21 U.S.C. § 472 — Interstate shipment of poultry inspected by Federal and State agencies for certain small establishments

(a) Definitions -- This section defines five terms. (1) "Appropriate State agency" means the state agency described in section 454(a)(1) of this title. (2) "Designated personnel" means state inspectors who have completed all the training and certification needed to help the Secretary enforce this law. (3) "Eligible establishment" means a plant that follows both its state's inspection program and this law (including its rules and regulations). (4) "Poultry item" means a piece of poultry or a poultry product. (5) "Selected establishment" means an eligible establishment that the Secretary, working with the right state agency, has chosen under subsection (b) to ship poultry items across state lines. (b) Authority of Secretary to allow shipments -- (1) In general -- Working with the state agency, the Secretary may choose an eligible establishment to ship poultry across state lines and put a federal inspection mark on each item, if: (A) the item qualifies for the federal mark under this law; (B) the plant is an "eligible establishment"; and (C) trained state "designated personnel" provide its inspections. (2) Prohibited establishments -- The Secretary may not choose a plant that: (A) employs, on average, more than 25 workers (as the Secretary defines that); (B) was already shipping federally inspected poultry across state lines as of this law's enactment date; (C) (i) is a federal plant; (ii) was a federal plant on the enactment date and later reorganized under the same or a different name by the same owner; or (iii) was a state plant on the enactment date that (I) employed more than 25 workers then and (II) was later reorganized by the same owner; (D) is violating this law; (E) is in a state with no state inspection program; or (F) is going through the transition process described in paragraph (3)(A). (3) Establishments that employ more than 25 employees -- (A) Development of procedure -- The Secretary may create a process to convert a plant that consistently averages more than 25 employees into a federal plant. (B) Eligibility of certain establishments -- (i) A state plant with more than 25 but fewer than 35 employees on the enactment date can still be a "selected establishment." (ii) That plant becomes subject to the transition process three years after the effective date in subsection (i). (c) Reimbursement of State costs -- The Secretary must repay a state at least 60 percent of its eligible costs for inspecting selected establishments, following federal requirements. (d) Coordination between Federal and State agencies -- (1) The Secretary must appoint a federal employee as "State coordinator" for each state agency, to (A) oversee and enforce this section and (B) supervise the training and inspections done by that state's designated personnel. (2) The state coordinator works directly under the Secretary. (3) Duties of State coordinator -- (A) The coordinator must visit selected establishments often enough to make sure they follow this law. (B) Every quarter, the coordinator must report to the Secretary on how well each selected establishment under their watch is complying. (C) If the coordinator finds a selected establishment breaking this law, the coordinator must immediately tell the Secretary and either remove the plant from the program or stop its inspections. (4) The Secretary evaluates each state coordinator's performance as part of the normal federal management review. (e) Audits -- (1) Within two years of the effective date in subsection (i), and at least every three years after, the Inspector General of the Department of Agriculture must audit everything the Secretary has done under this section. (2) Between three and five years after this law's enactment, the Comptroller General must audit how well this section has been carried out, including (A) how effective it has been and (B) how many establishments the Secretary has selected to ship poultry. (f) Transition grants -- The Secretary may give state agencies grants to help plants become "selected establishments." (g) Violations -- If the Secretary finds a selected establishment breaking this law, that plant must convert to a federal plant, following the process in subsection (b)(3)(A). (h) Effect -- Nothing in this section limits the Secretary's normal authority to regulate poultry and poultry products. (i) Effective date -- (1) This section takes effect once the Secretary finishes final regulations to carry it out, after a public comment period (which can include public meetings or hearings). (2) The Secretary must finish those final regulations within 18 months of this law's enactment.