lacey act

hmm. this is directed at trees, but not exclusively. (1981 lacey act amendments:

formatting link

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Legal Timber Protection Act (Introduced in House)

HR 1497 IH

110th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 1497 To amend the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to extend its protections to plants illegally harvested outside of the United States, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

March 13, 2007 Mr. BLUMENAUER (for himself, Mr. WEXLER, and Mr. WELLER of Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

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A BILL To amend the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to extend its protections to plants illegally harvested outside of the United States, 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 `Legal Timber Protection Act'.

SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF PROTECTIONS OF LACEY ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1981 TO PLANTS ILLEGALLY HARVESTED OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES.

(a) Amendments to Definitions-

(1) PLANT- Section 2(f) of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C.

3371(f)) is amended to read as follows:

`(f) The term `plant' means any wild member of the plant kingdom, including roots, seeds, parts, and products thereof (but excluding common food crops and cultivars).'.

(2) SECRETARY- Section 2(h) of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3371(h)) is amended by inserting `also' after `term' the second place it appears.

(3) TAKEN- Section 2(j) of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C.

3371(j)) is amended by inserting `harvested,' after `killed,'.

(b) Amendments to Prohibitions-

(1) AMENDMENTS- The Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 is amended--

(A) in section 3(a)(2) (16 U.S.C. 3372(a)(2)), by striking `or' after the semicolon at the end of subparagraph (B), by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (D), and by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following:

`(C) any plant taken in a foreign country, that is--

`(i) taken, transported, or sold without authority required by, or in violation of, any law that applies at the place where the harvest, taking, transport, or sale occurs, including any such taking in a park, forest reserve or other officially protected area;

`(ii) taken without paying royalties, taxes, or stumpage fees required by the law of the place where the taking occurs;

`(iii) exported or transhipped in violation of any limitation under any applicable law;

`(iv) taken, exported, or transshipped in violation of any international law, treaty, or international agreement; or

`(v) without any official documentation of compliance with clauses (i) through (iv) that is required under the regulations issued under section 7(a)(3);';

(B) in section 3(a)(3) (16 U.S.C. 3372(a)(3)), by striking `, or' at the end of subparagraph (A) and inserting a semicolon, and by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following:

`(C) to possess any plant taken in a foreign country, that is--

`(ii) taken without paying royalties, taxes, or stumpage fees required by the law of the place where the taking occurs;

`(iii) exported or transhipped in violation of any limitation under any applicable law;

`(iv) taken, exported, or transshipped in violation of any international law, treaty, or international agreement; or

`(v) without any official documentation of compliance with clauses (i) through (iv) that is required under the regulations issued under section 7(a)(3);'; and

(2) REQUIREMENT TO ISSUE REGULATIONS-

(A) IN GENERAL- Section 7(a) of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3376(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(3) The Secretary--

`(A) shall issue regulations to implement paragraphs (2)(C) and (3)(C) of section 3(a); and

`(B) may issue regulations under those paragraphs that establish requirements for official documentation for purposes of paragraph (2) (C)(v) or (3)(C)(v) (or both).'.

(B) DEADLINE- The Secretary shall issue regulations under section 7(a) (3) of such Act, as amended by subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, by not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and may issue additional regulations under that section after such date.

(3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS- Section 3(e) of the Lacey Act Amendments of

1981 (16 U.S.C. 3372(e)) is amended in each of paragraphs (1) and (5) by striking `subsection (a)(2)(C)' and inserting `subsection (a)(2) (D)'.

(c) Amendments Regarding Administration- Section 7(a)(2) of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3376(a)(2)) is amended--

(1) by striking `and Commerce' and inserting `, Commerce, and Agriculture';

(2) by inserting `or plants' after `fish or wildlife'; and

(3) in the second sentence by inserting `, with respect to fish or wildlife,' after `regulations'.

--j_a