PAST Act
Latest action · Apr 28, 2015 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedApr 28, 2015
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Prevent All Soring Tactics Act of 2015 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.
Cosponsors 49
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Apr 28, 2015 to Dec 18, 2015; 11 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MO | Claire McCaskill | Original | Apr 28, 2015 |
| R-LA | David Vitter | Original | Apr 28, 2015 |
| D-CA | Dianne Feinstein | Original | Apr 28, 2015 |
| D-MA | Edward J. Markey | Original | Apr 28, 2015 |
| D-MI | Gary C. Peters | Original | Apr 28, 2015 |
| R-IL | Mark Kirk | Original | Apr 28, 2015 |
| D-VA | Mark R. Warner | Original | Apr 28, 2015 |
| R-PA | Patrick J. Toomey | Original | Apr 28, 2015 |
| D-CT | Richard Blumenthal | Original | Apr 28, 2015 |
| R-MT | Steve Daines | Original | Apr 28, 2015 |
| R-ME | Susan M. Collins | Original | Apr 28, 2015 |
| D-RI | Jack Reed | Apr 30, 2015 | |
| D-NH | Jeanne Shaheen | Apr 30, 2015 | |
| D-PA | Robert P. Casey Jr. | Apr 30, 2015 | |
| D-OR | Ron Wyden | Apr 30, 2015 | |
| D-RI | Sheldon Whitehouse | Apr 30, 2015 | |
| D-VA | Tim Kaine | Apr 30, 2015 | |
| D-MD | Barbara A. Mikulski | May 7, 2015 | |
| I-VT | Bernard Sanders | May 7, 2015 | |
| D-DE | Christopher A. Coons | May 7, 2015 | |
| D-IN | Joe Donnelly | May 7, 2015 | |
| D-NM | Martin Heinrich | May 7, 2015 | |
| D-CO | Michael F. Bennet | May 7, 2015 | |
| D-WA | Patty Murray | May 7, 2015 | |
| D-NJ | Robert Menendez | May 7, 2015 | |
| D-WI | Tammy Baldwin | May 7, 2015 | |
| D-WA | Maria Cantwell | May 12, 2015 | |
| R-ID | Mike Crapo | May 12, 2015 | |
| D-IL | Richard J. Durbin | May 12, 2015 | |
| D-OR | Jeff Merkley | May 18, 2015 | |
| D-VT | Patrick J. Leahy | May 18, 2015 | |
| D-DE | Thomas R. Carper | May 18, 2015 | |
| D-MN | Al Franken | May 19, 2015 | |
| I-ME | Angus S. King Jr. | May 21, 2015 | |
| D-HI | Brian Schatz | May 21, 2015 | |
| D-NJ | Cory A. Booker | May 21, 2015 | |
| D-MD | Benjamin L. Cardin | May 22, 2015 | |
| D-CT | Christopher Murphy | Jun 2, 2015 | |
| D-CA | Barbara Boxer | Jun 3, 2015 | |
| D-MN | Amy Klobuchar | Jun 10, 2015 | |
| D-NV | Harry Reid | Jun 11, 2015 | |
| D-MA | Elizabeth Warren | Jul 27, 2015 | |
| D-MI | Debbie Stabenow | Jul 29, 2015 | |
| D-FL | Bill Nelson | Aug 4, 2015 | |
| D-NY | Charles E. Schumer | Aug 6, 2015 | |
| D-OH | Sherrod Brown | Sep 9, 2015 | |
| D-NY | Kirsten E. Gillibrand | Sep 28, 2015 | |
| D-HI | Mazie K. Hirono | Oct 5, 2015 | |
| R-KS | Jerry Moran | Dec 18, 2015 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee | Referred Apr 28, 2015 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Apr 28, 2015Introduced in Senate
- Apr 28, 2015Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| RS22493 | The Animal Welfare Act: Background and Selected Animal Welfare Legislation Archived | Report | Jan 5, 2016 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 3268 | PAST Act | Identical bill | Jul 31, 2015 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill 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.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- PAST Act
- Prevent All Soring Tactics Act of 2015
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Animals.
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Animal protection and human-animal relationships
- Animals
- Crimes against animals and natural resources
- Department of Agriculture
- Government information and archives
- Licensing and registrations
- Mammals
- Museums, exhibitions, cultural centers
- Veterinary medicine and animal diseases
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Apr 28, 2015Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
