[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2239 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2239
To amend the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to ensure fair enforcement of
such Act.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 18, 2025
Mr. Yakym (for himself and Mr. Costa) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to ensure fair enforcement of
such Act.
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 ``Strengthen Wood Product Supply
Chains Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. FAIR ENFORCEMENT OF LACEY ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1981.
Section 6 of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3375) is
amended--
(1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as subsections
(d) and (e), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
``(c) Merchandise Detained for Inspection.--
``(1) In general.--If a person authorized under subsection
(a) to enforce this Act detains merchandise under this section,
the Secretary shall, not later than 5 days after the date on
which such detention is initiated--
``(A) issue to the importer of such detained
merchandise a notice of detention; or
``(B) release to such importer the detained
merchandise.
``(2) Notice of detention.--A notice of detention described
in paragraph (1)(A) shall include the following:
``(A) A statement of the initiation of the
detention, including the date on which the detained
merchandise was detained for inspection.
``(B) A specific reason for the detention.
``(C) The anticipated length of the detention.
``(D) A description of the tests or inquiries the
Secretary will conduct with regard to the detained
merchandise.
``(E) A description of information, if any, that,
if supplied to the Secretary, may accelerate the
disposition of the detention.
``(3) Transportation of detained merchandise to other
location.--Not later than 10 days after the date on which the
Secretary issues a notice of detention under paragraph (1) for
detained merchandise, the Secretary shall allow the importer of
such detained merchandise to transport such detained
merchandise to a location that is not under the control of the
United States if--
``(A) the importer--
``(i) requests the transfer;
``(ii) pays all demurrage and storage fees
associated with the detained merchandise; and
``(iii) provides a bond for removal from
the custody of the United States; and
``(B) the Secretary determines that such
transportation will not frustrate the intent of this
Act.
``(4) Replication of tests.--If the Secretary conducts
tests on detained merchandise, the Secretary shall provide the
importer of such detained merchandise with--
``(A) the results of such tests; and
``(B) information sufficient for the importer to
replicate such tests.
``(5) Release or seizure.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the
date on which merchandise is detained for inspection
under this section, the Secretary shall--
``(i) release such detained merchandise to
the importer of such detained merchandise; or
``(ii) seize such detained merchandise and
issue a notification to the importer of such
detained merchandise that such detained
merchandise has been seized.
``(B) Failure to release or seize.--If the
Secretary fails to release or seize detained
merchandise under subparagraph (A) within the time
period described in that subparagraph, such failure
shall be deemed a seizure under subparagraph (A)(ii).
``(6) Administrative review.--
``(A) In general.--An importer of detained
merchandise may submit to the Secretary a request for
administrative review of a seizure or deemed seizure of
such detained merchandise under subparagraph (A)(ii) or
(B) of paragraph (5), respectively.
``(B) Disposition of request.--Not later than 30
days after the date on which a request for
administrative review is submitted by an importer under
subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall--
``(i) release to such importer the detained
merchandise that is the subject of such
request; or
``(ii) affirm the seizure or deemed seizure
under subparagraph (A)(ii) or (B) of paragraph
(5), respectively, that is the subject of such
request.
``(C) Eligibility to file claim.--If the Secretary,
pursuant to a request for administrative review
submitted by an importer of detained merchandise under
subparagraph (A)--
``(i) affirms the seizure or deemed seizure
of such detained merchandise under subparagraph
(B)(ii); or
``(ii) fails to release or affirm the
seizure or deemed seizure of such detained
merchandise under clause (i) or (ii) of
subparagraph (B), respectively, within the time
period described in subparagraph (B);
the importer that submitted such request may file a
claim for relief in the appropriate district court of
the United States.
``(7) Court proceedings.--In a claim filed under paragraph
(6)(C)(ii), the court shall grant appropriate relief to the
importer of detained merchandise that filed such claim, which
may include an order to release such detained merchandise to
such importer, unless the Secretary establishes by a
preponderance of the evidence that an admissibility decision
with respect to such detained merchandise has not been reached
for good cause.
``(8) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Detained merchandise.--The term `detained
merchandise' means merchandise that is detained for
inspection under this section.
``(B) Merchandise.--The term `merchandise' means
any fish or wildlife or plant imported for sale.''.
<all>