7 U.S.C. § 7731

Current through P.L. 118-106 (published on www.congress.gov on 10/04/2024)
Section 7731 - Inspections, seizures, and warrants
(a) Role of Attorney General

The activities authorized by this section shall be carried out consistent with guidelines approved by the Attorney General.

(b) Warrantless inspections

The Secretary may stop and inspect, without a warrant, any person or means of conveyance moving-

(1) into the United States to determine whether the person or means of conveyance is carrying any plant, plant product, biological control organism, plant pest, noxious weed, or article subject to this chapter;
(2) in interstate commerce, upon probable cause to believe that the person or means of conveyance is carrying any plant, plant product, biological control organism, plant pest, noxious weed, or article subject to this chapter; and
(3) in intrastate commerce from or within any State, portion of a State, or premises quarantined as part of a extraordinary emergency declared under section 7715 of this title upon probable cause to believe that the person or means of conveyance is carrying any plant, plant product, biological control organism, plant pest, noxious weed, or article regulated under that section or is moving subject to that section.
(c) Inspections with a warrant
(1) General authority

The Secretary may enter, with a warrant, any premises in the United States for the purpose of conducting investigations or making inspections and seizures under this chapter.

(2) Application and issuance of a warrant

Upon proper oath or affirmation showing probable cause to believe that there is on certain premises any plant, plant product, biological control organism, plant pest, noxious weed, article, facility, or means of conveyance regulated under this chapter, a United States judge, a judge of a court of record in the United States, or a United States magistrate judge may, within the judge's or magistrate's1 jurisdiction, issue a warrant for the entry upon the premises to conduct any investigation or make any inspection or seizure under this chapter. The warrant may be applied for and executed by the Secretary or any United States Marshal.

1So in original. Probably should be "magistrate judges's".

7 U.S.C. § 7731

Pub. L. 106-224, title IV, §421, June 20, 2000, 114 Stat. 448.

EDITORIAL NOTES

REFERENCES IN TEXTThis chapter, referred to in subsecs. (b)(1), (2) and (c), was in the original "this title", meaning title IV of Pub. L. 106-224, 114 Stat. 438, known as the Plant Protection Act, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of title IV to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 7701 of this title and Tables.

STATUTORY NOTES AND RELATED SUBSIDIARIES

TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONSFor transfer of functions of the Secretary of Agriculture relating to agricultural import and entry inspection activities under this chapter to the Secretary of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see sections 231, 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as modified, set out as a note under section 542 of Title 6.

Secretary
The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Agriculture.
State
The term "State" means any of the several States of the United States, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Virgin Islands of the United States, or any other territory or possession of the United States.
United States
The term "United States" means all of the States.
article
The term "article" means any material or tangible object that could harbor plant pests or noxious weeds.
biological control organism
The term "biological control organism" means any enemy, antagonist, or competitor used to control a plant pest or noxious weed.
interstate commerce
The term "interstate commerce" means trade, traffic, or other commerce-(A) between a place in a State and a point in another State, or between points within the same State but through any place outside that State; or(B) within the District of Columbia, Guam, the Virgin Islands of the United States, or any other territory or possession of the United States.
means of conveyance
The term "means of conveyance" means any personal property used for or intended for use for the movement of any other personal property.
noxious weed
The term "noxious weed" means any plant or plant product that can directly or indirectly injure or cause damage to crops (including nursery stock or plant products), livestock, poultry, or other interests of agriculture, irrigation, navigation, the natural resources of the United States, the public health, or the environment.
person
The term "person" means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, joint venture, or other legal entity.
plant pest
The term "plant pest" means any living stage of any of the following that can directly or indirectly injure, cause damage to, or cause disease in any plant or plant product:(A) A protozoan.(B) A nonhuman animal.(C) A parasitic plant.(D) A bacterium.(E) A fungus.(F) A virus or viroid.(G) An infectious agent or other pathogen.(H) Any article similar to or allied with any of the articles specified in the preceding subparagraphs.
plant product
The term "plant product" means-(A) any flower, fruit, vegetable, root, bulb, seed, or other plant part that is not included in the definition of plant; or(B) any manufactured or processed plant or plant part.
plant
The term "plant" means any plant (including any plant part) for or capable of propagation, including a tree, a tissue culture, a plantlet culture, pollen, a shrub, a vine, a cutting, a graft, a scion, a bud, a bulb, a root, and a seed.
enter
The terms "enter" and "entry" mean to move into, or the act of movement into, the commerce of the United States.
entry
The terms "enter" and "entry" mean to move into, or the act of movement into, the commerce of the United States.
import
The terms "import" and "importation" mean to move into, or the act of movement into, the territorial limits of the United States.