Legislation soon to be introduced in the state Legislature aims to boost adoptions from animal shelters.

Rep. Jason Ortitay, R-Bridgeville, is circulating a co-sponsorship memorandum for a sales tax exemption on animals adopted from a reputable animal shelter.

“Beyond the cost savings of adoption versus making a purchase at retail, every pet adopted from a shelter saves that pet’s life from euthanasia,” Ortitay wrote in his co-sponsorship memorandum. “Further, most residents of animal shelters arrive there due to their prior owner’s issues, rather than a behavioral or other issue with the pet. Better yet, reputable animal shelters provide excellent veterinary care to the animals before adoption, including spaying, neutering and vaccinating the pets. Unfortunately, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania still levies the sales tax on animal adoption fees, which only serves to make the job of animal shelters harder.”

Ortitay’s bill may face a long road, however. A New York lawmaker has been trying for the past legislative sessions to create a $250 tax credit for adoptions from animal shelters.

Sen. Pete Harckham, D-Peekskill, has introduced his legislation three times over the past five years, but it has failed to progress out of committee. Sen. Kevin Parker, D-Brooklyn, has been trying even longer to get a $100 tax credit for animal shelter adoptions through the state Senate; versions of his bill have been introduced off and on since 2009-10.

Texas did pass a sales tax exemption for animal rescue organizations’ adoption fees that took effect in 2021 while California has an exemption for adoption fees charged by local government animal shelters or nonprofit animal welfare organizations working toward the prevention of the abuse, exploitation, or neglect of animals. Some states, including Kansas, exempt some fees from taxes but not the actual adoption fee for a pet.

The number of animals entering shelters began to climb in 2021, after a pandemic-related dip. Adoptions haven’t kept pace with the influx of pets — especially larger dogs — creating a snowballing population problem for many shelters, according to an Associated Press report from December 2023. Shelter Animals Count, a national database of shelter statistics, estimates that the U.S. shelter population grew by nearly a quarter-million animals in 2023.

Shelter operators say they’re in crisis mode as they try to reduce the kennel crush. Advocates and operators say the rise in animal shelter populations is likely due to higher pet care costs and housing insecurity.

“The economy right now is really challenging for a lot of families,” said Kim Alboum of the Bissell Pet Foundation, a national animal welfare organization. “And with the housing crisis, people are losing their homes and are having to downsize or move in with others. And this is a recipe for disaster for people that have larger dogs.”

Some people can no longer afford to care for their pets, particularly when it comes to the rising cost of veterinarian services. Advocates say a shortage of veterinarians has exacerbated the problem by reducing access to care.

Increasing adoptions is especially crucial, argued Best Friends Animal Society CEO Julie Castle, saying that millions of people buy new pets each year even as hundreds of thousands of animals die in shelters.

“We know people are going to get pets, so let’s go back to the basics of really … marketing adoptions, because at the end of the day, we are in a competitive space with breeders and pet stores,” Castle said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report