S. 1161: Horse Protection Amendments Act of 2015

114th Congress · introduced 2015-04-30 · Animals · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2015-04-30 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Alexander, Lamar [R-TN] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Horse Protection Amendments Act of 2015

Plain summary

Horse Protection Amendments Act of 2015 This bill amends the Horse Protection Act to replace the Designated Qualified Persons program responsible for inspecting horses for soring with a new inspection system. (The soring of horses is any of various actions taken on a horse's limb to produce a higher gait that may cause pain, distress, inflammation, or lameness.) A sore horse must be disqualified from being shown or exhibited for at least 30 days for the first determination that the horse is sore and 90 days for a second determination and any subsequent determination. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) must establish a single Horse Industry Organization (HIO) in order to establish a formal affiliation with the management of each horse sale, horse exhibition, and horse sale or auction, appoint inspectors to conduct inspections, contract with equine veterinary experts to advise the HIO Board on objective scientific testing methods and certification of testing results, and otherwise ensure compliance with the Horse Protection Act. The Commissioners of Agriculture for Tennessee and Kentucky must appoint individuals to govern the HIO. Those individuals must appoint individuals representing the Tennessee Walking Horse industry.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

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PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Horse Protection Amendments Act of 2015

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Alexander, Lamar [R-TN] · 2 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Rand Paul (R-KY)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (1)

Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-114s1161.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/114/s>

Record fed-us-cong114-s1161 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114