THE

GENERAL

ASSEMBLY

OF

THE

STATE

OF

IOWA:

4

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H.F.

2521

Section

1.

Section

717B.8,

subsection

2,

paragraph

b,

Code

1

2026,

is

amended

to

read

as

follows:

2

b.

The

delivery

of

a

cat

or

dog

to

an

animal

shelter

or

3

pound

as

defined

in

section

162.2

that

has

been

issued

or

4

renewed

a

valid

authorization

by

the

department

under

chapter

5

162

.

Delivery

under

this

paragraph

requires

an

employee

or

6

volunteer

of

the

animal

shelter

or

pound

to

physically

accept

7

the

delivery

of

the

animal.

8

EXPLANATION

9

The

inclusion

of

this

explanation

does

not

constitute

agreement

with

10

the

explanation’s

substance

by

the

members

of

the

general

assembly.

11

This

bill

relates

to

the

abandonment

of

cats

and

dogs

12

including

delivery

to

an

animal

shelter

or

pound.

13

The

bill

provides

that

in

order

for

the

delivery

of

a

cat

14

or

dog

to

an

animal

shelter

or

pound

to

be

an

exception

to

15

abandonment

of

the

cat

or

dog,

an

employee

or

volunteer

of

the

16

animal

shelter

or

pound

must

physically

accept

the

delivery

of

17

the

animal.

18

A

person

committing

animal

abandonment

faces

criminal

19

charges

ranging

from

a

simple

misdemeanor

to

an

aggravated

20

misdemeanor

depending

on

the

status

of

the

animal.

21

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