[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2804 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2804
To prescribe requirements with respect to plants detained by the
Secretary of the Interior on suspicion of a violation of the Lacey Act
Amendments of 1981, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 15, 2025
Mr. Ricketts (for himself, Mrs. Britt, and Mr. Wicker) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Environment and Public Works
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prescribe requirements with respect to plants detained by the
Secretary of the Interior on suspicion of a violation of the Lacey Act
Amendments of 1981, 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 ``Strengthen Wood Products Supply
Chain Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Importer.--The term ``importer'' means any person that
seeks to import (as defined in section 2 of the Lacey Act (16
U.S.C. 3371)) plants.
(2) Lacey act.--The term ``Lacey Act'' means the Lacey Act
Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3371 et seq.).
(3) Plant.--The term ``plant'' has the meaning given the
term in section 2 of the Lacey Act (16 U.S.C. 3371).
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior, acting through the Director of the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service.
SEC. 3. DETENTION OF PLANTS UNDER THE LACEY ACT.
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, not
later than 5 days (excluding weekends and Federal holidays) after the
date on which plants are presented by the U.S. Customs and Border
Protection to the Secretary for physical examination on suspicion of a
violation of the Lacey Act, the Secretary shall--
(1) release the plants; or
(2) issue to the importer a notice of detention in
accordance with subsection (b).
(b) Notice of Detention.--A notice of detention issued by the
Secretary under subsection (a)(2) shall include--
(1) the specific reasons for which the detention of the
applicable plants was initiated, including the date on which
the plants were presented to the Secretary for examination;
(2) the anticipated length of detention;
(3) the nature of the tests or inquiries to be conducted on
the applicable plants;
(4) the nature of any information that, if supplied to the
Secretary, would accelerate the disposition of the detention;
and
(5) a notice to inform the importer that the importer may
apply to the Secretary and the U.S. Customs and Border
Protection to transport the plants under bond to be examined at
a location other than a location under the control of the
Secretary.
(c) Administrative and Physical Inspections.--If the Secretary
conducts any tests of plants presented for physical examination under
subsection (a) for appraisement, classification, or other official
purposes, the Secretary shall provide to the importer--
(1) the results of that testing;
(2) sufficient information about the testing conducted so
that the importer has the ability to replicate the test; and
(3) any applicable accompanying documentation relating to
that testing.
(d) Transport of Plants.--Not later than 10 days after the date on
which a notice of detention is issued to an importer by the Secretary
under subsection (a)(2), the Secretary shall allow the applicable
plants to be transported outside the custody of the U.S. Customs and
Border Protection for purposes of storage if--
(1) the importer requests the transfer;
(2) the importer--
(A) pays any required demurrage and storage fees
with respect to those plants;
(B) provides a bond for removal of the plants from
facilities of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection;
and
(C) complies with sections 151.7 through 151.11 of
title 19, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor
regulations); and
(3) the intent of the Lacey Act would not be frustrated by
moving the plants outside the control of the U.S. Customs and
Border Protection, as determined by the Secretary.
(e) Final Determinations.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the date on
which plants are presented to the Secretary for examination
under subsection (a), the Secretary shall make a final
determination with respect to the admissibility of the detained
plants.
(2) Failure to make final determination.--If the Secretary
fails to make a final determination with respect to detained
plants in accordance with the timeline described in paragraph
(1), the failure shall be treated as a decision by the
Secretary to exclude the plants from entry or delivery, or a
demand for redelivery to the custody of the U.S. Customs and
Border Protection, under the customs laws.
(3) Protests.--
(A) In general.--An importer may submit to the
Secretary a protest of the decision of the Secretary to
exclude a plant pursuant to this subsection.
(B) Decision by secretary.--Not later than 30 days
after the date on which an importer submits a protest
under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall--
(i) allow the protest and release to the
importer each plant subject to the protest; or
(ii) deny the protest.
(C) Court action.--In accordance with part 12 of
subchapter B of chapter I of title 50, Code of Federal
Regulations (or successor regulations), an importer may
petition a court of competent jurisdiction to seek an
order with respect to plants--
(i) detained by the Secretary; or
(ii) excluded by the Secretary pursuant to
this subsection.
(f) Regulations.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall promulgate regulations to
carry out this section.
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