[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3210 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3210

 To amend the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to limit the application of 
 that Act with respect to plants and plant products that were imported 
 before the effective date of amendments to that Act enacted in 2008, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 14, 2011

Mr. Cooper (for himself, Mrs. Bono Mack, and Mrs. Blackburn) introduced 
  the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 
                               Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to limit the application of 
 that Act with respect to plants and plant products that were imported 
 before the effective date of amendments to that Act enacted in 2008, 
                        and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Retailers and Entertainers Lacey 
Implementation and Enforcement Fairness Act'' or the ``RELIEF Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Amendments to the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 were 
        enacted as part of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 
        2008 (Public Law 110-246).
            (2) The 2008 amendments were intended to level the playing 
        field for American businesses engaged in the responsible 
        harvest, shipment, manufacture, and trade of plants and plant 
        products whose prices had been undercut by a black market 
        fueled by irresponsible and illegal taking of protected plants 
        around the globe.
            (3) The 2008 amendments were overly broad and their 
        enforcement as enacted could criminalize actions of a good-
        faith owner, purchaser, or retailer of a plant or plant 
        product, subjecting them to penalties that include forfeiture, 
        fines, and imprisonment.
            (4) Sanctions for violating the 2008 amendments should be 
        proportional to the act in violation. An individual who is not 
        in the commercial shipping business should not be held to the 
        same standard of compliance under that Act.
            (5) Individuals fear that they risk incurring those 
        penalties by merely owning or traveling with a vintage musical 
        instrument, antique furniture, or another wood product.
            (6) The Department of the Interior and Department of 
        Justice have stated ``people who unknowingly possess a musical 
        instrument or other object containing wood that was illegally 
        taken, possessed, transported or sold in violation of law and 
        who, in the exercise of due care would not have known that it 
        was illegal, do not have criminal exposure.''.
            (7) It is necessary to clarify the 2008 amendments so that 
        legally harvested new plant products can enter the market 
        place.
            (8) Declaration requirements for plant products imported or 
        manufactured prior to May 22, 2008, are unreasonable since the 
        sourcing of plant products was not previously required by law.
            (9) Federal law enforcement officials should not engage in 
        overzealous enforcement action under the 2008 amendments.
            (10) It is important to ensure that the appropriate 
        agencies have the necessary funding to implement the current 
        phases of the declaration requirement before considering any 
        future phases.
            (11) The appropriate agencies have the responsibility of 
        providing a publicly accessible database so that everyone can 
        be notified of the foreign laws of countries as they apply to 
        the importation of plants.

SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF PLANTS AND PLANT PRODUCTS UNDER LACEY ACT 
              AMENDMENTS OF 1981.

    (a) Limitation on Application of Act to Certain Plants and Plant 
Products.--The Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3371 et seq.) is 
amended by redesignating section 9 as section 10, and by inserting 
after section 8 the following:

``SEC. 9. LIMITATION ON APPLICATION TO CERTAIN PLANTS AND PLANT 
              PRODUCTS.

    ``This Act does not apply with respect to--
            ``(1) any plant that was imported into the United States 
        before May 22, 2008; or
            ``(2) any finished plant or plant product the assembly and 
        processing of which was completed before May 22, 2008.''.
    (b) Limitations on Application of Plant Declaration Requirement.--
Section 3(f) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3372(f)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``that is entered for 
        consumption (as that term is defined in part 141.0a of title 
        19, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of 
        enactment of the Retailers and Entertainers Lacey 
        Implementation and Enforcement Fairness Act)'' after ``plant''; 
        and
            (2) in paragraph (3)--
                    (A) by inserting ``(A)'' before ``Paragraphs (1)''; 
                and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(B)(i) In the case of a plant product that is derived from a 
tree, a declaration under paragraph (1) or (2) is not required to 
include information referred to in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of 
that paragraph unless the plant product is solid wood.
    ``(ii) The Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection 
Service shall issue regulations that define the term `solid wood' for 
purposes of this subparagraph''.
    (c) Civil Forfeitures.--Section 5(d) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 
3374(d)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(d) Civil Forfeitures.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in subsection (d), 
        civil forfeitures under this section shall be governed by 
        chapter 46 of title 18, United States Code.
            ``(2) Limitation on innocent owner defense not 
        applicable.--The limitation set forth in paragraph (4) of 
        section 983(d) of title 18, United States Code, does not apply 
        with respect to--
                    ``(A) any imported plant acquired by a person who 
                satisfies the requirements for treatment as an innocent 
                owner set forth in paragraph (1) and paragraph (2) or 
                (3), as applicable, of such section; and
                    ``(B) any plant or plant product acquired by a 
                person who satisfies such requirements.''.

SEC. 4. REDUCED PENALTIES FOR CERTAIN FIRST OFFENSES.

    Section 4 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3373) is amended by redesignating 
subsection (e) as subsection (f), and by inserting after subsection (d) 
the following:
    ``(e) Civil Penalty for First Offenses Involving Plant.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (d), 
        any person who violates subsection (a), (d), or (f) of section 
        3 with respect to any plant and who in the exercise of due care 
        should know that the plant was taken, possessed, transported, 
        or sold in violation of, or in a manner unlawful under, any 
        underlying law, treaty, or regulation may, for the first such 
        violation, be assessed a civil penalty by the Secretary of not 
        more than $250.
            ``(2) Other civil penalty provisions apply.--Except as 
        provided in paragraph (3), paragraphs (2), (3), (4), (5), and 
        (6) of subsection (a) shall apply with respect to an offense 
        for which a penalty may be assessed under this subsection.
            ``(3) Treatment as single offense.--Notwithstanding the 
        second sentence of subsection (a)(4), all violations by a 
        person for which a penalty may be assessed under this 
        subsection that arise from a single act or omission shall be 
        treated as a single offense.''.

SEC. 5. REVIEW AND REPORT.

    Section 3(f) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3372(f)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ``Not later than 2 years 
        after the date of enactment of this subsection,'' and inserting 
        ``Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the 
        Retailers and Entertainers Lacey Implementation and Enforcement 
        Fairness Act''; and
            (2) in paragraph (5)--
                    (A) by striking ``Not later than 180 days after the 
                date on which the Secretary completes the review under 
                paragraph (4), the Secretary'' and inserting ``Not 
                later than 180 days after the date the Secretary 
                completes the review under paragraph (4), the Director 
                of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service'';
                    (B) by striking ``and'' after the semicolon at the 
                end of subparagraph (B);
                    (C) by striking the period at the end of 
                subparagraph (C) and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(D) an evaluation of the feasibility of creating 
                and maintaining a publicly available database of laws 
                of foreign countries from which plants are exported.''.

SEC. 6. FUNDING FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF PLANT DECLARATION REQUIREMENT.

    The head of each Federal agency responsible for implementing the 
Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3371 et seq.) shall, from 
amounts otherwise available, allocate sufficient amounts to implement 
section 3(f) of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3372(f)), 
including for processing of all declarations filed under that section.

SEC. 7. STANDARD CERTIFICATION PROCESS FOR PLANTS AND PLANT PRODUCTS.

    The Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the 
Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and 
the head of each other Federal agency responsible for implementing the 
Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3371 et seq.) shall issue 
regulations to establish a standard certification process under that 
Act for plant and plant products (as those terms are used in that Act) 
legally harvested, imported, or manufactured after May 22, 2008, that 
considers individual item certification and individual manufacturer, 
importer, and retailer certification for purposes of sale and resale.

SEC. 8. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION REVIEW.

    Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Federal Trade Commission shall--
            (1) conduct a review of competitiveness in the domestic 
        market for raw materials for the manufacture of musical 
        instruments and the impact of the amendments made by this Act 
        to the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3371 et seq.) on 
        such competitiveness; and
            (2) submit to Congress a report containing the results of 
        the review.
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