II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 802 

To amend the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to provide 

for a consistent definition for plant biostimulants. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 15, 2023 

Mr. BRAUN (for himself and Mr. PADILLA) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

and Forestry 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 

Rodenticide Act to provide for a consistent definition 

for plant biostimulants. 

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 ‘‘Plant Biostimulant 

5 Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. EXCLUSION FROM REGULATION UNDER FIFRA. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Insecticide, Fun8 gicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.) is 


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1 amended by inserting after section 3 (7 U.S.C. 136a) the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 3A. EXCLUSION OF PLANT BIOSTIMULANTS. 

4 ‘‘A plant biostimulant shall not be subject to regula5 tion under this Act.’’. 

6 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 2 of the Federal Insecti7 cide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136) is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (v)— 

10 (A) by striking ‘‘vitamin-hormone horti11 cultural products’’ and inserting ‘‘vitamin hor12 mone products’’; and 

13 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘Such term shall not include a plant biostimu15 lant.’’; and 

16 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(pp) PLANT BIOSTIMULANT.—The term ‘plant bio18 stimulant’ means a substance, micro-organism, or mixture 

19 thereof, that, when applied to seeds, plants, the 

20 rhizosphere, soil, or other growth media, act to support 

21 a plant’s natural processes independently of the biostimu22 lant’s nutrient content, thereby improving nutrient avail23 ability, uptake or use efficiency, tolerance to abiotic stress, 

24 and consequent growth, development, quality, or yield. 


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1 ‘‘(qq) NUTRITIONAL CHEMICAL.—The term ‘nutri2 tional chemical’— 

3 ‘‘(1) means a compound or mixture that inter4 acts with plant nutrients in a manner which im5 proves nutrient availability or aids the plant in ac6 quiring or utilizing plant nutrients; and 

7 ‘‘(2) includes some plant biostimulants. 

8 ‘‘(rr) VITAMIN HORMONE PRODUCT.—The term ‘vi9 tamin hormone product’ means a product consisting of a 

10 mixture of plant hormones, plant nutrients, inoculants, or 

11 soil amendments.’’. 

12 (c) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 120 days after 

13 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

14 of Environmental Protection Agency shall revise the regu15 lations under subchapter E of chapter I of title 40, Code 

16 of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of the 

17 enactment of this Act) to carry out the amendments made 

18 by subsections (a) and (b). 

19 SEC. 3. SOIL HEALTH STUDY. 

20 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall con21 duct a study to assess the types of, and practices using, 

22 plant biostimulants (as defined in section 2 of the Federal 

23 Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 

24 136)) that best achieve the following: 

25 (1) Increasing organic matter content. 


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1 (2) Reducing atmospheric volatilization. 

2 (3) Promotion of nutrient management prac3 tices. 

4 (4) Limiting or eliminating runoff or leaching 

5 of soil or nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen 

6 into groundwater or other water sources. 

7 (5) Restoring beneficial bioactivity or healthy 

8 nutrients to the soil. 

9 (6) Aiding in carbon sequestration, nutrient use 

10 efficiency, and other climate-related benefits. 

11 (7) Supporting innovative approaches to im12 proving agricultural sustainability, including the 

13 adoption of performance-based outcome standards 

14 and criteria. 

15 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

16 on which funds are first made available for the study 

17 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall make publicly 

18 available and submit to the Committee on Agriculture of 

19 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agri20 culture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report 

21 that describes the results of the study. 

Æ 


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