Lacey Act Amendments of 2023

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1614 To amend title 18, United States Code, to enhance protections against the importation, and transport between States, of injurious species, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 16, 2023 Mr. RUBIO introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works A BILL To amend title 18, United States Code, to enhance protec- tions against the importation, and transport between States, of injurious species, 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 ‘‘Lacey Act Amend- 4 ments of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 42 of title 18, United 7 States Code, is amended— 8 (1) in subsection (a)(1)— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:22 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1614.IS S1614 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1614 IS (A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘ship- 1 ment between the continental United States’’ 2 and inserting ‘‘transport between the States’’; 3 and 4 (B) by inserting after the first sentence 5 the following: ‘‘Notwithstanding any other pro- 6 vision of law, the Secretary of the Interior may 7 prescribe by regulation an emergency designa- 8 tion prohibiting the importation of any species 9 of wild mammals, wild birds, fish (including 10 mollusks and crustacea), amphibians, or rep- 11 tiles, or the offspring or eggs of any such spe- 12 cies, as injurious to human beings, to the inter- 13 ests of agriculture, horticulture, or forestry, or 14 to wildlife or the wildlife resources of the 15 United States, for not more than 3 years, under 16 this subsection, if the Secretary of the Interior 17 determines that such regulation is necessary to 18 address an imminent threat to human beings, 19 to the interests of agriculture, horticulture, or 20 forestry, or to wildlife or the wildlife resources 21 of the United States. An emergency designation 22 prescribed under this subsection shall take ef- 23 fect immediately upon publication in the Fed- 24 eral Register, unless the Secretary of the Inte- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:22 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1614.IS S1614 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1614 IS rior prescribes an effective date that is not later 1 than 60 days after the date of publication. Dur- 2 ing the period during which an emergency des- 3 ignation prescribed under this subsection for a 4 species is in effect, the Secretary of the Interior 5 shall evaluate whether the species should be 6 designated as an injurious wildlife species under 7 the first sentence of this paragraph.’’; and 8 (2) by adding at the end the following: 9 ‘‘(d) PRESUMPTIVE PROHIBITION ON IMPORTA- 10 TION.— 11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Importation into the 12 United States of any species of wild mammals, wild 13 birds, fish (including mollusks and crustacea), am- 14 phibians, or reptiles, or the offspring or eggs of any 15 such species, that is not native to the United States 16 and, as of the date of enactment of the Lacey Act 17 Amendments of 2023, is not prohibited under sub- 18 section (a)(1), is prohibited, unless— 19 ‘‘(A) during the 1-year period preceding 20 the date of enactment of the Lacey Act Amend- 21 ments of 2023, the species was, in more than 22 minimal quantities— 23 ‘‘(i) imported into the United States; 24 or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:22 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1614.IS S1614 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1614 IS ‘‘(ii) transported between the States, 1 any territory of the United States, the Dis- 2 trict of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 3 Puerto Rico, or any possession of the 4 United States; or 5 ‘‘(B) the Secretary of the Interior deter- 6 mines, after an opportunity for public comment, 7 that the species does not pose a significant risk 8 of invasiveness to the United States and pub- 9 lishes a notice in the Federal Register of the 10 determination. 11 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 12 paragraph (1) shall be construed to limit the author- 13 ity of the Secretary of the Interior under subsection 14 (a)(1).’’. 15 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 42(a) of 16 title 18, United States Code, is amended— 17 (1) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘and sub- 18 section (d)’’ after ‘‘this subsection’’; 19 (2) in paragraph (3)— 20 (A) by striking ‘‘the foregoing’’ and insert- 21 ing ‘‘paragraph (1) or subsection (d)’’; and 22 (B) by striking ‘‘this Act’’ each place the 23 term appears and inserting ‘‘this section’’; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:22 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1614.IS S1614 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 1614 IS (3) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘or sub- 1 section (d)’’ after ‘‘this subsection’’; and 2 (4) in paragraph (5)— 3 (A) by inserting ‘‘and subsection (d)’’ after 4 ‘‘this subsection’’; and 5 (B) by striking ‘‘hereunder’’ and inserting 6 ‘‘under such provisions’’. 7 (c) REGULATIONS; EFFECTIVE DATE.— 8 (1) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after 9 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 10 the Interior shall promulgate regulations to define 11 the term ‘‘minimal quantities’’ for purposes of sub- 12 section (d)(1)(A) of section 42 of title 18, United 13 States Code, as added by subsection (a)(2). 14 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (d) of sec- 15 tion 42 of title 18, United States Code, as added by 16 subsection (a)(2), shall take effect on the date that 17 is 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act. 18 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:22 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1614.IS S1614 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB