National Organic Program (NOP); Organic Livestock and Poultry Standards; Delay of Effective Date and Update of Compliance Date

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is delaying the effective date of the Organic Livestock and Poultry Standards (OLPS) final rule, published on November 2, 2023, to meet the requirements of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (Congressional Review Act (CRA)). The CRA requires that agencies provide Congress with at least 60 days to review a major rule before it takes effect. For the OLPS final rule, AMS provided the required notice to Congress on November 13, 2023, after publication of the rule. Therefore, the published effective date did not provide 60 days for congressional review. This final rule delays the effective date of the OLPS final rule by 10 days to meet the 60-day requirement. AMS is making a technical correction to the compliance date of January 5, 2029, for indoor and outdoor stocking density requirements and soil and vegetation requirements for broiler operations to January 2, 2029. All other compliance dates of the OLPS final rule remain unchanged. Additionally, in acknowledgement of the U.S. Government Accountability Office assessment of the final rule, AMS confirms that the Administrative Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2023 does not apply to the OLPS final rule because it does not increase direct spending.