Contentious testimony as Senate committee advances PACFA reauthorization amid transparency concerns

The Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee advanced reauthorization of the Pet Animal Care and Facilities Act (PACFA) on Thursday after several hours of pro and con testimony that centered on rulemaking, transparency and impacts on small businesses.

Deputy Commissioner Jordan Beasley of the Colorado Department of Agriculture defended PACFA as a nationally recognized program and described administrative steps the department is taking to implement a more accessible petition process for rule changes. "This program has many competing interests and very passionate stakeholders," Beasley said, and the department is working on a streamlined form for rule petitions and on how to publish disciplinary actions after adjudication.

Industry witnesses — primarily pet groomers and small business owners — testified that recent rule changes (including new vaccination mandates, commingling/boarding requirements and final snake-enclosure language) have imposed renovation and staffing costs and led some customers to seek unregulated providers. "Pacfa handed me an $80,000 bill so I can be licensed for a job I don't do to solve a problem that doesn't exist," said Julianne Kraus, a grooming business owner, describing costs to create separate holding areas required to meet new commingling rules.

Animal-welfare and veterinary organizations urged reauthorization, citing improvements in shelter outcomes and public safety. Several witnesses and stakeholders strongly urged a statutory requirement for public-facing enforcement transparency — a searchable, centralized database listing inspections, recent inspection reports, violations and disciplinary actions — arguing the information already exists within the program and should be accessible without CORA requests. Opponents said transparency proposals may trigger a fiscal note and departmental resource constraints.

The committee adopted amendment L004, which requires the commissioner to appoint a representative for each license category that collectively pays at least 25% of PACFA fee revenue (ensuring guaranteed seats for large fee contributors such as groomers), and amendment L006 to align broker effective dates with a separate bill. Sponsor Senator Pelton moved HB 26 11 83 as amended to appropriations; the referral passed on a recorded vote of 5–2. Committee members pressed the department to publish adjudicated disciplinary actions by January 1, 2027, and several senators warned they would pursue statutory fixes if administrative changes were not completed.