House and Senate Bills Introduced to Decriminalize Lacey Act Penalties
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) and Representative Broun (R-GA) have introduced identical bills, the "Freedom from Over-Criminalization and Unjust Seizures (FOCUS) Act of 2012," which they say would remove each and every reference to "foreign law" pertaining to wildlife, fish, and plants within the Lacey Act and replace its criminal penalties with a reasonable civil penalty system. According to Paul, "it is long overdue that the Lacey Act be revised to address its broad overcriminalization." Representative Broun adds that the FOCUS Act has bipartisan support.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
According to Senator Paul, the Lacey Act's numerous amendments (most recently made in 2008) have produced an extremely broad and vague law that contains harsh criminal penalties. Victims include David McNab and Abner Schoenwetter, who spent years in federal prison for "violating" invalid Honduran fishing regulations and, most recently, Henry Juszkiewicz, the CEO of Gibson Guitar Corp., where armed federal agents raided that company and claimed that Gibson had violated the Lacey Act by using wood -- illegal because of law in India -- to build their guitars. The agents seized a half-million dollars in property, shut the factory down, and have yet to even file charges.
Senator Rand's press release on S. 2062 (dated 02/02/12) available here.
Congressman's Broun's press release on H.R. 4171 (dated 03/08/12) available here.