- § 1636. General provisions
- § 1636a. Unlawful acts
- § 1636b. Enforcement
- § 1636c. Fees
- § 1636d. Recordkeeping
- § 1636e. Voluntary reporting
- § 1636f. Publication of information on retail purchase prices for representative meat products
- § 1636g. Suspension authority regarding specific terms of price reporting requirements
- § 1636h. Federal preemption
- § 1636i. Termination of authority
§ 1636. General provisions
(a) Confidentiality
The Secretary shall make available to the public information, statistics, and documents obtained from, or submitted by, packers, retail entities, and other persons under this subchapter in a manner that ensures that confidentiality is preserved regarding—
(1) the identity of persons, including parties to a contract; and
(2) proprietary business information.
(b) Disclosure by Federal Government employees
(1) In general
(2) Exceptions
Information obtained by the Secretary under this subchapter may be disclosed—
(A) to agents or employees of the Department of Agriculture in the course of their official duties under this subchapter;
(B) as directed by the Secretary or the Attorney General, for enforcement purposes; or
(C) by a court of competent jurisdiction.
(3) Disclosure under Freedom of Information Act
(c) Reporting by packers
(d) Regional reporting and aggregation
The Secretary shall make information obtained under this subchapter available to the public only in a manner that—
(1) ensures that the information is published on a national and a regional or statewide basis as the Secretary determines to be appropriate;
(2) ensures that the identity of a reporting person is not disclosed; and
(3) conforms to aggregation guidelines established by the Secretary.
(e) Adjustments
(f) Verification
(g) Electronic reporting and publishing
(1) In general
(2) Improvements and education
(A) Enhanced electronic publishing
The Secretary shall develop and implement an enhanced system of electronic publishing to disseminate information collected pursuant to this subchapter. Such system shall—
(i) present information in a format that can be readily understood by producers, packers, and other market participants;
(ii) adhere to the publication deadlines in this subchapter;
(iii) present information in charts and graphs, as appropriate;
(iv) present comparative information for prior reporting periods, as the Secretary considers appropriate; and
(v) be updated as soon as practicable after information is reported to the Secretary.
(B) Education
The Secretary shall carry out a market news education program to educate the public and persons in the livestock and meat industries about—
(i) usage of the system developed under subparagraph (A); and
(ii) interpreting and understanding information collected and disseminated through such system.
(h) Reporting of activities on weekends and holidays
(1) In general
(2) Limitation on reporting by packers
(i) Effect on other laws
Nothing in this subchapter, the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999, or amendments made by that Act restricts or modifies the authority of the Secretary to—
(1) administer or enforce the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 181 et seq.);
(2) administer, enforce, or collect voluntary reports under this chapter or any other law; or
(3) access documentary evidence as provided under sections 49 and 50 of title 15.
(Aug. 14, 1946, ch. 966, title II, § 251, as added Pub. L. 106–78, title IX, § 911(2), Oct. 22, 1999, 113 Stat. 1200; amended Pub. L. 110–234, title XI, § 11001(a)(1), May 22, 2008, 122 Stat. 1350; Pub. L. 110–246, § 4(a), title XI, § 11001(a)(1), June 18, 2008, 122 Stat. 1664, 2112.)
§ 1636a. Unlawful acts
It shall be unlawful and a violation of this subchapter for any packer or other person subject to this subchapter (in the submission of information required under part B, C, or D of this subchapter, as determined by the Secretary) to willfully—
(1) fail or refuse to provide, or delay the timely reporting of, accurate information to the Secretary (including estimated information);
(2) solicit or request that a packer, the buyer or seller of livestock or livestock products, or any other person fail to provide, as a condition of any transaction, accurate or timely information required under this subchapter;
(3) fail or refuse to comply with this subchapter; or
(4) report estimated information in any report required under this subchapter in a manner that demonstrates a pattern of significant variance in accuracy when compared to the actual information that is reported for the same reporting period, or as determined by any audit, oversight, or other verification procedures of the Secretary.
(Aug. 14, 1946, ch. 966, title II, § 252, as added Pub. L. 106–78, title IX, § 911(2), Oct. 22, 1999, 113 Stat. 1201.)
§ 1636b. Enforcement
(a) Civil penalty
(1) In general
(2) Continuing violation
(3) Factors
(4) Multiple violations
(b) Cease and desist
(c) Notice and hearing
(d) Finality and judicial review
(1) In general
(2) Standard of review
(e) Enforcement
(1) In general
(2) Finality
(f) Injunction or restraining order
(1) In general
(2) Attorney General
(3) Court
(g) Failure to obey orders
(1) In general
(2) Enforcement
(3) Civil penalty
(Aug. 14, 1946, ch. 966, title II, § 253, as added Pub. L. 106–78, title IX, § 911(2), Oct. 22, 1999, 113 Stat. 1202.)
§ 1636c. Fees
The Secretary shall not charge or assess a user fee, transaction fee, service charge, assessment, reimbursement, or any other fee for the submission or reporting of information, for the receipt or availability of, or access to, published reports or information, or for any other activity required under this subchapter.
(Aug. 14, 1946, ch. 966, title II, § 254, as added Pub. L. 106–78, title IX, § 911(2), Oct. 22, 1999, 113 Stat. 1203.)
§ 1636d. Recordkeeping
(a) In general
Subject to subsection (b), each packer required to report information to the Secretary under this subchapter shall maintain, and make available to the Secretary on request, for 2 years—
(1) the original contracts, agreements, receipts and other records associated with any transaction relating to the purchase, sale, pricing, transportation, delivery, weighing, slaughter, or carcass characteristics of all livestock; and
(2) such records or other information as is necessary or appropriate to verify the accuracy of the information required to be reported under this subchapter.
(b) Limitations
Under subsection (a)(2), the Secretary may not require a packer to provide new or additional information if—
(1) the information is not generally available or maintained by packers; or
(2) the provision of the information would be unduly burdensome.
(c) Purchases of cattle or swine
A record of a purchase of a lot of cattle or a lot of swine by a packer shall evidence whether the purchase occurred—
(1) before 10:00 a.m. Central Time;
(2) between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Central Time; or
(3) after 2:00 p.m. Central Time.
(Aug. 14, 1946, ch. 966, title II, § 255, as added Pub. L. 106–78, title IX, § 911(2), Oct. 22, 1999, 113 Stat. 1203.)
§ 1636e. Voluntary reporting
The Secretary shall encourage voluntary reporting by packers (as defined in section 191 of this title) to which the mandatory reporting requirements of this subchapter do not apply.
(Aug. 14, 1946, ch. 966, title II, § 256, as added Pub. L. 106–78, title IX, § 911(2), Oct. 22, 1999, 113 Stat. 1204.)
§ 1636f. Publication of information on retail purchase prices for representative meat products
(a) In general
(b) Information
The report published by the Secretary under subsection (a) shall include—
(1) information on retail prices for each representative food product described in subsection (a); and
(2) information on total sales quantity (in pounds and dollars) for each representative food product.
(c) Meat Price Spreads Report
(d) Information collection
(1) In general
To ensure the accuracy of the reports required under subsection (a), the Secretary shall obtain the information for the reports from one or more sources including—
(A) a consistently representative set of retail transactions; and
(B) both prices and sales quantities for the transactions.
(2) Source of information
The Secretary may—
(A) obtain the information from retailers or commercial information sources; and
(B) use valid statistical sampling procedures, if necessary.
(3) Adjustments
In providing information on retail prices under this section, the Secretary may make adjustments to take into account differences in—
(A) the geographic location of consumption;
(B) the location of the principal source of supply;
(C) distribution costs; and
(D) such other factors as the Secretary determines reflect a verifiable comparative retail price for a representative food product.
(e) Administration
The Secretary—
(1) shall collect information under this section only on a voluntary basis; and
(2) shall not impose a penalty on a person for failure to provide the information or otherwise compel a person to provide the information.
(Aug. 14, 1946, ch. 966, title II, § 257, as added Pub. L. 106–78, title IX, § 911(2), Oct. 22, 1999, 113 Stat. 1204.)
§ 1636g. Suspension authority regarding specific terms of price reporting requirements
(a) In general
(b) Suspension procedure
(1) Period
(2) Action by Congress
(Aug. 14, 1946, ch. 966, title II, § 258, as added Pub. L. 106–78, title IX, § 911(2), Oct. 22, 1999, 113 Stat. 1205.)
§ 1636h. Federal preemption
In order to achieve the goals, purposes, and objectives of this chapter on a nationwide basis and to avoid potentially conflicting State laws that could impede the goals, purposes, or objectives of this chapter, no State or political subdivision of a State may impose a requirement that is in addition to, or inconsistent with, any requirement of this subchapter with respect to the submission or reporting of information, or the publication of such information, on the prices and quantities of livestock or livestock products.
(Aug. 14, 1946, ch. 966, title II, § 259, as added Pub. L. 106–78, title IX, § 911(2), Oct. 22, 1999, 113 Stat. 1205.)
§ 1636i. Termination of authority
The authority provided by this subchapter terminates on September 30, 2024.
(Aug. 14, 1946, ch. 966, title II, § 260, as added Pub. L. 109–296, § 1(a), Oct. 5, 2006, 120 Stat. 1464; amended Pub. L. 111–239, § 2(a)(1), Sept. 27, 2010, 124 Stat. 2501; Pub. L. 114–54, title I, § 101(a), Sept. 30, 2015, 129 Stat. 513; Pub. L. 117–103, div. O, title III, § 301(a), Mar. 15, 2022, 136 Stat. 788; Pub. L. 117–328, div. A, title VII, § 776(a), Dec. 29, 2022, 136 Stat. 4509; Pub. L. 118–42, div. B, title VII, § 793(a), Mar. 9, 2024, 138 Stat. 120.)