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1 1 (June 10, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/govefvy0001 and id is 1 raw text is: XCongressional _ ~ ~Research Service The America COMPETES Act Amendments to the Lacey Act June 10, 2022 Section 71102 of the America COMPETES Act, H.R. 4521 (passed the House), would amend the injurious species provisions of the Lacey Act (18 U.S.C. @42). The Injurious Species Provisions of the Lacey Act The Lacey Act's injurious species provisions prohibit importing certain species into the United States and shipping such species between the continental United States, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any possession of the United States. In 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held in US. Association ofReptile Keepers v Zinke that the statute did not prohibit interstate shipment of injurious species-that is, shipment between states within the 49 continental United States. The statute identifies certain species as injurious and authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to identify other species as injurious to human beings; the interests of agriculture, horticulture, forestry; or wildlife or the wildlife resources of the United States. The Secretary may list as injurious any species of wild mammals, wild birds, fish (including mollusks and crustacea), amphibians, reptiles, brown tree snakes, or the offspring or eggs of any of the foregoing. The list of injurious species appears in 50 C.F.R. part 16. The statute provides criminal penalties for violating the prohibitions. The Secretary exercises this authority through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). Proposed Amendments to the Lacey Act in H.R. 4521 Section 71102 of H.R. 4521, as passed by the House, would amend the injurious species section of the Lacey Act. First, it would prohibit any interstate transport within the United States. This provision could be interpreted to prohibit transport across state lines or transport in interstate commerce activity that does not necessarily cross state lines. Second, it would allow the Secretary to issue an emergency designation of any species of wild mammal, wild bird, fish, amphibian, or reptile as injurious and prohibit its import for up to three years. To issue an emergency designation, the Secretary would have to determine that it was necessary to address an imminent threat to human beings; agricultural, horticultural, or forestry interests; or wildlife or U.S. Congressional Research Service https://crsreports. congress.gov IN11950 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress