Protecting Horses from Soring Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2648 To amend the Horse Protection Act to provide increased protection for horses participating in shows, exhibitions, sales, and auctions, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 17, 2023 Mr. DESJARLAIS (for himself and Mr. ROSE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To amend the Horse Protection Act to provide increased protection for horses participating in shows, exhibitions, sales, and auctions, 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 ‘‘Protecting Horses 4 from Soring Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 Section 2 of the Horse Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 7 1821) is amended— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2648.IH H2648 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 2648 IH (1) by striking the section designation and all 1 that follows through ‘‘requires:’’ in the matter pre- 2 ceding paragraph (1) and inserting the following: 3 ‘‘SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 4 ‘‘In this Act:’’; 5 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), (3), 6 and (4) as paragraphs (2), (4), (5), and (6), respec- 7 tively; 8 (3) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as so re- 9 designated) the following: 10 ‘‘(1) HORSE INDUSTRY ORGANIZATION.—The 11 term ‘Horse Industry Organization’ means the orga- 12 nization established under section 4(c)(1)(A).’’; and 13 (4) by inserting after paragraph (2) (as so re- 14 designated) the following: 15 ‘‘(3) OBJECTIVE INSPECTION.—The term ‘ob- 16 jective inspection’ means an inspection conducted by 17 a veterinarian or veterinarian technician using only 18 an inspection method based on a science-based pro- 19 tocol that consists of, at a minimum, swabbing and 20 blood testing, and that— 21 ‘‘(A) has been the subject of testing and is 22 capable of producing scientifically reliable and 23 reproducible results; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2648.IH H2648 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 2648 IH ‘‘(B) has been subjected to peer review; 1 and 2 ‘‘(C) has received acceptance in the veteri- 3 nary or other applicable scientific community, 4 as determined by the Secretary.’’. 5 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 6 Section 3 of the Horse Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 7 1822) is amended— 8 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as 9 paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively; and 10 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol- 11 lowing: 12 ‘‘(4) the Inspector General of the Department 13 of Agriculture has determined that the program 14 through which the Secretary inspects horses is not 15 adequate to ensure compliance with this Act;’’. 16 SEC. 4. INCREASING PROTECTIONS FOR HORSES PARTICI- 17 PATING IN HORSE SHOWS, EXHIBITIONS, 18 SALES, OR AUCTIONS. 19 (a) HORSE SHOWS AND EXHIBITIONS.—Section 4 of 20 the Horse Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1823) is amended— 21 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 22 following: 23 ‘‘(a) DISQUALIFICATION OF HORSES.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2648.IH H2648 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 2648 IH ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The management of any 1 horse show or horse exhibition shall disqualify any 2 horse from being shown or exhibited if— 3 ‘‘(A) the horse is determined to be sore by 4 an objective inspection; or 5 ‘‘(B) the management has been notified 6 that the horse is sore by— 7 ‘‘(i) a person licensed under sub- 8 section (c)(3)(A); or 9 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary. 10 ‘‘(2) DURATION OF DISQUALIFICATION.—Any 11 horse that is determined to be sore by an objective 12 inspection shall be disqualified from being shown or 13 exhibited— 14 ‘‘(A) for a period of not less than 30 days 15 if it is the first determination; and 16 ‘‘(B) for a period of not less than 90 days 17 if it is a second or subsequent determination.’’; 18 (2) in subsection (b)— 19 (A) by striking ‘‘(b) The management’’ 20 and inserting the following: 21 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION ON SALE, AUCTION, AND EXHI- 22 BITION.—The management’’; 23 (3) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 24 following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2648.IH H2648 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 2648 IH ‘‘(c) HORSE INDUSTRY ORGANIZATION.— 1 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.— 2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 3 days after the date of enactment of the Pro- 4 tecting Horses from Soring Act of 2023, the 5 Secretary shall establish an organization, to be 6 known as the ‘Horse Industry Organization’ 7 (referred to in this subsection as ‘the Organiza- 8 tion’). 9 ‘‘(B) BOARD.— 10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Organization 11 shall be governed by a board (referred to 12 in this subsection as ‘the Board’) con- 13 sisting of not more than 9 individuals, of 14 whom— 15 ‘‘(I) two shall be appointed by 16 the Commissioner of Agriculture for 17 the State of Tennessee; 18 ‘‘(II) two shall be appointed by 19 the Commissioner of Agriculture for 20 the State of Kentucky; 21 ‘‘(III) two shall— 22 ‘‘(aa) represent the Ten- 23 nessee Walking Horse industry; 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2648.IH H2648 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 2648 IH ‘‘(bb) be appointed by the 1 members appointed under sub- 2 clauses (I) and (II), in accord- 3 ance with a process developed by 4 those members; and 5 ‘‘(IV) not more than three shall 6 be appointed by the members ap- 7 pointed under subclauses (I) through 8 (III). 9 ‘‘(ii) QUORUM.—Five members of the 10 Board shall constitute a quorum for the 11 transaction of business. 12 ‘‘(iii) BYLAWS.—The members of the 13 Board, in consultation with the Secretary, 14 shall develop bylaws and other policies to 15 operate the Organization, establish com- 16 mittees, and fill vacancies on the Board. 17 ‘‘(C) VACANCIES; PERIOD OF APPOINT- 18 MENT.— 19 ‘‘(i) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy on the 20 Board— 21 ‘‘(I) shall not impair the author- 22 ity of the Board; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2648.IH H2648 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 2648 IH ‘‘(II) shall be filled as soon as 1 practicable in the same manner as the 2 original appointment. 3 ‘‘(ii) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT.— 4 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Except as 5 provided in subclause (II), a member 6 of the Board shall be appointed for a 7 term of 4 years. 8 ‘‘(II) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.— 9 Of the members first appointed to the 10 Board, the members described in sub- 11 paragraph (B)(i)(III) shall be ap- 12 pointed for an initial term of 3 years. 13 ‘‘(2) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Organization 14 shall— 15 ‘‘(A) establish a formal affiliation with the 16 management of each horse sale, horse exhi- 17 bition, horse sale, and horse auction; 18 ‘‘(B) appoint inspectors to conduct inspec- 19 tions at each horse sale, horse exhibition, horse 20 sale, and horse auction; 21 ‘‘(C) identify and contract with equine vet- 22 erinary experts to advise the Board on— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2648.IH H2648 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 2648 IH ‘‘(i) objective scientific testing meth- 1 ods and procedures for objective inspec- 2 tions; and 3 ‘‘(ii) the certification of objective in- 4 spection results; 5 ‘‘(D) establish licensing requirements 6 under paragraph (3); and 7 ‘‘(E) take any other action to ensure com- 8 pliance with this Act, as determined in coordi- 9 nation with the Secretary. 10 ‘‘(3) LICENSING REQUIREMENTS.— 11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Organization 12 shall develop licensing requirements to submit 13 to the Secretary for licensing persons quali- 14 fied— 15 ‘‘(i) to detect and diagnose a horse 16 that is sore; or 17 ‘‘(ii) to otherwise inspect a horse for 18 the purpose of enforcing this Act. 19 ‘‘(B) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—Require- 20 ments developed under subparagraph (A) shall 21 include the requirement that any person li- 22 censed by the Organization, and any member of 23 the immediate family of any person licensed by 24 the Organization, is free from a conflict of in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2648.IH H2648 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 2648 IH terest by reason of any association or connec- 1 tion with the walking horse industry, including 2 through— 3 ‘‘(i) employment by, or the provision 4 of any service to, any show manager, train- 5 er, owner, or exhibitor of a Tennessee 6 Walking horse, Spotted Saddle horse, or 7 Racking horse; and 8 ‘‘(ii) training, exhibiting, shoeing, 9 breeding, or selling a Tennessee Walking 10 horse, Spotted Saddle horse, or Racking 11 horse. 12 ‘‘(4) CERTIFICATION.— 13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—After the members of 14 the Board described in subclauses (I) through 15 (III) of paragraph (1)(B)(i) have been ap- 16 pointed, the Secretary shall certify the Organi- 17 zation to train and license individuals, including 18 inspectors, as designated qualified persons in 19 accordance with section 11.7(b) of title 9, Code 20 of Federal Regulations (or successor regula- 21 tions). 22 ‘‘(B) REVOCATION OF CERTIFICATION.— 23 Not later than 90 days after the date on which 24 the Secretary certifies the Organization under 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2648.IH H2648 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 2648 IH subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall revoke 1 the certification issued to any other horse in- 2 dustry organization under section 11.7 of title 3 9, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor 4 regulations). 5 ‘‘(5) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT EX- 6 EMPTION.—Section 14(a)(2)(B) of the Federal Advi- 7 sory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply 8 to the Organization.’’; 9 (4) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘(d) The man- 10 agement’’ and inserting the following: 11 ‘‘(d) RECORDKEEPING.—The management’’; and 12 (5) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘(e) For pur- 13 poses of’’ and inserting the following: 14 ‘‘(e) RIGHT OF INSPECTION.—For purposes of’’. 15 (b) UNLAWFUL ACTS.—Section 5 of the Horse Pro- 16 tection Act (15 U.S.C. 1824) is amended— 17 (1) by striking the section designation and all 18 that follows through ‘‘The following’’ in the matter 19 preceding paragraph (1) and inserting the following: 20 ‘‘SEC. 5. PROHIBITED CONDUCT. 21 ‘‘The following’’; 22 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘appoint and 23 retain a person in accordance with section 4(c) of 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2648.IH H2648 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 2648 IH this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘have a formal affiliation 1 with the Horse Industry Organization’’; 2 (3) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘appoint and 3 retain a qualified person in accordance with section 4 4(c) of this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘have a formal affili- 5 ation with the Horse Industry Organization’’; 6 (4) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘appointed 7 and retained a person in accordance with section 8 4(c) of this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘a formal affiliation 9 with the Horse Industry Organization’’; and 10 (5) in paragraph (6)— 11 (A) by striking ‘‘appointed and retained a 12 person in accordance with section 4(c) of this 13 Act’’ and inserting ‘‘a formal affiliation with 14 the Horse Industry Organization’’; and 15 (B) by striking ‘‘such person or the Sec- 16 retary’’ and inserting ‘‘a person licensed by the 17 Horse Industry Organization’’. 18 SEC. 5. RULEMAKING. 19 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 20 of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall issue regula- 21 tions to carry out the amendments made by this Act. 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2648.IH H2648 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB