PAST Act

Bill: 113-s-1406
Sponsor: Sen. Ayotte, Kelly [R-NH]
Introduced: 2013-07-31 in the Senate
Policy area: Animals
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Animal protection and human-animal relationships
Crimes against animals and natural resources
Department of Agriculture
Government information and archives
Licensing and registrations
Mammals
Museums, exhibitions, cultural centers
Veterinary medicine and animal diseases

Summary:
action_date: 2013-07-31
text: 
 Prevent All Soring Tactics Act of 2013 or the PAST Act - Amends the Horse Protection Act (HPA) to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to prescribe regulatory requirements for the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to license, train, assign, and oversee persons who are to be hired by the management of horse shows, exhibitions, sales, or auctions and are qualified to detect and diagnose sore horses or otherwise inspect horses at such events. (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.)
 
Prohibits issuing a license to any person unless such person is free from conflicts of interest. Requires the Secretary, in issuing such licenses, to give a preference to persons who are licensed or accredited veterinarians.
 
Replaces the current horse inspector appointment process under which the management of a horse show, exhibition, sale, or auction appoints inspectors with a new process requiring the Secretary to assign USDA-licensed inspectors after receiving notice that management intends to hire such inspectors.
 
Requires the Secretary to publish on the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's website information on violations of such Act.
 
Directs the Secretary to disqualify a horse the Secretary determines is sore for specified minimum time periods that increase after the first, second, and third instance.
 
Prohibits a person in any horse show, horse exhibition, or horse sale or auction from: (1) showing or exhibiting any horse that is sore; (2) entering any horse that is sore for the purpose of showing or exhibiting the horse; (3) selling, auctioning, or offering for sale any horse that is sore; (4) causing or directing a horse to become sore for the purpose of showing, exhibiting, selling, auctioning, or offering for sale the horse; and (5) allowing any such activity with respect to a horse that is sore by the owner of that horse.
 
Expands a list of activities designated as unlawful conduct under such Act to include a prohibition on showing, exhibiting, selling, or auctioning a Tennessee Walking, a Racking, or a Spotted Saddle horse with: (1) an action device; or (2) a weighted shoe, pad, wedge, hoof band, or other device or material if it is constructed to artificially alter the gait of such horses and is not strictly protective or therapeutic.
 
 Defines &quot;action device&quot; as any boot, collar, chain, roller, or other device that encircles or is placed upon the lower extremity of the leg of a horse in a manner that it can: (1) rotate around the leg or slide up and down the leg, so as to cause friction; or (2) strike the hoof, coronet band, fetlock joint, or pastern of the horse. Excludes from such term soft rubber or soft leather bell boots or quarter boots that are used as protective devices.
 
Increases the maximum criminal penalties and maximum civil liability penalties for certain HPA violations. 
 
 Expands the categories of activities the Secretary may disqualify a violator of such Act from participating in to include: (1) transporting or arranging for the transportation of a horse to or from a show, exhibition, sale, or auction; (2) personally giving instructions to an exhibitor; or (3) being knowingly present in a warm-up area, inspection area, or other area that spectators are not permitted.
 
 Permits the Secretary to permanently disqualify a person with at least three violations after notice and an opportunity for a hearing.

action_date: 2014-09-15
text: 
 Prevent All Soring Tactics Act of 2014 or the PAST Act - (Sec. 2) Amends the Horse Protection Act (HPA) 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.) Directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to prescribe regulatory requirements to license, train, assign, and oversee persons who are to be hired by the management of horse shows, exhibitions, sales, or auctions and are qualified to detect and diagnose sore horses or otherwise inspect horses at such events. 
 
Prohibits issuing a license to any person unless such person is free from conflicts of interest. Authorizes USDA to revoke a license for unsatisfactory performance. Requires USDA to give a preference to persons who are licensed or accredited veterinarians in issuing the licenses.
 
Requires USDA to assign USDA-licensed inspectors after receiving notice that management intends to hire the inspectors.
 
Directs an inspector to issue a citation for violations and notify USDA of the violations within five days of the citation being issued.
 
Requires USDA to: (1) publish on the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's website information on violations of such Act; and (2) disqualify a horse that is sore for specified time periods that increase after the first, second, and third instance.
 
Prohibits a person in any horse show, horse exhibition, or horse sale or auction from causing or directing a horse to become sore for the purpose of showing, exhibiting, selling, auctioning, or offering for sale the horse.
 
 Prohibits showing, exhibiting, selling, or auctioning a Tennessee Walking, a Racking, or a Spotted Saddle horse with: (1) an action device that causes friction by rotating around a horse's leg or sliding up and down the leg or strikes the hoof, coronet band, fetlock joint, or pastern of the horse; or (2) a weighted shoe, pad, wedge, hoof band, or other device or material if it is constructed to artificially alter a horse's gait and is not strictly protective or therapeutic. 
 
Increases the maximum criminal penalties and maximum civil liability penalties for certain HPA violations. 
 
Authorizes USDA to disqualify a violator from: (1) transporting or arranging for the transportation of a horse to or from a show, exhibition, sale, or auction; (2) personally giving instructions to an exhibitor; or (3) being knowingly present in a warm-up area, inspection area, or other area that spectators are not permitted.
 
 Permits USDA to permanently disqualify a person with at least three violations after notice and an opportunity for a hearing.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-09-15
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 562.
action_date: 2014-09-15
text: Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Rockefeller with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 113-254.
action_date: 2014-09-15
text: Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Rockefeller with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 113-254.
action_date: 2014-04-09
text: Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
action_date: 2013-07-31
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2013-07-31
text: Introduced in Senate