The Plant Quarantine Act was the first federal law to give APHIS authority over plant pest and disease prevention, laying the foundation for today’s comprehensive plant health regulations.

While the original 1912 Act is no longer the standalone statute, its core principles remain embedded in APHIS’s Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) program, which:

• Regulates plant imports and exports.
• Implements quarantine measures.
• Works internationally to prevent pest entry and promote safe trade

Sources: onthisday.com, usda.gov

govinfo.gov

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. ø7 U.S.C. 154, 155¿ IMPORTATION OF NURSERY STOCK.
(a) IN GENERAL.—No person shall—
(1) import or enter into the United States any nursery
stock; or
(2) accept delivery of any nursery stock moving from any
foreign country into or through the United States;
unless the movement is made in accordance with such regulations
as the Secretary of Agriculture may promulgate to prevent dissemi
nation into the United States of plant pests, plant diseases, or in
sect pests.
(b) REGULATIONS.—The regulations promulgated by the Sec
retary of Agriculture to implement subsection (a) may include regu
lations requiring that nursery stock moving into or through the
United States—
(1) be accompanied by a permit issued by the Secretary of
Agriculture prior to the movement of the nursery stock;
(2) be accompanied by a certificate of inspection issued, in
a manner and form required by the Secretary of Agriculture,
by appropriate officials of the country or State from which the
nursery stock is to be moved;
(3) be grown under postentry quarantine conditions by or
under the supervision of the Secretary of Agriculture for the
1This Act must be cited as the Act of August 20, 1912 (37 Stat. 315, chapter 308; 7 U.S.C.
151 et seq.). It is only commonly known as the ‘‘Plant Quarantine Act’’ or the ‘‘Nursery Stock
Quarantine Act’’.
1
September 18, 2019
As Amended Through P.L. 106-170, Enacted December 17, 1999