RELIEF Act Introduced as Amendment to Lacey Declaration

October 27, 2011

Representative Cooper (D-TN) introduced the Retailers and Entertainers Lacey Implementation and Enforcement Fairness (RELIEF) Act (H.R. 3210),on October 14, 2011, in an attempt to reduce the burden of the Lacey Act on importers, manufacturers and retailers. The amendment follows the Department of Justice’s recent raids on Gibson Guitar Corporation factories in Tennessee that contained rare materials. It would exempt any plants imported into, and any finished plant or plant product assembled or processed in the U.S. before May 22, 2008, and would limit the declaration requirement to plants entered only for consumption. The RELIEF Act would add a provision necessitating a certification process for legal plants. This process entails individual manufacturer, importer and retailer certification in addition to individual item certification for plant products harvested, imported or manufactured after May 22, 2008.

With regard to tree-based products, the RELIEF Act would remove the requirement to declare the scientific name, quantity, country of origin, and import value for all material except solid wood and items imported only for commerce. Lacey Act violators who knowingly participate in the trafficking of illegal plant products would endure a civil penalty of no more than $250 for the first act. Importers, retailers and resellers who unknowingly possess an illegal plant, however, would no longer be assessed a penalty nor suffer property confiscation. In order to facilitate public awareness of illegal plant materials, APHIS would be required to report to Congress on the feasibility of creating a database of foreign laws regarding prohibited plant sources.     
 

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