Sec. 4. Wildlife trafficking whistleblowers

828 words·~4 min read·/bill/115/s/3605/is/section-4

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

In this section, the term Secretary concerned means, as applicable— the Attorney General; the Secretary of the Interior; the Secretary of Commerce; the Secretary of State; and the Secretary of the Treasury. In coordination with other Federal agencies as appropriate, not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries concerned shall develop a plan of action to fully carry out existing authorities for rewards to whistleblowers of violations of anti-wildlife-trafficking laws. The plan of action under paragraph

(1)shall— include a strategy to raise public awareness in the United States and abroad for reward opportunities for whistleblowers provided under— section 6(d) of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 ( 16 U.S.C. 3375(d) ); section 11(d) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1540(d) ); section 106(c) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 ( 16 U.S.C. 1376(c) ); section 3 of the Fish and Wildlife Improvement Act of 1978 ( 16 U.S.C. 742l ); section 7(f) of the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act of 1994 ( 16 U.S.C. 5305a(f) ); and other applicable anti-wildlife-trafficking laws; delineate short-term and long-term goals for increasing anti-wildlife-trafficking enforcement, including recruitment of whistleblowers, as appropriate; describe specific actions to be taken to achieve the goals under subparagraph

(B)and the means necessary to do so, including— formal partnerships with nongovernmental organizations; and the establishment of Whistleblower Offices— to coordinate the receipt of whistleblower disclosures; to ensure referrals to the appropriate law enforcement offices; and to communicate with whistleblowers regarding the status of the respective cases referred by the whistleblowers and potential rewards; be published in the Federal Register for public comment for a period of not less than 60 days; and not later than 90 days after the end of the period described in subparagraph (D), be finalized and made readily available on a public Federal Government internet website. In coordination with other Federal agencies as appropriate, not less frequently than once every 5 years, the Secretaries concerned shall review the plan of action under subsection

(b)and, as necessary, revise the plan of action following public notice and comment. Subject to subparagraphs

(B)and (C), if a Secretary concerned proceeds with any administrative or judicial action under any of the laws described in subsection (b)(2)(A) based on information brought to the attention of the Secretary concerned by a person qualified to receive an award under this subsection, the Secretary concerned shall pay that person an award. Subject to clause (ii), the Secretary concerned shall determine the amount of the award under subparagraph

(A)based on the extent to which the person substantially contributed to the action. The award under subparagraph

(A)shall be not less than 15 percent, and not more than 50 percent, of the amounts received by the United States as penalties, interest, fines, forfeitures, community service payments, restitution payments, and additional amounts in the action (including any related civil or criminal actions) or any under settlement or plea agreement in response to that action. The amount of the award under subparagraph

(A)shall be— determined not later than 90 days after the date of the applicable plea agreement, judgment, or settlement in that action; and paid from the amounts so received by the United States. A Secretary concerned may make an award under this paragraph only in a case in which the total sanction from all penalties, fines, community service payments, restitution, interest, forfeitures, or civil or criminal recoveries (including in related actions) exceeds $100,000. If the applicable Secretary concerned determines that the claim for an award under paragraph

(1)is brought by a person who planned and initiated the actions that led to the violation, the Secretary concerned may appropriately reduce the amount of the award. If the person described in subparagraph

(A)is convicted of criminal conduct arising from the role described in that subparagraph, the applicable Secretary concerned shall deny any award under this subsection. Any determination with respect to an award under paragraph

(1)may be appealed to the appropriate court of appeals of the United States pursuant to section 706 of title 5, United States Code, not later than 30 days after the date of the determination. The Secretaries concerned shall permit the submission of confidential and anonymous reports under this subsection consistent with the procedures set forth in subsections (d)(2) and

(h)of section 21F of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ( 15 U.S.C. 78u–6 ). This subsection shall apply only with respect to amounts received by the United States described in paragraph

(1)on or after the date of enactment of this Act. The Secretaries concerned shall each year conduct a study on, and submit to Congress a report describing the use of, authorities, claims filed, awards paid, and outreach conducted under this section. The requirement under subparagraph

(A)may be satisfied by incorporating the report into the plan of action required under subsection

(b)or a revision under subsection (c).

Connectionstraces to 5

Traces to 5 documents

U.S. Code

1 reference not yet in our index