[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1256 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1256

  To amend the Animal Health Protection Act to exempt certain animal 
    identification information from disclosure under the Freedom of 
                            Information Act.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 10, 2005

  Mr. Peterson of Minnesota introduced the following bill; which was 
   referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the 
    Committee on Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Animal Health Protection Act to exempt certain animal 
    identification information from disclosure under the Freedom of 
                            Information Act.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. EXEMPTION OF CERTAIN ANIMAL IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION FROM 
              DISCLOSURE UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.

    The Animal Health Protection Act is amended by inserting after 
section 10409 (7 U.S.C. 8308) the following new section:

``SEC. 10409A. EXEMPTION OF CERTAIN ANIMAL IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION 
              FROM DISCLOSURE UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.

    ``(a) Release of Animal Identification Numbering Information Exempt 
From Disclosure Under Freedom of Information Act.--Information obtained 
through a livestock identification system is exempt from disclosure 
under section 552 of title 5, United States Code.
    ``(b) Character of Livestock Identification System Information.--
Except as provided in subsections (c) and (d), information obtained 
through a livestock identification system--
            ``(1) may not be released;
            ``(2) shall not be considered information in the public 
        domain; and
            ``(3) shall be considered commercial information that is 
        privileged and confidential.
    ``(c) Limited Release of Information Authorized.--Notwithstanding 
subsection (b), the Secretary of Agriculture may release information 
obtained through a livestock identification system regarding particular 
livestock if--
            ``(1) the information involves livestock threatened by 
        disease or pest;
            ``(2) the release of the information is related to actions 
        the Secretary may take under this subtitle; and
            ``(3) the person obtaining the information needs the 
        information for reasons consistent with the public health and 
        public safety purposes of the livestock identification system, 
        as determined by the Secretary.
    ``(d) Limited Release of Information Required.--Notwithstanding 
subsection (b), the Secretary of Agriculture shall release information 
obtained through a livestock identification system regarding particular 
livestock--
            ``(1) to the person who owns or controls the livestock, if 
        the person requests such information;
            ``(2) to the Attorney General for the purpose of law 
        enforcement;
            ``(3) to the Secretary of Homeland Security for the purpose 
        of national security;
            ``(4) to a court of competent jurisdiction; and
            ``(5) to the government of a foreign country, if release of 
        the information is necessary to trace livestock threatened by 
        disease or pest, as determined by the Secretary.
    ``(e) Conflict of Law.--If the information disclosure limitations 
or requirements of this section conflict with information disclosure 
limitations or requirements of a State law--
            ``(1) this section shall take precedence over the State 
        law, if the conflict involves interstate or international 
        commerce; and
            ``(2) the State law shall take precedence over this 
        section, if the conflict involves intrastate commerce in that 
        State.
    ``(f) Livestock Identification System Defined.--In this section, 
the term `livestock identification system' means any system of 
identifying livestock developed by the Secretary of Agriculture.''.
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