SB 266 Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Companion Animal Surgical Sterilization Program and Fund; established and created, report.

Summary
Companion Animal Surgical Sterilization Program and Fund. Directs the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to establish the Companion Animal Surgical Sterilization Program and Fund to reimburse participating veterinarians for the surgical sterilizations they perform on eligible cats or dogs beginning July 1, 2027. The bill provides that a surcharge of $50 per ton of pet food distributed in the Commonwealth be deposited in the Fund and that such pet food be exempted from the existing litter tax. An animal will be eligible for sterilization under the Program beginning July 1, 2027, if it is a feral or free-roaming cat, is owned by a low-income individual, or is in the possession of a releasing agency such as an animal shelter.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 12, 2026 Last action Feb 3, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Substitute · 1 edit
MINOR
This document shows a legislative bill (SB 266) that was introduced in January 2026 and later amended into a substitute version. The bill establishes a Companion Animal Surgical Sterilization Fund and Program to reduce pet overpopulation in Virginia through subsidized sterilization services. The changes primarily involve formatting and layout adjustments rather than substantive policy modifications to the bill's core provisions.
TECHNICAL

The document format changed from a standard bill introduction format to a substitute amendment format with page numbers and committee markup indicators, but the actual legislative text and policy provisions remain substantively unchanged.

Floor votes

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
5
Key actions
1
Committee
3
Jan 20, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate subcommittee offered
upper
Jan 20, 2026
Committee
Assigned HACNR sub: Companion Animals
upper
Jan 12, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Bill Stanley
Bill Stanley
RRepublican
VA
7