This bill establishes a program requiring covered distributors of highly pathogenic agents to maintain detailed logbooks for all transfers, including comprehensive information about the agent, purchaser identity, intended use, and housing location. The Secretary of Health and Human Services will develop and annually update a list of these agents, defined as those meeting "risk group 3" or higher criteria, excluding those already regulated under specific bioterrorism acts. Purchasers must present identification and sign for the agent, with distributors verifying the information, and false statements carry criminal penalties. Distributors must retain logbook entries for at least three years, and the Secretary will establish strict regulations governing their disclosure, allowing access for law enforcement and health officials but prohibiting other uses. These logbooks and any derived data are explicitly exempt from Freedom of Information Act disclosure. The bill also mandates a risk-based audit process for logbooks, focusing on higher-risk distributors and suspicious patterns, though transfers between laboratories within a single institution of higher education are exempt. Beyond agent tracking, the legislation addresses the oversight of high-containment laboratories , defined as those suitable for "biosafety level 3" or higher procedures. The National Security Advisor will identify a Federal entity to conduct periodic strategic evaluations of these laboratories, assessing their number, location, mission, capacity, physical security, and aggregate risks. This entity will also develop national standards for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of such facilities, reporting findings and recommendations to the President and Congress. Additionally, it will establish a Public Health Biosafety and Biosecurity Team as a central point of contact for State, local, Tribal, and territorial agencies regarding laboratory biosafety and biosecurity concerns, and conduct a feasibility study on creating a database of high-containment laboratories, with results reported to Congress.
Preventing Illegal Laboratories and Protecting Public Health Act of 2026
USA119th CongressS-4227| Senate
| Updated: 3/26/2026
This bill establishes a program requiring covered distributors of highly pathogenic agents to maintain detailed logbooks for all transfers, including comprehensive information about the agent, purchaser identity, intended use, and housing location. The Secretary of Health and Human Services will develop and annually update a list of these agents, defined as those meeting "risk group 3" or higher criteria, excluding those already regulated under specific bioterrorism acts. Purchasers must present identification and sign for the agent, with distributors verifying the information, and false statements carry criminal penalties. Distributors must retain logbook entries for at least three years, and the Secretary will establish strict regulations governing their disclosure, allowing access for law enforcement and health officials but prohibiting other uses. These logbooks and any derived data are explicitly exempt from Freedom of Information Act disclosure. The bill also mandates a risk-based audit process for logbooks, focusing on higher-risk distributors and suspicious patterns, though transfers between laboratories within a single institution of higher education are exempt. Beyond agent tracking, the legislation addresses the oversight of high-containment laboratories , defined as those suitable for "biosafety level 3" or higher procedures. The National Security Advisor will identify a Federal entity to conduct periodic strategic evaluations of these laboratories, assessing their number, location, mission, capacity, physical security, and aggregate risks. This entity will also develop national standards for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of such facilities, reporting findings and recommendations to the President and Congress. Additionally, it will establish a Public Health Biosafety and Biosecurity Team as a central point of contact for State, local, Tribal, and territorial agencies regarding laboratory biosafety and biosecurity concerns, and conduct a feasibility study on creating a database of high-containment laboratories, with results reported to Congress.