I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4524 

To amend the Animal Welfare Act to require that covered persons develop 

and implement emergency contingency plans. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 30, 2014 

Ms. TITUS (for herself and Mr. MORAN) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To amend the Animal Welfare Act to require that covered 

persons develop and implement emergency contingency plans. 

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 ‘‘Animal Emergency 

5 Planning Act of 2014’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, as well as 

9 other recent natural and man-made disasters, have 


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1 highlighted the need for planning to minimize the 

2 impact of disasters. 

3 (2) Lack of preparedness in times of disaster 

4 can have especially devastating effects on animals 

5 and the people who risk their lives to protect them. 

6 (3) Local first-responders, non-governmental 

7 agencies, and private individuals most often shoulder 

8 the cost and responsibility of animals affected by 

9 disasters. 

10 (4) It is reasonable to ask those who use ani11 mals commercially to demonstrate a level of readi12 ness to protect the animals under their care. 

13 SEC. 3. REQUIREMENT THAT COVERED ENTITIES DEVELOP 

14 AND IMPLEMENT EMERGENCY CONTINGENCY 

15 PLANS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Animal Welfare Act (7 

17 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 30. ANIMAL EMERGENCY PLANNING. 

20 ‘‘(a) COVERED PERSON.—For purposes of this sec21 tion, the term ‘covered person’ means a research facility, 

22 dealer, exhibitor, intermediate handler, carrier, or Federal 

23 research facility. 

24 ‘‘(b) CONTINGENCY PLAN.—Each covered person 

25 shall develop, document, and follow a contingency plan to 


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1 provide for the humane handling, treatment, transpor2 tation, housing, and care of its animals in the event of 

3 an emergency or disaster. Such a contingency plan shall— 

4 ‘‘(1) identify situations that the covered person 

5 might experience, including natural disasters and 

6 emergencies such as electrical outages, faulty HVAC 

7 systems, fires, mechanical breakdowns, and animal 

8 escapes, that would trigger the need for the meas9 ures identified in the contingency plan to be put into 

10 action; 

11 ‘‘(2) outline specific tasks to be carried out in 

12 response to the identified emergencies or disasters, 

13 including detailed animal evacuation or shelter-in14 place instructions and provisions for providing 

15 backup sources of food and water as well as sanita16 tion, ventilation, bedding, and veterinary care; 

17 ‘‘(3) establish a chain of command and identify 

18 the individuals responsible for fulfilling the tasks de19 scribed in paragraph (2); and 

20 ‘‘(4) address how response and recovery will be 

21 handled in terms of materials, resources, and train22 ing needed. 

23 ‘‘(c) ANNUAL REVIEW.—Each covered person shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) review its contingency plan on at least an 

2 annual basis to ensure that it adequately addresses 

3 the criteria described in subsection (b); and 

4 ‘‘(2) maintain documentation of the annual re5 views and any amendments or changes made to its 

6 contingency plan since the previous year’s review. 

7 ‘‘(d) TRAINING.—Each covered person shall— 

8 ‘‘(1) train its personnel in their roles and re9 sponsibilities as outlined in the contingency plan; 

10 ‘‘(2) communicate any changes in the contin11 gency plan to personnel through training within 30 

12 days after making the changes; and 

13 ‘‘(3) maintain documentation of its personnel’s 

14 participation in and successful completion of the 

15 training required by this subsection. 

16 ‘‘(e) AVAILABILITY OF DOCUMENTATION.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each covered person shall 

18 submit its contingency plan, as well as any docu19 mentation described in subsections (c)(2) and (d)(3), 

20 to the Secretary annually. 

21 ‘‘(2) WHILE TRAVELING.—A covered person en22 gaged in travel must carry a copy of its contingency 

23 plan with it at all times and make it available for 

24 inspection by the Secretary while in travel status.’’. 

25 (b) REGULATIONS.— 


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1 (1) Not later than 30 days after the date of en2 actment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture of 

3 the United States shall promulgate such regulations 

4 as the Secretary determines to be necessary to carry 

5 out section 30 of the Animal Welfare Act, as added 

6 by subsection (a) of this Act. 

7 (2) The regulations described in paragraph (1) 

8 shall be made without regard to the rulemaking pro9 cedures under section 553 of title 5, United States 

10 Code. 

11 (c) NO PREEMPTION.—Nothing in this Act or the 

12 amendments made by this Act preempts any law (includ13 ing a regulation) of a State, or a political subdivision of 

14 a State, containing requirements that provide equivalent 

15 or greater protection for animals than the requirements 

16 of this Act or the amendments made by this Act. 

17 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

18 subsection (a) shall apply to covered persons (as defined 

19 in such subsection) beginning on the date that is 30 days 

20 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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