SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California state bill seeks to remove abused and neglected animals from crowded municipal shelters during their owners' criminal cases.

Assembly Bill 2344 by Assemblyman Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) would give animals seized in cruelty cases a respite from crowded shelters by allowing them to be placed in foster homes or with animal rescue groups.

Haney's bill targets so-called evidence animals who are part of a criminal case. These animals often sit for months in shelters as their owners' court cases proceed.

A 2022 Times story detailed the isolation and lengthy wait times that some dogs seized in criminal cases face at L.A. city shelters. The Times found that the dogs were isolated from other animals, and some couldn't be walked by volunteers. Videos posted online showed one dog, Cash, trembling in his kennel.

At a state Senate committee hearing last month, Haney said the bill would allow "vulnerable animals, many of whom have been victimized, from beginning the recovery they deserve in stable, loving homes."

"Assembly Bill 2344 would help protect animals from continued abuse and neglect before more harm is done," L.A. County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman said in a statement. "People accused of serious animal cruelty should not be allowed to keep control of abused animals while a case slowly moves through the court system."

Although some cruelty cases already have a mechanism to allow forfeiture of an animal, Haney's bill seeks to make it easier for abused animals to move on from the shelter system.

First, prosecutors could petition the court for forfeiture 30 days after a defendant fails to appear in court.

Also, the bill clarifies that an animal control agency, with the consent of a prosecutor, can place an evidence animal with a foster.

"We are making it explicitly clear that a shelter director or shelter agency can legally foster out an animal in its care so it's not stuck in a kennel for months," said Dan Felizzatto, a special assistant deputy district attorney with the L.A. County district attorney's office.

For nearly the two-year period ending in June 2026, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office filed 303 animal abuse cases in L.A. County.

Evidence animals in L.A. county shelters stayed anywhere from three months to nearly a year, according to statistics provided by the office.

Backers argue that the bill would help relieve crowding at shelters, which are often underfunded by local governments. It costs about $100 a day to house an animal at a shelter, supporters say.

The bill, which is sponsored by the district attorney's office and advocacy group Social Compassion in Legislation, passed the Senate's public safety committee after clearing the Assembly earlier this year.

It is expected to be heard in the Senate's appropriations committee next month.

Hawaii and Oregon have laws that allow for the forfeiture of an animal during a criminal case, according to the bill's backers.

Nickolaus Sackett, director of legislative affairs at Social Compassion in Legislation, said at last month's hearing that the animals need "stability, care and a chance to live a normal life."

"The current system means living in limbo, confined, and often stressed," Sackett said.

©2026 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.