[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3210 Reported in House (RH)]
Union Calendar No. 439
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 3210
[Report No. 112-604]
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
July 17, 2012
Additional sponsors: Mr. Roe of Tennessee, Mr. Grimm, Mr. Marchant, Mr.
Paul, Mr. DesJarlais, Mr. Rohrabacher, Mr. Coble, Mrs. Ellmers, Mr.
Young of Alaska, Mr. Hunter, Mr. Manzullo, Mr. Paulsen, Mr. McClintock,
Mr. Kingston, Mr. Ruppersberger, Mr. Ryan of Ohio, Mr. Posey, Mr.
Matheson, and Mr. McCotter
July 17, 2012
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on October
14, 2011]
_______________________________________________________________________
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) Application of Civil Forfeiture Laws.--Section 5(d) of such Act
(16 U.S.C. 3374(d)) is amended--
(1) by inserting ``(1)'' before ``Civil'';
(2) by inserting ``, except as provided in paragraphs (2)
and (3) of this subsection'' before the period at the end; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Subsection (d)(4) of section 983 of such chapter, and the
second sentence of subsection (a)(1)(F) of such section, shall not
apply to plants or plant products.
``(3) This section is the sole authority for civil seizure or
forfeiture actions alleging, or predicated upon, a violation of section
3.''.
SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON APPLICATION OF FOREIGN LAWS.
(a) Prohibited Acts.--Section 3(a) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3372(a))
is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2)(B), in clause (ii) and in clause
(iii), by striking ``foreign law'' and inserting ``foreign law
that is directed at the protection, conservation, and
management of plants''; and
(2) in paragraph (3)(B), in clause (ii) and in clause
(iii), by striking ``foreign law'' and inserting ``foreign law
that is directed at the protection, conservation, and
management of plants''.
(b) Civil Penalties.--Section 4(a)(1) of such Act (16 U.S.C.
3373(a)(1)) is amended by striking ``foreign law'' and inserting
``foreign law that is directed at the protection, conservation, and
management of plants''.
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 two
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.''.
Union Calendar No. 439
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 3210
[Report No. 112-604]
_______________________________________________________________________
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.
_______________________________________________________________________
July 17, 2012
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed