Policy Change
Animal Balance is changing the rules in order to save more lives.
In September 2026, Governor Newsom signed AB 2010, the Spay/Neuter Improvement for Pets (SNIP) Act, into law. Introduced by Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria, it passed both the Assembly and the Senate without a single vote against. It is the first piece of legislation Animal Balance has co-sponsored in the United States.
WHY POLICY MATTERS
AB2010 is the first step
Millions of dogs and cats are born in the US every year, and there are not enough homes for all of them. For more than two decades, Animal Balance has brought M.A.S.H. clinics to communities where spay/neuter is out of reach.
We’ve seen what works. We’ve also seen what gets in the way: outdated regulations written before high-quality, high-volume sterilization existed as a practice.
We believe we can do better.
Changing the legal framework that allowed this crisis to grow is how we create lasting change. Prevention must become the new standard.
What changes with ab2010
No more barriers for mobile sterilization in California.
Until 2026, California required spay/neuter surgeries to take place in a separate surgery room. That made it hard to find locations for high-quality, high-volume clinics in the communities that need them most. AB 2010 removes that requirement for high-volume spay/neuter.
M.A.S.H. clinics can now set up where the need is, and every other standard of veterinary care still applies. The law takes effect January 1, 2027.
The bill
What 's the impact?
Expanded access
M.A.S.H. style clinics can be setup in the neighborhoods where they are needed most/ Gymnasiums, commmunity centers or any small building can now host M.A.S.H. clinics.
Modernized standards
Regulations updated to reflect the fact that M.A.S.H. clinics can be setup safely almost anywhere.
Scalable model
This bill provides a framework that other states can study and adapt.
WHAT'S NEXT
AB 2010 is just the beginning.
The same regulatory barriers that limit mobile sterilization in California exist, in different forms, in other U.S. states. As AB 2010 advances, Animal Balance is documenting the process, what worked, what didn’t and what other states can replicate.
Our goal is to help build a policy environment where high-quality mobile sterilization is the norm instead of the exception.
GET INVOLVED
Two ways to push this forward.
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Policy change takes years and doesn’t fund itself. Your gift sustains all the work we do as Animal Balance to keep things going.