Title: Horse Protection Amendments Act
Policy area: Animals

Summary:
Horse Protection Amendments Act
This bill amends the Horse Protection Act to replace the Designated Qualified Persons program responsible for inspecting horses for soring with a new inspection system. (The soring of horses is any of various actions taken on a horse's limb to produce a higher gait that may cause pain, distress, inflammation, or lameness.)
The Department of Agriculture must establish a single Horse Industry Organization (HIO) in order to establish a formal affiliation with the management of each horse sale, horse exhibition, and horse sale or auction, appoint inspectors to conduct inspections, and otherwise ensure compliance with the Horse Protection Act.
The Commissioners of Agriculture for Tennessee and Kentucky must appoint individuals to the HIO. Those individuals must appoint individuals representing the Tennessee Walking Horse industry.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1338 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1338

 To amend the Horse Protection Act to provide increased protection for 
  horses participating in shows, exhibitions, or sales, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 2, 2017

Mr. DesJarlais (for himself, Mr. Barr, Mrs. Black, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. 
 Comer, Mr. Duncan of Tennessee, Mr. Fleischmann, Mr. Guthrie, Mr. Roe 
  of Tennessee, and Mr. Rogers of Kentucky) introduced the following 
    bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Horse Protection Act to provide increased protection for 
  horses participating in shows, exhibitions, or sales, and for other 
                               purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Horse Protection Amendments Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITION.

    Section 2 of the Horse Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1821) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs 
        (3) and (4), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(2) The term `objective inspection' means an inspection 
        conducted using only inspection methods based on science-based 
        protocols (including swabbing or blood testing protocols) 
        that--
                    ``(A) have been the subject of testing and are 
                capable of producing scientifically reliable, 
                reproducible results;
                    ``(B) have been subjected to peer review; and
                    ``(C) have received acceptance in the veterinary or 
                other applicable scientific community.''.

SEC. 3. INCREASING PROTECTIONS FOR HORSES PARTICIPATING IN HORSE SHOWS, 
              EXHIBITIONS, OR SALES OR AUCTIONS.

    (a) Findings.--Section 3 of the Horse Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 
1822) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as paragraphs 
        (5) and (6), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(4) the Inspector General of the Department of 
        Agriculture has determined the program through which the 
        Secretary inspects horses is not adequate to ensure compliance 
        with this Act;''.
    (b) Horse Shows and Exhibitions.--Section 4(c) of the Horse 
Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1823(c)) is amended--
            (1) in the first sentence, by striking ``appointment by the 
        management of any horse show, horse exhibition, or horse sale 
        or auction of persons qualified to detect and diagnose a horse 
        which is sore or to otherwise inspect horses for the purposes 
        of enforcing this Act'' and inserting ``that affiliation and 
        appointment'';
            (2) by inserting before the first sentence, the following: 
        ``(1) The Horse Industry Organization established under 
        paragraph (2) shall establish a formal affiliation with the 
        management of each horse sale, horse exhibition, and horse sale 
        or auction, appoint inspectors to conduct inspections at each 
        such show, exhibition, and sale or auction, and in coordination 
        with the Secretary, otherwise ensure compliance with this 
        Act.''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(2)(A) Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
        enactment of this paragraph, the Secretary shall prescribe by 
        regulation the establishment of a single horse industry 
        organization (referred to in this Act as the `Horse Industry 
        Organization' or the `HIO'). The HIO shall be headed or 
        otherwise governed by not more than nine individuals appointed 
        in accordance with the following:
                    ``(i) Four individuals shall be appointed by the 
                heads of State agencies on agriculture, two of whom 
                shall be appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture 
                for the State of Tennessee and two of whom shall be 
                appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture for the 
                Commonwealth of Kentucky.
                    ``(ii) Two individuals representing the Tennessee 
                Walking Horse industry shall be appointed from within 
                such industry by the individuals appointed under clause 
                (i) in accordance with a process developed by the 
                individuals so appointed in consultation with the 
                Walking Horse Trainers' Association.
                    ``(iii) Not more than three individuals shall be 
                appointed by the six individuals appointed under 
                clauses (i) and (ii).
            ``(B) The nine individuals appointed under clauses (i), 
        (ii), and (iii) of subparagraph (A) shall establish a process 
        for filling any vacancy and for the subsequent appointment of 
        individuals initially appointed under such subparagraph.
            ``(C) Section 14(a)(2)(B) of the Federal Advisory Committee 
        Act (5 U.S.C. App.; relating to the termination of advisory 
        committees) shall not apply to the HIO.
            ``(D) The Horse Industry Organization shall issue policies 
        establishing requirements for any person licensed by the Horse 
        Industry Organization or a member of the immediate family of 
        such a person to be free from conflicts of interest, by reason 
        of any association or connection with the walking horse 
        industry including through--
                    ``(i) being employed by or providing any services 
                to any show manager, trainer, owner, or exhibitor of 
                Tennessee Walking horses, Spotted Saddle horses, or 
                Racking horses; and
                    ``(ii) training, exhibiting, shoeing, breeding, or 
                selling Tennessee Walking horses, Spotted Saddle 
                horses, or Racking horses.
            ``(E) Not later than 90 days after the date on which the 
        Horse Industry Organization is established pursuant to this 
        paragraph, the Secretary shall revoke the certification issued 
        to any horse industry organization under section 11.7 of title 
        9, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation), 
        as in effect on such date.''.
    (c) Unlawful Acts.--Section 5 of the Horse Protection Act (15 
U.S.C. 1824) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ``appoint and retain a 
        person in accordance with section 4(c) of this Act'' and 
        inserting ``establish a formal affiliation with the Horse 
        Industry Organization under section 4(c)'';
            (2) in paragraph (4), by striking ``appoint and retain a 
        qualified person in accordance with section 4(c) of this Act'' 
        and inserting ``establish a formal affiliation with the Horse 
        Industry Organization under section 4(c)'';
            (3) in paragraph (5), by striking ``appointed and retained 
        a person in accordance with section 4(c) of this Act'' and 
        inserting ``establish a formal affiliation with the Horse 
        Industry Organization under section 4(c)''; and
            (4) in paragraph (6)--
                    (A) by striking ``appointed and retained a person 
                in accordance with section 4(c) of this Act'' and 
                inserting ``established a formal affiliation with the 
                Horse Industry Organization under section 4(c)''; and
                    (B) by striking ``such person or the Secretary'' 
                and inserting ``a person licensed by the Horse Industry 
                Organization''.

SEC. 4. REGULATIONS.

    Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary shall issue regulations to carry out the amendments 
made by this Act.
                                 <all>