SALTS Act
Latest action. Committee on United States Senate caucusAn organized group of members, most importantly each party's full membership in a chamber, which elects its leaders and sets strategy.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on International Narcotics Control. Hearings held.
Synthetic Abuse and Labeling of Toxic Substances Act of 2013 or the SALTS Act - Amends the Controlled Substances Act to provide that, in determining whether a controlled substance analogue was intended for human consumption, the following factors may be considered: (1) the marketing, advertising, and labeling of the substance; (2) the known efficacy or usefulness of the substance for the marketed, advertised, or labeled purpose; (3) the difference between the price at which the substance is sold and the price at which the substance it is purported to be or advertised as is normally sold; (4) the diversion of the substance from legitimate channels and the clandestine importation, manufacture, or distribution of the substance; and (5) whether the defendant knew or should have known that the substance was intended to be consumed by injection, inhalation, ingestion, or any other immediate means.
Declares that evidence that a substance was not marketed, advertised, or labeled for human consumption shall not by itself be sufficient to establish that the substance was not intended for human consumption.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on July 18, 2013. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on May 14, 2014: Committee on United States Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control. Hearings held.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
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 113th Congress (2013-14), 296 of the 9,091 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, 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?
Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced it on July 18, 2013, and 5 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 4 Democrats, 1 Republican.
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 July 18, 2013, 4802 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4502 days ago, on May 14, 2014.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 113th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2015 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers