PACFA SUNSET REVIEW
Understanding the Colorado PACFA Sunset Review Read the Report
What is PACFA?
These standards are enforced through licensing and inspections by the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA). PACFA is not just regulatory paperwork — it is a life-saving framework that ensures facilities caring for animals do so with compassion, accountability, and transparency.
What is a Sunset Review?
Sunset reviews:
- Assess whether the program should be continued, modified, or terminated
- Solicit input from stakeholders, experts, and the public
- Evaluate how well the program protects animals and consumers
- Inform the Colorado General Assembly before it votes on reauthorization or changes to the law
Public participation is a core part of this process, and animal advocates are encouraged to share feedback.
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Sunset Report and Recommendations
The review evaluates how well PACFA protects animals and consumers and issues recommendations to the legislature regarding continuation and potential reforms.
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Introduction of a Sunset Bill
Lawmakers introduce legislation to reauthorize PACFA, set a new expiration date, and consider policy changes or improvements to oversight and enforcement.
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Committee Hearings and Public Testimony
The bill is debated, amended, and opened to public input. Most substantive changes occur at this stage.
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Floor Votes
The bill proceeds to votes in both chambers of the legislature.
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Governor’s Action
If signed, the bill becomes law.
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Rulemaking and Implementation
State agencies update rules and procedures and may open additional public comment periods.
Why the 2025 Sunset Review Matters
- Enhanced welfare standards: PACFA sets baseline care standards for facilities. Advocates argue for stronger requirements around behavioral welfare, enrichment, disease control, and housing standards so that animals thrive, not just survive.
- Stronger accountability & enforcement: Ensuring that inspections are thorough and that penalties for violations protect animals and deter neglect.
- Comprehensive coverage: Ensuring that emerging animal issues — such as interstate transport disease risks — are addressed in PACFA rules.
- Stakeholder participation: Advocates, shelters, rescues, veterinarians, and concerned residents must be part of the stakeholder process so that reviews reflect real-world animal care needs.
Our Recommendations to Colorado Legislators
We respectfully urged Colorado Legislators to take the following actions to ensure meaningful accountability, transparency, and public protection:
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Do not adopt Recommendation 1 as drafted (continuation of PACFA for 15 years through 2041).
A continuation period of this length is premature given unresolved concerns regarding inspection coverage, enforcement consistency, and transparency. A shorter continuation period tied to measurable reforms would better serve legislative oversight.
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Require greater specificity and enforceability in Administrative Recommendation 2, including comprehensive public transparency of enforcement actions at all stages.
The Department should be directed to publish all public-facing disciplinary and enforcement activity in a centralized, searchable format, not limited to final or resolved cases. This should include, at a minimum: notices of alleged violations, statements of issues, cease-and-desist orders, license restrictions, probationary terms, suspensions, revocations, stipulated agreements, pending enforcement actions, and final agency orders, along with all associated public records.
Transparency should not be contingent on the completion of legal proceedings. Absent clear statutory direction, this recommendation risks being implemented narrowly or inconsistently, depriving consumers and the public of timely information necessary to assess risk and protect animal and public safety.
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Add explicit transparency and disclosure provisions related to animal importation for rescues and shelters, consistent with existing requirements for pet stores.
The current Sunset Review does not adequately address the scale, oversight, or public reporting of interstate animal transfers conducted by PACFA-licensed rescues and shelters. While pet stores are already subject to consumer disclosure requirements including origin, source organization, licensing status, and importation history, comparable transparency is not consistently required of rescues and shelters, despite similar consumer, animal welfare, and public health implications.
Without statutory parity, importation practices remain opaque and undermine consumer protection and public oversight.