The Secretary shall give due consideration to the appropriateness of the penalty with respect to the size of the business of the person involved, the gravity of the violation, the person's good faith, and the history of previous violations. ... (c) Appeal of final order by aggrieved person; limitations; exclusive jurisdiction of United States Courts of Appeals Any dealer, exhibitor, research facility, intermediate handler, carrier, or operator of an auction sale subject to section 2142 of this title, aggrieved by a final order of the Secretary issued pursuant to this section may, within 60 days after entry of such an order, seek review of such order in the appropriate United States Court of Appeals in accordance with the provisions of sections 2341, 2343 through 2350 of title 28, and such court shall have exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in part), or to determine the validity of the Secretary's order. § 2151. Rules and regulations The Secretary is authorized to promulgate such rules, regulations, and orders as he may deem necessary in order to effectuate the purposes of this chapter. 7 U.S.C. §§ 2131, 2132(f), 2141, 2146(a), 2149(a)-(c), 2151. 28 U.S.C.: TITLE 28-JUDICIARY AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURE PART VI-PARTICULAR PROCEEDINGS CHAPTER 163-FINES, PENALTIES AND FORFEITURES § 2461. Mode of recovery 62 Agric. Dec. 452 FEDERAL CIVIL PENALTIES INFLATION ADJUSTMENT SHORT TITLE SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the "Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990". FINDINGS AND PURPOSE SEC. 2. (a) FINDINGS.-The Congress finds that (1) the power of Federal agencies to impose civil monetary penalties for violations of Federal law and regulations plays an important role in deterring violations and furthering the policy goals embodied in such laws and regulations; (2) the impact of many civil monetary penalties has been and is diminished due to the effect of inflation; (3) by reducing the impact of civil monetary penalties, inflation has weakened the deterrent effect of such penalties; and (4) the Federal Government does not maintain comprehensive, detailed accounting of the efforts of Federal agencies to assess and collect civil monetary penalties. (b) PURPOSE-The purpose of this Act is to establish a mechanism that shall (1) allow for regular adjustment for inflation of civil monetary penalties; (2) maintain the deterrent effect of civil monetary penalties and promote compliance with the law; and (3) improve the collection by the Federal Government of civil monetary penalties. DEFINITIONS SEC. 3. For purposes of this Act, the term (1) "agency" means an Executive agency as defined under section 105 of title 5, United States Code, and includes the United States Postal Service; (2) "civil monetary penalty" means any penalty, fine, or other sanction that (A)(I) is for a specific monetary amount as provided by Federal law; or (ii) has a maximum amount provided for by Federal law; and (B) is assessed or enforced by an agency pursuant to Federal law; and (C) is assessed or enforced pursuant to an administrative proceeding or a civil action in the Federal courts; and (3) "Consumer Price Index" means the Consumer Price Index for all-urban consumers published by the Department of Labor. CIVIL MONETARY PENALTY INFLATION ADJUSTMENT REPORTS SEC. 4. The head of each agency shall, not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 [Apr. 26, 1996], and at least once every 4 years thereafter (1) by regulation adjust each civil monetary penalty provided by law within the jurisdiction of the Federal agency, except for any penalty (including any addition to tax and additional amount) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 [26 U.S.C. 1 et seq.], the Tariff Act of 1930 [19 U.S.C. 1202 et seq.], the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 [29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.], or the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 301 et seq.], by the inflation adjustment described under section 5 of this Act; and (2) publish each such regulation in the Federal Register. COST-OF-LIVING ADJUSTMENTS OF CIVIL SEC. 5. (a) ADJUSTMENT.-The inflation adjustment under section 4 shall be determined by increasing the maximum civil monetary penalty or the range of minimum and maximum civil monetary penalties, as applicable, for each civil monetary penalty by the cost-ofliving adjustment. Any increase determined under this subsection shall be rounded to the nearest (1) multiple of $10 in the case of penalties less than or equal to 62 Agric. Dec. 452 (2) multiple of $100 in the case of penalties greater than $100 but less than or equal to $1,000; (3) multiple of $1,000 in the case of penalties greater than $1,000 but less than or equal to $10,000; (4) multiple of $5,000 in the case of penalties greater than $10,000 but less than or equal to $100,000; (5) multiple of $10,000 in the case of penalties greater than $100,000 but less than or equal to $200,000; and (6) multiple of $25,000 in the case of penalties greater than $200,000. (b) DEFINITION.-For purposes of subsection (a), the term "cost-of-living adjustment" means the percentage (if any) for each civil monetary penalty by which (1) the Consumer Price Index for the month of June of the calendar year preceding the adjustment, exceeds (2) the Consumer Price Index for the month of June of the calendar year in which the amount of such civil monetary penalty was last set or adjusted pursuant to law. ANNUAL REPORT SEC. 6. Any increase under this Act in a civil monetary penalty shall apply only to violations which occur after the date the increase takes effect. LIMITATION ON INITIAL ADJUSTMENT.-The first adjustment of a civil monetary penalty... may not exceed 10 percent of such penalty. 28 U.S.C. § 2461 (note). 7 C.F.R.: TITLE 7-AGRICULTURE SUBTITLE A-OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE PART 3-DEBT MANAGEMENT SUBPART E-ADJUSTED CIVIL MONETARY PENALTIES § 3.91 Adjusted civil monetary penalties. (a) In general. The Secretary will adjust the civil monetary penalties, listed in paragraph (b), to take account of inflation at least once every 4 years as required by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (Pub. L. No. 101-410), as amended by the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (Pub. L. No. 104-134). (b) Penalties-. .... (2) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.... (v) Civil penalty for a violation of Animal Welfare Act, codified at 7 U.S.C. 2149(b), has a maximum of $2,750; and knowing failure to obey a cease and desist order has a civil penalty of $1,650. 7 C.F.R. § 3.91(a), (b)(2)(v). 9 C.F.R.: TITLE 9—ANIMALS AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS CHAPTER I—ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SUBCHAPTER A-ANIMAL WELFARE PART 1-DEFINITION OF TERMS § 1.1 Definitions. For the purposes of this subchapter, unless the context otherwise requires, the following terms shall have the meanings assigned to them in this section. The singular form shall also signify the plural and the masculine form shall also signify the feminine. Words undefined in the following paragraphs shall have the meaning attributed to them in general usage as reflected by definitions in a standard dictionary. |