‘‘SEC. 3. LICENSES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsections (c), (d), 
and (e), the Secretary shall issue licenses to dealers and 
exhibitors upon— 
‘‘(1) the submission of an application for such 
license that— 
‘‘(A) contains an inventory of all animals 
present in all of the applicant’s facilities; and 
‘‘(B) is submitted in such form and man-
ner as the Secretary may prescribe; and 
‘‘(2) payment of such fee established pursuant 
to section 23. 
‘‘(b) VALIDITY OF LICENSE.—A license issued under 
subsection (a) shall be valid for a period not to exceed 
1 calendar year. An applicant shall submit an application 
under such subsection to renew such license each calendar 
year before the expiration of the previously issued license. 
‘‘(c) PROHIBITED DEALERS AND EXHIBITORS.—Not-
withstanding subsection (a), the Secretary may not issue 
a license (including a renewal of such a license) under such 
subsection to a dealer or exhibitor if— 
‘‘(1) such dealer or exhibitor has been found to 
have 
violated 
(including 
by 
entering 
a 
nolo 
contendere or no contest plea with respect to the vio-
lation) Federal, State, or local laws relating to ani-
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mals, including this Act and any other anti-animal 
cruelty or wildlife protection law; or 
‘‘(2) the issuance of a license to such dealer or 
exhibitor would facilitate the circumvention of State 
or local law prohibiting the private ownership of cer-
tain animals. 
‘‘(d) UNANNOUNCED FACILITY INSPECTIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding subsection 
(a) and subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary may 
not issue a license (including a renewal of such a li-
cense) under such subsection to a dealer or exhibitor 
until the dealer or exhibitor shall have demonstrated, 
through full, unannounced inspections, that the fa-
cilities of such dealer or exhibitor at the time of in-
spection— 
‘‘(A) comply with the standards promul-
gated by the Secretary pursuant to section 13; 
and 
‘‘(B) have not been documented as having 
not complied with any such standard during 
more than one inspection in the previous two 
calendar years. 
‘‘(2) NEW APPLICANTS.—In the case of an ap-
plicant seeking to be licensed as a dealer or exhibitor 
under subsection (a) who has not previously been so 
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licensed, the applicant shall not be subject to more 
than 2 inspections conducted pursuant to paragraph 
(1). If, upon the second inspection, the applicant is 
found to have failed to meet any standard promul-
gated by the Secretary pursuant to section 13, the 
Secretary shall deny the application for such license 
and such applicant may not submit an application 
for such a license for a one-year period beginning on 
the date on which the application is so denied. 
‘‘(e) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), a 
dealer or exhibitor shall not be required to obtain a license 
as a dealer or exhibitor under this Act if the size of the 
business is determined by the Secretary to be de mini-
mis.’’. 
SEC. 3. LICENSE SUSPENSIONS AND REVOCATIONS. 
Section 19 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 
2149) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘hereunder, he may sus-
pend’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘here-
under— 
‘‘(1) in the case of any such violation that is 
not described in paragraph (2), the Secretary may 
suspend’’; 
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(B) by striking the period at the end and 
inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(2) in the case of such a violation that the 
Secretary determines presents a risk to animal wel-
fare, the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(A) suspend such person’s license tempo-
rarily, but for a period not to exceed 21 days; 
and 
‘‘(B) after notice and opportunity for an 
informal hearing, permanently revoke such li-
cense if the Secretary determines that— 
‘‘(i) the violation occurred; 
‘‘(ii) the violation presents or has pre-
sented a risk to animal welfare; and 
‘‘(iii) the violation has persisted past 
the initial period of license suspension 
under subparagraph (A) or the person has 
been found to have committed one or more 
other such violations (including by entering 
a nolo contendere or no contest plea with 
respect to any such violation) affecting ani-
mal welfare.’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(e)(1) Any person whose license has been suspended 
for any reason shall not be licensed, or registered, in his 
or her own name or in any other manner, within the period 
during which the order of suspension is in effect. No fam-
ily member, household member, partnership, firm, cor-
poration, or other legal entity in which any such person 
has a substantial interest, financial or otherwise, will be 
licensed or registered during that period. 
‘‘(2) Any person whose license has been revoked shall 
not be licensed or registered, in his or her own name or 
in any other manner, at any time, and no family member, 
household member, partnership, firm, corporation, or 
other legal entity in which any such person has a substan-
tial interest, financial or otherwise, will be licensed or reg-
istered. 
‘‘(3) Any person whose license has been suspended 
or revoked shall not buy, sell, transport, exhibit, deliver 
for transportation, or be employed in any capacity with 
respect to any animal during the period of suspension or 
revocation, under any circumstances, whether on his or 
her behalf or on the behalf of another licensee or reg-
istrant.’’. 
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SEC. 4. CITIZEN SUITS. 
Section 19 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 
2149), as amended by section 3, is further amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(f)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), any per-
son may commence a civil suit on his own behalf to enjoin 
any person, including the United States and any other 
governmental instrumentality or agency (to the extent per-
mitted by the eleventh amendment to the Constitution), 
who is alleged to be in violation of any provision of this 
Act or regulation issued under the authority thereof. The 
district courts shall have jurisdiction, without regard to 
the amount in controversy or the citizenship of the parties, 
to enforce any such provision or regulation or to order the 
Secretary to perform such act or duty, as the case may 
be. 
‘‘(2) No action may be commenced under paragraph 
(1)— 
‘‘(A) prior to sixty days after written notice of 
the violation has been given to the Secretary, and to 
any alleged violator of any such provision or regula-
tion; and 
‘‘(B) if the United States has commenced and 
is diligently prosecuting a criminal action in a court 
of the United States to redress a violation of any 
such provision or regulation. 
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‘‘(3)(A) Any suit under this subsection may be 
brought in the judicial district in which the violation oc-
curs. 
‘‘(B) In any such suit under this subsection in which 
the United States is not a party, the Attorney General, 
at the request of the Secretary, may intervene on behalf 
of the United States as a matter of right. 
‘‘(4) The court, in issuing any final order in any suit 
brought pursuant to paragraph (1), may award costs of 
litigation (including reasonable attorney and expert wit-
ness fees) to any party, whenever the court determines 
such award is appropriate. 
‘‘(5) The injunctive relief provided by this subsection 
shall not restrict any right which any person (or class of 
persons) may have under any statute or common law to 
seek enforcement of any standard or limitation or to seek 
any other relief (including relief against the Secretary or 
a State agency).’’. 
SEC. 5. PUBLICATION OF INFORMATION ON VIOLATIONS. 
The Animal Welfare Act is amended by inserting be-
fore section 26 (7 U.S.C. 2156) the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 25A. PUBLICATION OF INFORMATION ON ENFORCE-
MENT. 
‘‘The Secretary shall publish, in a searchable format 
on a public website of the Department of Agriculture, in-
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formation and reports (in their entirety and without redac-
tion) on the nature and place of all investigations and in-
spections conducted by the Secretary under section 16 (in-
cluding all reports documenting all instances of non-
compliance with this Act observed during any such inspec-
tion), enforcement records, and animal inventories.’’. 
Æ 
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