---
type: "Bill"
title: "Local Government – Animal Control Facilities – Adoption Fee Waiver for Veterans (Pets for Vets Act of 2021)"
description: "Local Government – Animal Control Facilities – Adoption Fee Waiver for Veterans (Pets for Vets Act of 2021)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/md"
legislature: "Maryland General Assembly"
session: "2021"
identifier: "HB 563"
citation: "Maryland HB 563 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Long"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 11
vote_count: 1
first_action: "2021-01-20"
last_action: "2021-05-18"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/26cbdce9-3404-4a1a-a614-f7f1f800faf1"
source_url: "http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/hb0563?ys=2021RS&search=True"
source_hash: "94ce076adc572aeb9faa518fbbce52fec113d383000a4aa4fd30eb9dc472c240"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-md"]
---

# Maryland HB 563 (2021) — Local Government – Animal Control Facilities – Adoption Fee Waiver for Veterans (Pets for Vets Act of 2021)

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Chapter - Local Government – Animal Control Facilities – Adoption Fee Waiver for Veterans (Pets for Vets Act of 2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2021RS/Chapters_noln/CH_309_hb0563t.pdf)
2. **First - Local Government – Animal Control Facilities – Adoption Fee Waiver for Veterans (Pets for Vets Act of 2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2021RS/bills/hb/hb0563f.pdf)
3. **Third - Local Government – Animal Control Facilities – Adoption Fee Waiver for Veterans (Pets for Vets Act of 2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2021RS/bills/hb/hb0563t.pdf)

## Votes

- On Third Reading — **138–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Long — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2021-01-20** First Reading Environment and Transportation `referral-committee`
- **2021-01-26** Hearing 2/10 at 1:30 p.m.
- **2021-02-19** Favorable Report by Environment and Transportation `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-02-23** Favorable Adopted Second Reading Passed `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-02-25** Third Reading Passed `passage`
- **2021-02-26** Referred Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs `referral-committee`
- **2021-04-09** Favorable Report by Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-04-09** Favorable Adopted Second Reading Passed `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-04-12** Third Reading Passed `passage`
- **2021-04-12** Returned Passed
- **2021-05-18** Approved by the Governor - Chapter 309 `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/26cbdce9-3404-4a1a-a614-f7f1f800faf1`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Maryland legislature records).