This bill adds a new subsection to the Animal Health Protection Act. It directs the Secretary to pay owners of poultry growing or laying facilities for flocks they were not allowed to grow or lay because the facility was inside a control area. The bill defines "control area" as a control area set by the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. It defines "poultry" to include domesticated fowl bred mainly for eggs or meat (for example, chickens, turkeys, ostriches, emus, rheas, cassowaries, waterfowl, and game birds) but excludes doves and pigeons.
Payments equal the average income from the facility's five most recent flocks multiplied by the number of flocks the owner was prohibited from producing. Payments cannot exceed the difference between that calculated amount and any compensation the owner already received from a State or other source for those flocks. The Secretary's determination of payment amount is final and generally not subject to judicial review. Payments must be made within 60 days after an owner submits a request. Exceptions listed in the existing statute's subsection (d)(3) apply, and no payment is allowed if the owner already received indemnity under subsection (d) for the same facility and time.
No publicly available information about the total estimated federal cost of the bill. The bill requires individual payments calculated from each facility's five-flock average and limits those payments by other compensation received. Payments must be issued within 60 days after an owner requests them.
Proponents introduced the bill to provide compensation to owners of poultry growing and laying facilities who could not grow or lay flocks because their facilities were inside official control areas. The bill sets a clear formula and deadline for payments.
No publicly available information about opponents' views in the bill text or metadata provided.