Bill Text: NJ S3416 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Prohibits possession, transport, import, export, processing, sale, or shipment of parts and products of certain animal species threatened with extinction.*
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-1)
Status: (Enrolled - Dead) 2016-01-19 - Pocket Veto - Bills not Acted on by Governor-end of Session [S3416 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-S3416-Amended.html
SENATE BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
SENATE, No. 3416
with committee amendments
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: NOVEMBER 9, 2015
The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 3416, with committee amendments.
As amended, this bill expands the protections of "The Endangered and Nongame Species Conservation Act" to certain species threatened with extinction due to the trafficking of their parts and products.
The bill prohibits the taking, possession, transport, import, export, processing, sale or offer for sale, or shipment of:
(1) any big five African species (i.e. the African elephant, African leopard, African lion, black rhinoceros and white rhinoceros, and the Cape buffalo) or the parts or products of those species; and
(2) any species or subspecies of elephant, rhinoceros, tiger, lion, leopard, cheetah, pangolin, marine turtle, or ray listed: (a) in Appendix I or Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora; or (b) as critically endangered, endangered, or vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Red List of Threatened Species, or the parts or products of those species or subspecies. The bill establishes four limited exceptions to the new prohibition for:
(1) wildlife that was lawfully possessed within the State prior to the effective date of the bill, provided the owner obtains a certificate of possession from the Commissioner of Environmental Protection within 180 days after the effective date;
(2) wildlife that is being used or displayed for scientific, zoological, or educational purposes, for propagation in captivity of such wildlife, or for other special purposes, as authorized by the commissioner;
(3) wildlife that is conveyed directly to a devisee, heir, or beneficiary, provided that (a) the wildlife was lawfully possessed by the decedent prior to the effective date of the bill, (b) after transfer to the devisee, heir, or beneficiary, the wildlife is not thereafter sold, offered for sale, or otherwise distributed to any private party, and (c) the devisee, heir, or beneficiary obtains a certificate of possession from the commissioner within 180 days after obtaining the wildlife; or
(4) any ivory, ivory product, rhinoceros horn, or rhinoceros horn product possessed in compliance with section 3 of P.L.2014, c.22 (C.23:2A-13.3).
A person who violates the bill is subject to the penalties set forth in the "The Endangered and Nongame Species Conservation Act." Specifically, a violator is guilty of a crime of the third degree, and is subject to a criminal fine of between $5,000 and $50,000, a civil penalty of up to $25,000, and a civil administrative penalty of up to $25,000 per day of violation, as well as other penalties. Notwithstanding these penalties, a person who possesses wildlife in violation of the bill and who fails to obtain a certificate of possession within 180 days after the effective date, is subject only to a civil penalty of up to $25 for each day that person possesses the prohibited wildlife without a certificate.
The bill clarifies that the importation of any species listed in the act is prohibited. The bill also clarifies that nothing in the bill may be construed to preclude a person violating the bill from also being liable for violations of P.L.2014, c.22 (C.23:2A-13.1 et seq.) (bans ivory trafficking), R.S.23:4-27 (regulates the sale and purchase of certain wildlife), or any other State law, rule, or regulation. Finally, the bill clarifies that the prohibitions in the bill apply regardless of whether the wildlife originated from a state or other jurisdiction where it is legal to sell or purchase that wildlife and the wildlife was sold or purchased in accordance with the laws of that state or other jurisdiction.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS
The amendments:
(1) clarify the prohibitions established in the bill only apply to species of elephant, rhinoceros, tiger, lion, leopard, cheetah, pangolin, marine turtle, or ray appearing on certain lists maintained by international conservation organizations (as opposed to every species on those lists);
(2) change the terms "legal heir" and "legal beneficiary" in the bill to "heir" and "beneficiary" and add "devisees" to the list of persons who may receive prohibited wildlife under the bill's exceptions;
(3) add an exception to the prohibitions established in the bill for ivory, ivory products, rhinoceros horns, and rhinoceros horn products lawfully possessed pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2014, c.22 (C.23:2A-13.3);
(4) provide that, notwithstanding the penalties in "The Endangered and Nongame Species Conservation Act," a person who possesses wildlife in violation of the bill and who fails to obtain a certificate of possession within 180 days after the effective date, is subject to a civil fine of up to $25 for each day that person possesses the wildlife without a certificate;
(5) provide that a person may transport through the State wildlife otherwise prohibited under section 6 of P.L.1973, c.309 (C.23:2A-6) in accordance with the terms of a federal or other state permit, provided that such transport is not prohibited under this bill, P.L.2014, c.22 (C.23:2A-13.1 et seq.), or any other applicable law; and
(6) make other clarifying and technical corrections.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This bill is not certified as requiring a fiscal note.
