I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1731 

To provide for a uniform national standard for the housing and treatment 

of egg-laying hens, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 25, 2013 

Mr. SCHRADER (for himself, Mr. DENHAM, Mr. FARR, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. 

CAMPBELL, and Mr. HUFFMAN) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To provide for a uniform national standard for the housing 

and treatment of egg-laying hens, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Egg Products Inspec5 tion Act Amendments of 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 2. HEN HOUSING AND TREATMENT STANDARDS. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 4 of the Egg Products 

8 Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 1033) is amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating subsection (a) as sub10 section (c); 


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1 (2) by redesignating subsections (b), (c), (d), 

2 (e), (f), and (g) as subsections (f), (g), (h), (i), (j), 

3 and (k), respectively; 

4 (3) by redesignating subsections (h) and (i) as 

5 subsections (n) and (o), respectively; 

6 (4) by redesignating subsections (j), (k), and (l) 

7 as subsections (r), (s), and (t), respectively; 

8 (5) by redesignating subsections (m), (n), (o), 

9 (p), (q), (r), (s), (t), (u), (v), (w), (x), (y), and (z) 

10 as subsections (v), (w), (x), (y), (z), (aa), (bb), (cc), 

11 (dd), (ee), (ff), (gg), (hh), and (ii), respectively; 

12 (6) by inserting before subsection (c), as redes13 ignated by paragraph (1), the following new sub14 sections: 

15 ‘‘(a) The term ‘adequate environmental enrichments’ 

16 means adequate perch space, dust bathing or scratching 

17 areas, and nest space, as defined by the Secretary of Agri18 culture, based on the best available science, including the 

19 most recent studies available at the time that the Sec20 retary defines the term. 

21 ‘‘(b) The term ‘adequate housing-related labeling’ 

22 means a conspicuous, legible marking on the front or top 

23 of a package of eggs accurately indicating the type of 

24 housing that the egg-laying hens were provided during egg 

25 production, in one of the following formats: 


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1 ‘‘(1) ‘Eggs from free-range hens’ to indicate 

2 that the egg-laying hens from which the eggs or egg 

3 products were derived were, during egg production— 

4 ‘‘(A) not housed in caging devices; and 

5 ‘‘(B) provided with outdoor access. 

6 ‘‘(2) ‘Eggs from cage-free hens’ to indicate that 

7 the egg-laying hens from which the eggs or egg 

8 products were derived were, during egg production, 

9 not housed in caging devices. 

10 ‘‘(3) ‘Eggs from enriched cages’ to indicate that 

11 the egg-laying hens from which the eggs or egg 

12 products were derived were, during egg production, 

13 housed in caging devices that— 

14 ‘‘(A) contain adequate environmental en15 richments; and 

16 ‘‘(B) provide the hens a minimum of 116 

17 square inches of individual floor space per 

18 brown hen and 101 square inches of individual 

19 floor space per white hen. 

20 ‘‘(4) ‘Eggs from caged hens’ to indicate that 

21 the egg-laying hens from which the eggs or egg 

22 products were derived were, during egg production, 

23 housed in caging devices that either— 

24 ‘‘(A) do not contain adequate environ25 mental enrichments; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) do not provide the hens a minimum 

2 of 116 square inches of individual floor space 

3 per brown hen and 101 square inches of indi4 vidual floor space per white hen.’’; 

5 (7) by inserting after subsection (c), as redesig6 nated by paragraph (1), the following new sub7 sections: 

8 ‘‘(d) The term ‘brown hen’ means a brown egg-laying 

9 hen used for commercial egg production. 

10 ‘‘(e) The term ‘caging device’ means any cage, enclo11 sure, or other device used for the housing of egg-laying 

12 hens for the production of eggs in commerce, but does not 

13 include an open barn or other fixed structure without in14 ternal caging devices.’’; 

15 (8) by inserting after subsection (k), as redesig16 nated by paragraph (2), the following new sub17 sections: 

18 ‘‘(l) The term ‘egg-laying hen’ means any female do19 mesticated chicken, including white hens and brown hens, 

20 used for the commercial production of eggs for human 

21 consumption. 

22 ‘‘(m) The term ‘existing caging device’ means any 

23 caging device that was continuously in use for the produc24 tion of eggs in commerce up through and including De25 cember 31, 2011.’’; 


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1 (9) by inserting after subsection (o), as redesig2 nated by paragraph (3), the following new sub3 sections: 

4 ‘‘(p) The term ‘feed-withdrawal molting’ means the 

5 practice of preventing food intake for the purpose of in6 ducing egg-laying hens to molt. 

7 ‘‘(q) The term ‘individual floor space’ means the 

8 amount of total floor space in a caging device available 

9 to each egg-laying hen in the device, which is calculated 

10 by measuring the total floor space of the caging device 

11 and dividing by the total number of egg-laying hens in 

12 the device.’’; 

13 (10) by inserting after subsection (t), as redes14 ignated by paragraph (4), the following new sub15 section: 

16 ‘‘(u) The term ‘new caging device’ means any caging 

17 device that was not continuously in use for the production 

18 of eggs in commerce on or before December 31, 2011.’’; 

19 and 

20 (11) by inserting at the end the following new 

21 subsections: 

22 ‘‘(jj) The term ‘water-withdrawal molting’ means the 

23 practice of preventing water intake for the purpose of in24 ducing egg-laying hens to molt. 


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1 ‘‘(kk) The term ‘white hen’ means a white egg-laying 

2 hen used for commercial egg production.’’. 

3 (b) HOUSING AND TREATMENT OF EGG-LAYING

4 HENS.—The Egg Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 

5 1031 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 7 (21 

6 U.S.C. 1036) the following new sections: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 7A. HOUSING AND TREATMENT OF EGG-LAYING 

8 HENS. 

9 ‘‘(a) ENVIRONMENTAL ENRICHMENTS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) EXISTING CAGING DEVICES.—Beginning 

11 15 years after the date of enactment of the Egg 

12 Products Inspection Act Amendments of 2013, all 

13 existing caging devices shall provide egg-laying hens 

14 housed therein adequate environmental enrichments. 

15 ‘‘(2) NEW CAGING DEVICES.—Beginning 9 

16 years after the date of enactment of the Egg Prod17 ucts Inspection Act Amendments of 2013, all new 

18 caging devices shall provide egg-laying hens housed 

19 therein adequate environmental enrichments. 

20 ‘‘(3) CAGING DEVICES IN CALIFORNIA.— 

21 ‘‘(A) NEW CAGING DEVICES.—All caging 

22 devices in California installed after the date of 

23 enactment of the Egg Products Inspection Act 

24 Amendments of 2013 shall provide egg-laying 

25 hens housed therein adequate environmental enVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:56 May 01, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1731.IH H1731

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1 richments beginning 3 months after that date 

2 of enactment. 

3 ‘‘(B) EXISTING CAGING DEVICES.—All cag4 ing devices in California installed before the 

5 date of enactment of the Egg Products Inspec6 tion Act Amendments of 2013 shall provide 

7 egg-laying hens housed therein adequate envi8 ronmental enrichments beginning January 1, 

9 2024. 

10 ‘‘(b) FLOOR SPACE.— 

11 ‘‘(1) EXISTING CAGING DEVICES.—All existing 

12 cages devices shall provide egg-laying hens housed 

13 therein— 

14 ‘‘(A) beginning 4 years after the date of 

15 enactment of the Egg Products Inspection Act 

16 Amendments of 2013 and until the date that is 

17 15 years after the date of enactment of the Egg 

18 Products Inspection Act Amendments of 2013, 

19 a minimum of 76 square inches of individual 

20 floor space per brown hen and 67 square inches 

21 of individual floor space per white hen; and 

22 ‘‘(B) beginning 15 years after the date of 

23 enactment of the Egg Products Inspection Act 

24 Amendments of 2013, a minimum of 144 

25 square inches of individual floor space per 


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1 brown hen and 124 square inches of individual 

2 floor space per white hen. 

3 ‘‘(2) NEW CAGING DEVICES.—All new caging 

4 devices shall provide egg-laying hens housed there5 in— 

6 ‘‘(A) beginning 3 years after the date of 

7 enactment of the Egg Products Inspection Act 

8 Amendments of 2013 and until the date that is 

9 6 years after the date of enactment of the Egg 

10 Products Inspection Act Amendments of 2013, 

11 a minimum of 90 square inches of individual 

12 floor space per brown hen and 78 square inches 

13 of individual floor space per white hen; 

14 ‘‘(B) beginning 6 years after the date of 

15 enactment of the Egg Products Inspection Act 

16 Amendments of 2013 and until the date that is 

17 9 years after the date of enactment of the Egg 

18 Products Inspection Act Amendments of 2013, 

19 a minimum of 102 square inches of individual 

20 floor space per brown hen and 90 square inches 

21 of individual floor space per white hen; 

22 ‘‘(C) beginning 9 years after the date of 

23 enactment of the Egg Products Inspection Act 

24 Amendments of 2013 and until the date that is 

25 12 years after the date of enactment of the Egg 


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1 Products Inspection Act Amendments of 2013, 

2 a minimum of 116 square inches of individual 

3 floor space per brown hen and 101 square 

4 inches of individual floor space per white hen; 

5 ‘‘(D) beginning 12 years after the date of 

6 enactment of the Egg Products Inspection Act 

7 Amendments of 2013 and until the date that is 

8 15 years after the date of enactment of the Egg 

9 Products Inspection Act Amendments of 2013, 

10 a minimum of 130 square inches of individual 

11 floor space per brown hen and 113 square 

12 inches of individual floor space per white hen; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(E) beginning 15 years after the date of 

15 enactment of the Egg Products Inspection Act 

16 Amendments of 2013, a minimum of 144 

17 square inches of individual floor space per 

18 brown hen and 124 square inches of individual 

19 floor space per white hen. 

20 ‘‘(3) CALIFORNIA CAGING DEVICES.— 

21 ‘‘(A) EXISTING CAGING DEVICES.—All cag22 ing devices in California installed before the 

23 date of enactment of the Egg Products Inspec24 tion Act Amendments of 2013 shall provide 

25 egg-laying hens housed therein— 


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1 ‘‘(i) beginning January 1, 2015, and 

2 through December 31, 2023, a minimum 

3 of 134 square inches of individual floor 

4 space per brown hen and 116 square 

5 inches of individual floor space per white 

6 hen; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) beginning January 1, 2024, a 

8 minimum of 144 square inches of indi9 vidual floor space per brown hen and 124 

10 square inches of individual floor space per 

11 white hen. 

12 ‘‘(B) NEW CAGING DEVICES.—All caging 

13 devices in California installed after the date of 

14 enactment of the Egg Products Inspection Act 

15 Amendments of 2013 shall provide egg-laying 

16 hens housed therein— 

17 ‘‘(i) beginning 3 months after the date 

18 of enactment of the Egg Products Inspec19 tion Act Amendments of 2013, and 

20 through December 31, 2023, a minimum 

21 of 134 square inches of individual floor 

22 space per brown hen and 116 square 

23 inches of individual floor space per white 

24 hen; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) beginning January 1, 2024, a 

2 minimum of 144 square inches of indi3 vidual floor space per brown hen and 124 

4 square inches of individual floor space per 

5 white hen. 

6 ‘‘(c) AIR QUALITY.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning 2 years after the 

8 date of enactment of the Egg Products Inspection 

9 Act Amendments of 2013, an egg handler shall pro10 vide all egg-laying hens under his ownership or con11 trol with acceptable air quality, which does not ex12 ceed more than 25 parts per million of ammonia 

13 during normal operations. 

14 ‘‘(2) TEMPORARY EXCESS AMMONIA LEVELS AL15 LOWED.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an egg 

16 handler may provide egg-laying hens under the own17 ership or control of such handler with air quality 

18 containing more than 25 parts per million of ammo19 nia for temporary periods as necessary because of 

20 extraordinary weather circumstances or other un21 usual circumstances. 

22 ‘‘(d) FORCED MOLTING.—Beginning 2 years after 

23 the date of enactment of the Egg Products Inspection Act 

24 Amendments of 2013, no egg handler may subject any 


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1 egg-laying hen under his ownership or control to feed2 withdrawal or water-withdrawal molting. 

3 ‘‘(e) EUTHANASIA.—Beginning 2 years after the date 

4 of enactment of the Egg Products Inspection Act Amend5 ments of 2013, an egg handler shall provide, when nec6 essary, all egg-laying hens under his ownership or control 

7 with euthanasia that is humane and uses a method 

8 deemed ‘Acceptable’ by the American Veterinary Medical 

9 Association. 

10 ‘‘(f) PROHIBITION ON NEW UNENRICHABLE

11 CAGES.—No person shall build, construct, implement, or 

12 place into operation any new caging device for the produc13 tion of eggs to be sold in commerce unless the device— 

14 ‘‘(1) provides the egg-laying hens to be con15 tained therein a minimum of 76 square inches of in16 dividual floor space per brown hen or 67 square 

17 inches of individual floor space per white hen; and 

18 ‘‘(2) is capable of being adapted to accommo19 date adequate environmental enrichments. 

20 ‘‘(g) EXEMPTIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) RECENTLY-INSTALLED EXISTING CAGING

22 DEVICES.—The requirements under subsections 

23 (a)(1) and (b)(1)(B) shall not apply to any existing 

24 caging device that was first placed into operation be25 tween January 1, 2008, and December 31, 2011. 


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1 This exemption shall expire on December 31, 2029, 

2 at which time the requirements contained in sub3 sections (a)(1) and (b)(1)(B) shall apply to all exist4 ing caging devices. 

5 ‘‘(2) HENS ALREADY IN PRODUCTION.—The re6 quirements under subsections (a)(1), (a)(2), 

7 (b)(1)(B), and (b)(2) shall not apply to any caging 

8 device containing egg-laying hens who are already in 

9 egg production on the date that such requirement 

10 takes effect. This exemption shall expire on the date 

11 that such egg-laying hens are removed from egg pro12 duction. 

13 ‘‘(3) SMALL PRODUCERS.—This section shall 

14 not apply to an egg handler who buys, sells, handles, 

15 or processes eggs or egg products solely from 1 flock 

16 of not more than 3,000 egg-laying hens. 

17 ‘‘(4) EDUCATIONAL AND RESEARCH INSTITU18 TIONS.—The provisions of this section related to 

19 housing, treatment, or housing-related labeling shall 

20 not apply to egg production at an accredited edu21 cational or research institution, or to the purchase, 

22 sale, handling, or processing of eggs or egg products 

23 in connection with such production. 

24 ‘‘(5) INDIVIDUAL ENCLOSURES.—The environ25 mental enrichment requirements under subsection 


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1 (a) shall not apply to any caging device that con2 tains only 1 egg-laying hen. 

3 ‘‘(6) OTHER LIVESTOCK OR POULTRY PRODUC4 TION.—This section shall apply only to commercial 

5 egg production. This section shall not apply to the 

6 production of pork, beef, turkey, dairy, broiler chick7 en, veal, or other livestock or poultry. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 7B. PHASE-IN CONVERSION REQUIREMENTS. 

9 ‘‘(a) NATIONAL CONVERSION REQUIREMENTS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) FIRST CONVERSION PHASE.—Beginning 6 

11 years after the date of enactment of the Egg Prod12 ucts Inspection Act Amendments of 2013, at least 

13 25 percent of the egg-laying hens in commercial egg 

14 production shall be housed either in new caging de15 vices or in existing caging devices that provide the 

16 hens contained therein with a minimum of 102 

17 square inches of individual floor space per brown 

18 hen and 90 square inches of individual floor space 

19 per white hen. 

20 ‘‘(2) SECOND CONVERSION PHASE.—Beginning 

21 12 years after the date of enactment of the Egg 

22 Products Inspection Act Amendments of 2013, at 

23 least 55 percent of the egg-laying hens in commer24 cial egg production shall be housed either in new 

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1 vide the hens contained therein with a minimum of 

2 130 square inches of individual floor space per 

3 brown hen and 113 square inches of individual floor 

4 space per white hen. 

5 ‘‘(3) FINAL CONVERSION PHASE.—Beginning 

6 December 31, 2029, all egg-laying hens confined in 

7 caging devices shall be provided adequate environ8 mental enrichments and a minimum of 144 square 

9 inches of individual floor space per brown hen and 

10 124 square inches of individual floor space per white 

11 hen. 

12 ‘‘(b) CALIFORNIA CONVERSION REQUIREMENTS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) FIRST CONVERSION PHASE.—Beginning 2 

14 years and 6 months after the date of enactment of 

15 the Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments of 

16 2013, at least 25 percent of the egg-laying hens in 

17 commercial egg production in California shall be 

18 provided adequate environmental enrichments and a 

19 minimum of 134 square inches of individual floor 

20 space per brown hen and 116 square inches of indi21 vidual floor space per white hen. 

22 ‘‘(2) SECOND CONVERSION PHASE.—Beginning 

23 5 years after the date of enactment of the Egg 

24 Products Inspection Act Amendments of 2013, at 

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1 cial egg production in California shall be provided 

2 adequate environmental enrichments and a minimum 

3 of 134 square inches of individual floor space per 

4 brown hen and 116 square inches of individual floor 

5 space per white hen. 

6 ‘‘(3) THIRD CONVERSION PHASE.—Beginning 7 

7 years and 6 months after the date of enactment of 

8 the Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments of 

9 2013, at least 75 percent of the egg-laying hens in 

10 commercial egg production in California shall be 

11 provided adequate environmental enrichments and a 

12 minimum of 134 square inches of individual floor 

13 space per brown hen and 116 square inches of indi14 vidual floor space per white hen. 

15 ‘‘(4) FINAL CONVERSION PHASE.—Beginning 

16 10 years after the date of enactment of the Egg 

17 Products Inspection Act Amendments of 2013, all 

18 egg-laying hens in commercial egg production in 

19 California shall be provided adequate environmental 

20 enrichments and a minimum of 144 square inches of 

21 individual floor space per brown hen and 124 square 

22 inches of individual floor space per white hens. 

23 ‘‘(c) COMPLIANCE.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—At the end of 6 years after 

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1 tion Act Amendments of 2013, the Secretary shall 

2 determine, after having reviewed and analyzed the 

3 results of an independent, national survey of caging 

4 devices, whether— 

5 ‘‘(A) the requirements of subsection (a)(1) 

6 have been met; and 

7 ‘‘(B) the requirements of subsection (b)(2) 

8 have been met. 

9 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS MET.—If the Secretary 

10 finds that the requirements of subsection (a)(1) have 

11 not been met, then beginning January 1, 2020, the 

12 floor space requirements (irrespective of the date 

13 such requirements expire) related to new caging de14 vices contained in subsection (b)(2)(B) of section 7A 

15 shall apply to existing caging devices placed into op16 eration prior to January 1, 1995. 

17 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS NOT MET.—If the Sec18 retary finds that the requirements of subsection 

19 (b)(2) have not been met, then beginning 1 year 

20 from the date of the Secretary’s finding, the floor 

21 space and enrichments requirements (irrespective of 

22 the date such requirements come into force) con23 tained in subsection (a)(3)(A) and subsection 

24 (b)(3)(B)(ii) of section 7A shall apply to all caging 

25 devices in California. 


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1 ‘‘(4) REPORT.—At the end of 12 years after the 

2 date of enactment of the Egg Products Inspection 

3 Act Amendments of 2013, and again after December 

4 31, 2029, the Secretary shall submit to the Com5 mittee on Agriculture of the House of Representa6 tives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

7 and Forestry of the Senate a report on compliance 

8 with subsections (a) and (b). 

9 ‘‘(5) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW.—Notwith10 standing section 12, the remedies provided in this 

11 subsection shall be the exclusive remedies for viola12 tions of this section.’’. 

13 (c) INSPECTIONS.—Section 5 of the Egg Products In14 spection Act (21 U.S.C. 1034) is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (d), in the first sentence, by 

16 inserting ‘‘(other than requirements with respect to 

17 housing, treatment, and housing-related labeling)’’ 

18 after ‘‘as he deems appropriate to assure compliance 

19 with such requirements’’; and 

20 (2) in subsection (e)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

22 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

23 ‘‘and’’; 

24 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph 

25 (B) as subparagraph (C); 


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1 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 

2 (A) the following new subparagraph: 

3 ‘‘(B) are derived from egg-laying hens 

4 housed and treated in compliance with section 

5 7A; and’’; and 

6 (iv) in subparagraph (C), as redesig7 nated by clause (ii), by inserting ‘‘adequate 

8 housing-related labeling and’’ after ‘‘con9 tain’’; 

10 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘In the 

11 case of a shell egg packer’’ and inserting ‘‘In 

12 the cases of an egg handler with a flock of more 

13 than 3,000 egg-laying hens and a shell egg 

14 packer’’; 

15 (C) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘(other 

16 than requirements with respect to housing, 

17 treatment, and housing-related labeling)’’ after 

18 ‘‘to ensure compliance with the requirements of 

19 paragraph (1)’’; and 

20 (D) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘with a 

21 flock of not more than 3,000 layers.’’ and in22 serting ‘‘who buys, sells, handles, or processes 

23 eggs or egg products solely from 1 flock of not 

24 more than 3,000 egg-laying hens.’’. 


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1 (d) LABELING.—Section 7(a) of the Egg Products 

2 Inspection Act of 1970 (21 U.S.C. 1036(a)) is amended 

3 by inserting ‘‘adequate housing-related labeling,’’ after 

4 ‘‘plant where the products were processed,’’. 

5 (e) LIMITATION ON EXEMPTIONS BY SECRETARY.— 

6 Section 15(a) of the Egg Products Inspection Act of 1970 

7 (21 U.S.C. 1044(a)) is amended in the matter preceding 

8 paragraph (1) by inserting ‘‘(not including subsection (c) 

9 of section 8)’’ after ‘‘exempt from specific provisions’’. 

10 (f) IMPORTS.—Section 17(a)(2) of the Egg Products 

11 Inspection Act of 1970 (21 U.S.C. 1046(a)(2)) is amended 

12 by striking ‘‘subdivision thereof and are labeled and pack13 aged’’ and inserting ‘‘subdivision thereof; and no eggs or 

14 egg products capable of use as human food shall be im15 ported into the United States unless they are produced, 

16 labeled, and packaged’’. 

17 SEC. 3. ENFORCEMENT OF HEN HOUSING AND TREATMENT 

18 STANDARDS. 

19 Section 8 of the Egg Products Inspection Act (21 

20 U.S.C. 1037) is amended— 

21 (1) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), (e), 

22 and (f) as subsections (d), (e), (f), and (g), respec23 tively; 

24 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol25 lowing new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(c)(1) No person shall buy, sell, or transport, or 

2 offer to buy or sell, or offer or receive for transportation, 

3 in any business or commerce any eggs or egg products 

4 derived from egg-laying hens housed or treated in violation 

5 of any provision of section 7A. 

6 ‘‘(2) No person shall buy, sell, or transport, or offer 

7 to buy or sell, or offer or receive for transportation, in 

8 any business or commerce any eggs or egg products de9 rived from egg-laying hens unless the container or pack10 age, including any immediate container, of the eggs or egg 

11 products, beginning 1 year after the date of enactment 

12 of the Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments of 2013, 

13 contains adequate housing-related labeling. 

14 ‘‘(3) No person shall buy, sell, or transport, or offer 

15 to buy or sell, or offer or receive for transportation, in 

16 any business or commerce, in California, any eggs or egg 

17 products derived from egg-laying hens unless the egg-lay18 ing hens are provided floor space and enrichments equiva19 lent to that required under subsections (a)(3) and (b)(3) 

20 of section 7A of this Act regardless of where the eggs are 

21 produced.’’; and 

22 (3) in subsection (e) (as redesignated by para23 graph (1)), in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

24 by inserting ‘‘7A,’’ after ‘‘section’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. STATE AND LOCAL AUTHORITY. 

2 Section 23 of the Egg Products Inspection Act (21 

3 U.S.C. 1052) is amended— 

4 (a) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as sub5 sections (d) and (e), respectively; 

6 (b) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new 

7 subsection: 

8 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITION AGAINST ADDITIONAL OR DIF9 FERENT REQUIREMENTS THAN FEDERAL REQUIRE10 MENTS RELATED TO MINIMUM SPACE ALLOTMENTS FOR

11 HOUSING EGG-LAYING HENS IN COMMERCIAL EGG PRO12 DUCTION.—Requirements within the scope of this Act 

13 with respect to minimum floor space allotments or enrich14 ments for egg-laying hens housed in commercial egg pro15 duction which are in addition to or different than those 

16 made under this Act may not be imposed by any State 

17 or local jurisdiction. Otherwise the provisions of this Act 

18 shall not invalidate any law or other provisions of any 

19 State or other jurisdiction in the absence of a conflict with 

20 this Act.’’; and 

21 (c) by inserting after subsection (e) (as redesignated 

22 by subsection (a)) the following new subsection: 

23 ‘‘(f) ROLE OF CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FOOD

24 AND AGRICULTURE.—With respect to eggs produced, 

25 shipped, handled, transported, or received in California 

26 prior to the date that is 15 years after the date of enactVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:53 May 01, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1731.IH H1731

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23 

•HR 1731 IH

1 ment of the Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments of 

2 2013, the Secretary shall delegate to the California De3 partment of Food and Agriculture the authority to enforce 

4 sections 7A(a)(3), 7A(b)(3), 8(c)(3), and 11.’’. 

5 SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

6 This Act shall take effect on the date of enactment 

7 of this Act. 

Æ 


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