PRIME Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The PRIME Act amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act to create an intrastate custom-slaughter exemption. Federal inspection requirements for slaughter and preparation at establishments operating for commerce would not apply when animals are slaughtered at a custom slaughter facility and carcasses, parts, meat, and meat food products are prepared and transported in commerce if the slaughter and preparation follow the law of the state where the facility is located and distribution is exclusively to household consumers within that state or to in-state restaurants, hotels, boarding houses, grocery stores, or similar establishments that prepare meals served directly to consumers or sell meat directly to consumers. For this exemption, state includes states, D.C., territories, and possessions. The bill states that the amendments do not preempt state laws concerning slaughter, preparation, or sale of meat and meat food products.
Who Benefits and How
Custom slaughter facilities benefit from an intrastate path to serve household consumers and local food establishments without federal inspection. Small livestock producers benefit from more local processing options for in-state meat sales. In-state restaurants benefit from access to meat prepared at state-law-compliant custom facilities. Local grocery stores benefit from additional in-state sources of meat and meat food products.
Who Bears the Burden and How
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service loses federal inspection coverage over exempt intrastate custom-slaughter activity. State meat inspection regulators remain responsible for state-law standards governing exempt facilities. Custom slaughter facilities must comply with the law of the state where they operate. Consumers buying exempt meat rely more heavily on state oversight rather than federal inspection.
Key Provisions
- Creates a federal inspection exemption for state-law-compliant custom slaughter facilities.
- Limits exempt distribution to household consumers and in-state restaurants, hotels, boarding houses, grocery stores, or similar direct-to-consumer establishments.
- Defines state to include D.C., territories, and possessions.
- Provides that the amendments do not preempt state slaughter, preparation, or meat-sale laws.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Exempts meat slaughtered and prepared at state-law-compliant custom slaughter facilities from federal inspection requirements when distributed only within the same state to household consumers or in-state restaurants, hotels, boarding houses, grocery stores, or similar establishments serving or selling directly to consumers, while preserving state meat laws.
Key Policy Areas
Meat Processing, Agriculture, Food Safety
Primary Purpose
Exempts meat slaughtered and prepared at state-law-compliant custom slaughter facilities from federal inspection requirements when distributed only within the same state to household consumers or in-state restaurants, hotels, boarding houses, grocery stores, or similar establishments serving or selling directly to consumers, while preserving state meat laws.
Policy Domains
Resolution provisions
Identified Gains
- Custom slaughter facilities
- Small livestock producers
- In-state restaurants
- Local grocery stores
Identified Costs
- USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service
- State meat inspection regulators
- Custom slaughter facilities complying with state law
- Consumers buying exempt meat
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Massie (for himself, Ms. Pingree, Mr. Arrington, Mr. Brecheen, …
Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Custom slaughter facilities, In-state restaurants
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology