Plant Protection Act
Latest action. Favorable Executive Comment Received from USDA.
Plant Protection Act - Title I: Plant Protection - Prohibits a person from importing, exporting, or moving in interstate commerce an unauthorized plant pest. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to permit such introduction or movement. Prohibits the unauthorized mailing, and knowing delivery by a mail carrier, of plant pests. (Sec. 102) Authorizes the Secretary to restrict the importation, movement, and means of conveyance of plants, plant products, biological control organisms, plant pests, and noxious weeds in order to prevent their U.S. introduction and interstate movement. Authorizes: (1) the Secretary to publish lists of noxious weeds and biological control agents; and (2) private petitions to add or remove listings. (Sec. 103) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to notify the Secretary of such articles' arrival, and hold them at the port of entry until inspected and authorized for U.S. movement by the Secretary. Prohibits a person from moving unauthorized and uninspected articles from a port of entry or interstate. (Sec. 104) Authorizes: (1) the Secretary to take specified remedial and emergency measures either directly or by the owner, including treatment or disposal, to avoid dissemination of a plant pest or noxious weed; and (2) owner compensation for unauthorized disposals. (Sec. 107) Directs the Secretary to carry out a grasshopper and Mormon Cricket control program, including: (1) cost sharing for State and private land; and (2) personnel training. (Sec. 108) Authorizes the Secretary to make phytosanitary export certificates based upon foreign requirements. Title II: Inspection and Enforcement - Sets forth provisions with respect to: (1) inspections, warrants, and seizures, (2) information collection; (3) subpoena authority; (4) criminal and civil penalties; and (5) enforcement authority of the Attorney General. Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - Authorizes the Secretary to enter into reimbursable fee agreements for preclearance outside the United States. (Sec. 305) States that this Act shall not apply to U.S. postal employees in the course of their duties. (Sec. 308) Repeals specified Acts. Title IV: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on April 21, 1999. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Favorable Executive Comment Received from USDA.
Civibrief does not map this action to a stage in the process. See the official record.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
The latest action on file does not map to a stage Civibrief recognizes, so the page will not name one. The record's own words are the reliable fact here.
The record's latest action, on March 17, 2000: Favorable Executive Comment Received from USDA.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 106th Congress (1999-00), 580 of the 9,158 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 6.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one has no outstanding steps listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
CHARLES CANADY (R-FL) introduced it on April 21, 1999, and 31 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 12 Democrats, 19 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on April 21, 1999, 10004 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 9673 days ago, on March 17, 2000.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 106th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2001 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseFavorable Executive Comment Received from USDA.
- SenateNot stated in the latest action
- PresidentNot stated in the latest action