HR 1847 115th Congress House

PAST Act

Official title: To amend the Horse Protection Act to designate additional unlawful acts under the Act, strengthen penalties for violations of the Act, improve Department of Ag… Show full official titleShow less

Official title: To amend the Horse Protection Act to designate additional unlawful acts under the Act, strengthen penalties for violations of the Act, improve Department of Agriculture enforcement of the Act, and for other purposes.

Introduced: March 30, 2017 See on congress.gov

Animals Administrative law and regulatory proceduresAnimal protection and human-animal relationshipsCrimes against animals and natural resourcesDepartment of Agriculture

More subjectsShow fewer subjects

Government information and archivesLicensing and registrationsMammalsMuseums, exhibitions, cultural centersVeterinary medicine and animal diseases

Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps

Introduced

In committee

Reported out

Passed House

Passed Senate

To President

Became law

Mar 31, 2017

Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

Mar 30, 2017

Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Mar 30, 2017

Introduced in House

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Latest action March 31, 2017

Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Prevent All Soring Tactics Act of 2017 or the PAST Act

This bill amends the Horse Protection Act to establish a new system for inspecting horses for soring, revise penalties for violations of the Act, and modify enforcement procedures. The soring of horses is any of various actions taken on a horse's limb to produce a higher gait that may cause pain, distress, inflammation, or lameness.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) must establish requirements to license, train, assign, and oversee persons hired by the management of horse shows, exhibitions, sales, or auctions to detect and diagnose sore horses. A license may not be issued to a person with conflicts of interest, and USDA must give preference to veterinarians. USDA may revoke a license for unsatisfactory performance. USDA must assign licensed inspectors after receiving notice that management intends to hire the inspectors. An inspector must issue a citation for violations and notify USDA of violations. USDA must publish information on violations of this bill and disqualify a horse that is sore.

The bill prohibits a person in any horse show, exhibition, sale, or auction from causing or directing a horse to become sore for the purpose of showing, exhibiting, selling, or auctioning the horse.

The bill prohibits the use of specified devices on a Tennessee Walking, a Racking, or a Spotted Saddle horse at a show, exhibition, sale, or auction.

The bill increases the maximum criminal and civil liability penalties for certain violations. USDA may disqualify violators from specified activities related to horse shows, exhibitions, sales, and auctions.

Bill text 1 version