Animal Welfare Enforcement Improvement Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4211 To amend the Animal Welfare Act to increase protections for animals, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AUGUST 27, 2019 Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI 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 Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Animal Welfare En- 4 forcement Improvement Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION WITH RESPECT TO ISSUANCE OF 6 LICENSES. 7 Section 3 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2133) 8 is amended to read as follows: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Aug 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4211.IH H4211 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4211 IH ‘‘SEC. 3. LICENSES. 1 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsections (c), (d), 2 and (e), the Secretary shall issue licenses to dealers and 3 exhibitors upon— 4 ‘‘(1) the submission of an application for such 5 license that— 6 ‘‘(A) contains an inventory of all animals 7 present in all of the applicant’s facilities; and 8 ‘‘(B) is submitted in such form and man- 9 ner as the Secretary may prescribe; and 10 ‘‘(2) payment of such fee established pursuant 11 to section 23. 12 ‘‘(b) VALIDITY OF LICENSE.—A license issued under 13 subsection (a) shall be valid for a period not to exceed 14 1 calendar year. An applicant shall submit an application 15 under such subsection to renew such license each calendar 16 year before the expiration of the previously issued license. 17 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITED DEALERS AND EXHIBITORS.—Not- 18 withstanding subsection (a), the Secretary may not issue 19 a license (including a renewal of such a license) under such 20 subsection to a dealer or exhibitor if— 21 ‘‘(1) such dealer or exhibitor has been found to 22 have violated (including by entering a nolo 23 contendere or no contest plea with respect to the vio- 24 lation) Federal, State, or local laws relating to ani- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Aug 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4211.IH H4211 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4211 IH mals, including this Act and any other anti-animal 1 cruelty or wildlife protection law; or 2 ‘‘(2) the issuance of a license to such dealer or 3 exhibitor would facilitate the circumvention of State 4 or local law prohibiting the private ownership of cer- 5 tain animals. 6 ‘‘(d) UNANNOUNCED FACILITY INSPECTIONS.— 7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding subsection 8 (a) and subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary may 9 not issue a license (including a renewal of such a li- 10 cense) under such subsection to a dealer or exhibitor 11 until the dealer or exhibitor shall have demonstrated, 12 through full, unannounced inspections, that the fa- 13 cilities of such dealer or exhibitor at the time of in- 14 spection— 15 ‘‘(A) comply with the standards promul- 16 gated by the Secretary pursuant to section 13; 17 and 18 ‘‘(B) have not been documented as having 19 not complied with any such standard during 20 more than one inspection in the previous two 21 calendar years. 22 ‘‘(2) NEW APPLICANTS.—In the case of an ap- 23 plicant seeking to be licensed as a dealer or exhibitor 24 under subsection (a) who has not previously been so 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Aug 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4211.IH H4211 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4211 IH licensed, the applicant shall not be subject to more 1 than 2 inspections conducted pursuant to paragraph 2 (1). If, upon the second inspection, the applicant is 3 found to have failed to meet any standard promul- 4 gated by the Secretary pursuant to section 13, the 5 Secretary shall deny the application for such license 6 and such applicant may not submit an application 7 for such a license for a one-year period beginning on 8 the date on which the application is so denied. 9 ‘‘(e) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), a 10 dealer or exhibitor shall not be required to obtain a license 11 as a dealer or exhibitor under this Act if the size of the 12 business is determined by the Secretary to be de mini- 13 mis.’’. 14 SEC. 3. LICENSE SUSPENSIONS AND REVOCATIONS. 15 Section 19 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 16 2149) is amended— 17 (1) in subsection (a)— 18 (A) by striking ‘‘hereunder, he may sus- 19 pend’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘here- 20 under— 21 ‘‘(1) in the case of any such violation that is 22 not described in paragraph (2), the Secretary may 23 suspend’’; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Aug 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4211.IH H4211 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 4211 IH (B) by striking the period at the end and 1 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 2 (C) by adding at the end the following new 3 paragraph: 4 ‘‘(2) in the case of such a violation that the 5 Secretary determines presents a risk to animal wel- 6 fare, the Secretary shall— 7 ‘‘(A) suspend such person’s license tempo- 8 rarily, but for a period not to exceed 21 days; 9 and 10 ‘‘(B) after notice and opportunity for an 11 informal hearing, permanently revoke such li- 12 cense if the Secretary determines that— 13 ‘‘(i) the violation occurred; 14 ‘‘(ii) the violation presents or has pre- 15 sented a risk to animal welfare; and 16 ‘‘(iii) the violation has persisted past 17 the initial period of license suspension 18 under subparagraph (A) or the person has 19 been found to have committed one or more 20 other such violations (including by entering 21 a nolo contendere or no contest plea with 22 respect to any such violation) affecting ani- 23 mal welfare.’’; and 24 (2) by adding at the end the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Aug 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4211.IH H4211 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 4211 IH ‘‘(e)(1) Any person whose license has been suspended 1 for any reason shall not be licensed, or registered, in his 2 or her own name or in any other manner, within the period 3 during which the order of suspension is in effect. No fam- 4 ily member, household member, partnership, firm, cor- 5 poration, or other legal entity in which any such person 6 has a substantial interest, financial or otherwise, will be 7 licensed or registered during that period. 8 ‘‘(2) Any person whose license has been revoked shall 9 not be licensed or registered, in his or her own name or 10 in any other manner, at any time, and no family member, 11 household member, partnership, firm, corporation, or 12 other legal entity in which any such person has a substan- 13 tial interest, financial or otherwise, will be licensed or reg- 14 istered. 15 ‘‘(3) Any person whose license has been suspended 16 or revoked shall not buy, sell, transport, exhibit, deliver 17 for transportation, or be employed in any capacity with 18 respect to any animal during the period of suspension or 19 revocation, under any circumstances, whether on his or 20 her behalf or on the behalf of another licensee or reg- 21 istrant.’’. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Aug 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4211.IH H4211 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 4211 IH SEC. 4. CITIZEN SUITS. 1 Section 19 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2 2149), as amended by section 3, is further amended by 3 adding at the end the following new subsection: 4 ‘‘(f)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), any per- 5 son may commence a civil suit on his own behalf to enjoin 6 any person, including the United States and any other 7 governmental instrumentality or agency (to the extent per- 8 mitted by the eleventh amendment to the Constitution), 9 who is alleged to be in violation of any provision of this 10 Act or regulation issued under the authority thereof. The 11 district courts shall have jurisdiction, without regard to 12 the amount in controversy or the citizenship of the parties, 13 to enforce any such provision or regulation or to order the 14 Secretary to perform such act or duty, as the case may 15 be. 16 ‘‘(2) No action may be commenced under paragraph 17 (1)— 18 ‘‘(A) prior to sixty days after written notice of 19 the violation has been given to the Secretary, and to 20 any alleged violator of any such provision or regula- 21 tion; and 22 ‘‘(B) if the United States has commenced and 23 is diligently prosecuting a criminal action in a court 24 of the United States to redress a violation of any 25 such provision or regulation. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Aug 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4211.IH H4211 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 4211 IH ‘‘(3)(A) Any suit under this subsection may be 1 brought in the judicial district in which the violation oc- 2 curs. 3 ‘‘(B) In any such suit under this subsection in which 4 the United States is not a party, the Attorney General, 5 at the request of the Secretary, may intervene on behalf 6 of the United States as a matter of right. 7 ‘‘(4) The court, in issuing any final order in any suit 8 brought pursuant to paragraph (1), may award costs of 9 litigation (including reasonable attorney and expert wit- 10 ness fees) to any party, whenever the court determines 11 such award is appropriate. 12 ‘‘(5) The injunctive relief provided by this subsection 13 shall not restrict any right which any person (or class of 14 persons) may have under any statute or common law to 15 seek enforcement of any standard or limitation or to seek 16 any other relief (including relief against the Secretary or 17 a State agency).’’. 18 SEC. 5. PUBLICATION OF INFORMATION ON VIOLATIONS. 19 The Animal Welfare Act is amended by inserting be- 20 fore section 26 (7 U.S.C. 2156) the following new section: 21 ‘‘SEC. 25A. PUBLICATION OF INFORMATION ON ENFORCE- 22 MENT. 23 ‘‘The Secretary shall publish, in a searchable format 24 on a public website of the Department of Agriculture, in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Aug 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4211.IH H4211 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 4211 IH formation and reports (in their entirety and without redac- 1 tion) on the nature and place of all investigations and in- 2 spections conducted by the Secretary under section 16 (in- 3 cluding all reports documenting all instances of non- 4 compliance with this Act observed during any such inspec- 5 tion), enforcement records, and animal inventories.’’. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Aug 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4211.IH H4211 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS