[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3859 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3859
To amend the Animal Welfare Act to increase protections for animals,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 6, 2023
Mr. Krishnamoorthi (for himself and Ms. Mace) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Animal Welfare Act to increase protections for animals,
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 ``Animal Welfare Enforcement
Improvement Act''.
SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION WITH RESPECT TO ISSUANCE OF LICENSES.
Section 3 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2133) is amended to
read as follows:
``SEC. 3. LICENSES.
``(a) In General.--Subject to subsections (c), (d), and (e), the
Secretary shall issue licenses to dealers and exhibitors upon--
``(1) the submission of an application for such license
that--
``(A) contains an inventory of all animals present
in all of the applicant's facilities; and
``(B) is submitted in such form and manner as the
Secretary may prescribe; and
``(2) payment of such fee established pursuant to section
23.
``(b) Validity of License.--A license issued under subsection (a)
shall be valid for a period not to exceed 1 calendar year. An applicant
shall submit an application under such subsection to renew such license
each calendar year before the expiration of the previously issued
license.
``(c) Prohibited Dealers and Exhibitors.--Notwithstanding
subsection (a), the Secretary may not issue a license (including a
renewal of such a license) under such subsection to a dealer or
exhibitor if--
``(1) such dealer or exhibitor has been found to have
violated (including by entering a nolo contendere or no contest
plea with respect to the violation) Federal, State, or local
laws relating to animals, including this Act and any other
anti-animal cruelty or wildlife protection law; or
``(2) the issuance of a license to such dealer or exhibitor
would facilitate the circumvention of State or local law
prohibiting the private ownership of certain animals.
``(d) Unannounced Facility Inspections.--
``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding subsection (a) and
except as provided in paragraph (2), the Secretary may not
issue a license (including a renewal of such a license) under
such subsection to a dealer or exhibitor until the dealer or
exhibitor shall have demonstrated for the one-year period
preceding the date on which the application for such license is
submitted, through full, unannounced inspections, that the
facilities of such dealer or exhibitor at the time of
inspection--
``(A) comply with the standards promulgated by the
Secretary pursuant to section 13; and
``(B) have not been documented as having not
complied with any such standard during more than one
inspection in the previous two calendar years.
``(2) New applicants.--In the case of an applicant seeking
to be licensed as a dealer or exhibitor under subsection (a)
who has not previously been so licensed, the applicant shall
not be subject to more than 2 inspections conducted pursuant to
paragraph (1). Both such inspections shall be conducted within
the 90-day period that begins on the date of the receipt of the
application by the Secretary. If, upon the second inspection,
the applicant is found to have failed to meet any standard
promulgated by the Secretary pursuant to section 13, the
Secretary shall deny the application for such license and such
applicant may not submit an application for such a license for
a one-year period beginning on the date on which the
application is so denied.
``(e) Exception.--Notwithstanding subsection (a), a dealer or
exhibitor shall not be required to obtain a license as a dealer or
exhibitor under this Act if the size of the business is determined by
the Secretary to be de minimis.''.
SEC. 3. HUMANE STANDARDS WITH RESPECT TO WATERING AND ADEQUATE
VETERINARY CARE.
Section 13(a) of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2143(a)) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(9) The standards with respect to minimum requirements
for adequate veterinary care referred to in paragraph (2) shall
include, at a minimum, the following:
``(A) Regularly scheduled visits, not less than
once every 12 months, by the attending veterinarian to
all dealer and exhibitor premises where animals are
kept, to assess and ensure the adequacy of veterinary
care and other aspects of animal care and use.
``(B) A complete physical examination of each
animal maintained by a dealer or exhibitor by the
attending veterinarian not less than once every 12
months, unless animal health or safety considerations
require a different protocol.
``(C) Vaccinations for contagious or deadly
diseases, and sampling and treatment of parasites and
other pests, to which the species maintained by a
dealer or exhibitor may be susceptible, in accordance
with a schedule approved by the attending veterinarian.
``(D) Preventative care and treatment as required
by the species maintained by a dealer or exhibitor, in
accordance with a schedule approved by the attending
veterinarian.''.
SEC. 4. LICENSE SUSPENSIONS AND REVOCATIONS.
Section 19 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2149) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) by striking ``hereunder, he may suspend'' and
inserting the following: ``hereunder--
``(1) in the case of any such violation that is not
described in paragraph (2), the Secretary may suspend'';
(B) by striking the period at the end and inserting
``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
``(2) in the case of such a violation that the Secretary
determines presents a risk to animal welfare, the Secretary
shall--
``(A) suspend such person's license temporarily,
but for a period not to exceed 21 days; and
``(B) after notice and opportunity for an informal
hearing, permanently revoke such license if the
Secretary determines that--
``(i) the violation occurred;
``(ii) the violation presents or has
presented a risk to animal welfare; and
``(iii) the violation has persisted past
the initial period of license suspension under
subparagraph (A) or the person has been found
to have committed one or more other such
violations (including by entering a nolo
contendere or no contest plea with respect to
any such violation) affecting animal
welfare.''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(e)(1) Any person whose license has been suspended for any reason
shall not be licensed, or registered, in his or her own name or in any
other manner, within the period during which the order of suspension is
in effect. No family member, household member, partnership, firm,
corporation, or other legal entity in which any such person has a
substantial interest, financial or otherwise, will be licensed or
registered during that period.
``(2) Any person whose license has been revoked shall not be
licensed or registered, in his or her own name or in any other manner,
at any time, and no family member, household member, partnership, firm,
corporation, or other legal entity in which any such person has a
substantial interest, financial or otherwise, will be licensed or
registered.
``(3) Any person whose license has been suspended or revoked shall
not buy, sell, transport, exhibit, deliver for transportation, or be
employed in any capacity with respect to any animal during the period
of suspension or revocation, under any circumstances, whether on his or
her behalf or on the behalf of another licensee or registrant.''.
SEC. 5. PUBLICATION OF INFORMATION ON VIOLATIONS.
The Animal Welfare Act is amended by inserting before section 26 (7
U.S.C. 2156) the following new section:
``SEC. 25A. PUBLICATION OF INFORMATION ON ENFORCEMENT.
``The Secretary shall publish, in a searchable format on a public
website of the Department of Agriculture, information and reports (in
their entirety and without redaction) on the nature and place of all
investigations and inspections conducted by the Secretary under section
16 (including all reports documenting all instances of noncompliance
with this Act observed during any such inspection), enforcement
records, and animal inventories.''.
SEC. 6. REGULATIONS.
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Secretary of Agriculture shall issue regulations to carry out the
amendments made by this Act.
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