On 12 May, the USDA amended the administrative regulations of the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture to “provide that the rules of practice contained in those regulations shall be applicable to all adjudicatory proceedings under the license denial and termination provisions of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) regulations1.”

Sec. 2.11(a) of this act describes the conditions under which a person applying for a license to operate as a dealer, exhibitor, or operator of an auction sale of animals may have their application denied. The following sections describe the rights of applicants to contest a denied application or terminated license. According to these regulations, a person whose license application has been denied, or whose license has been terminated “may request a hearing in accordance with the applicable rules of practice for the purpose of showing why the application for license should not be denied or the license should not be terminated. This final rule is necessary to clarify the rules of practice that will apply to such hearings1.”

To clarify which rules of practice apply in Sec. 2.11(b) and Sec. 2.12 of the AWA, the USDA amended the administrative regulations of the Office of the Secretary in 7 CFR part 1, subpart H, 'Rules of Practice Governing Formal Adjudicatory Proceedings Instituted by the Secretary Under Various Statutes' (7 CFR 1.130 through 1.151). Specifically, Sec. 1.131, 'Scope and applicability of this subpart', was amended to provide that the rules of practice contained in this subpart H will apply to all adjudicatory proceedings as described in the license denial and termination provisions of Sec. 2.11 and Sec. 2.12.