Preventing Illegal Laboratories and Protecting Public Health Act of 2024

Health

house

senate

president

Introduced on April 18, 2024 by Jim Costa

Cosponsors

Legislation Details

Establishes a program requiring regulated sellers of highly infectious agents to maintain a logbook of sales.
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and maintain a list of highly infectious agents, with initial development within 12 months of enactment.
Requires periodic review and update of the list of highly infectious agents, in consultation with relevant agencies and consideration of specific guidelines and publications.
Logbook entries must include the agent’s name, quantity sold, purchaser’s information, intended use, and the date and time of sale.
Sales of highly infectious agents are contingent upon purchaser identification and logbook entry, with specific requirements for identification and logbook content.
Logbooks must include a notice about potential criminal penalties for false statements, and entries must be maintained for at least five years.
Establishes restrictions on the disclosure of logbook information, allowing access only for compliance and public health and safety purposes.
Defines “highly infectious agent” based on risk group criteria and specifies who qualifies as a “regulated seller.”
Mandates a periodic strategic evaluation of high-containment laboratories in the United States, overseen by a designated Federal official.
Evaluation topics include assessing the number, location, mission, capacity, risks, and oversight needs of high-containment laboratories, and developing national standards for their operation.
Requires reporting on each strategic evaluation, including recommendations for Federal oversight gaps and laboratory utilization for public health and biosecurity.
Establishes a Public Health and Biosecurity Team as a point of contact for state and local agencies on laboratory biosafety and biosecurity issues.
Directs a feasibility study on creating a database of high-containment laboratories accessible to state and local officials, including specific information about each laboratory.
Defines “high-containment laboratory” based on biosafety level procedures.

Last updated 8/8/2024