HOUSE BILL No. 6503

 

 

November 27, 2018, Introduced by Rep. Cochran and referred to the Committee on Commerce and Trade.

 

     A bill to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled

 

"Natural resources and environmental protection act,"

 

(MCL 324.101 to 324.90106) by adding part 367.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

                                 Part 367

 

                      ENDANGERED SPECIES TRAFFICKING

 

     Sec. 36701. (1)As used in this part:

 

     (a) "Sell" means to sell, trade, or barter, for monetary or

 

nonmonetary consideration, and includes any transfer of ownership

 

that occurs in the course of a commercial transaction, but does not

 

include a transfer of ownership to a beneficiary of a trust without

 

monetary consideration or to a person by gift, donation,

 

inheritance, or bequest. "Sale" has a corresponding meaning.

 

     (b) "Shark fin" means the detached fin or tail of a shark.

 

     Sec. 36702. Except as provided in section 36703, a person

 

shall not purchase, sell, offer to sell, or possess with intent to

 

sell any item that is, wholly or partially, made of an animal part

 

or byproduct derived from any of the following:

 

     (a) A shark fin.

 

     (b) A lion of the species Panthera leo or any species of

 

elephant, rhinoceros, tiger, leopard, cheetah, jaguar, pangolin,

 

sea turtle, ray, mammoth, narwhal, walrus, or hippopotamus.

 

     (c) Any animal species covered on the effective date of the

 

amendatory act that added this section by the Convention on

 

International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

 

     Sec. 36703. Section 36702 does not apply to any of the

 

following:

 

     (a) Any activity undertaken by a law enforcement agency or

 

officer pursuant to federal or state law.

 

     (b) A knife or firearm, or a component thereof, that contains

 

an animal part or byproduct derived from a species listed in

 

section 36702 if all of the following apply:

 

     (i) The animal part or byproduct is a fixed or integral part

 

of the knife or firearm, or the component thereof.

 

     (ii) The animal part or byproduct originated in or was legally

 

imported to the United States.

 

     (iii) The owner or seller of the knife or firearm, or the

 

component thereof, establishes with documentation evidencing

 

provenance that the knife or firearm, or the component thereof, was

legally acquired.

 

     (iv) All the requirements for the sale of the knife or

 

firearm, or the component thereof, set forth in federal and state

 

law are met.

 

     (c) Any item that is, wholly or partially, made of an animal

 

part or byproduct derived from any species listed in section 36702

 

for which the owner or seller has obtained each certification or

 

permit required by federal law for the sale of the item or that is

 

specifically authorized for sale by federal law, if all the

 

requirements for the sale of the item set forth in federal or state

 

law have been met.

 

     Sec. 36704. (1) A person that violates section 36702 is guilty

 

of a misdemeanor punishable byimprisonment for not more than 1

 

year or a fine of not more than $2,000.00, or both.

 

     (2) In addition to the criminal penalties set forth in this

 

section, a person that violates section 36702, upon conviction, may

 

be ordered to pay a civil fine of not more than the greater of the

 

following:

 

     (a) $6,500.00.

 

     (b) Four times the fair market value of the item that is the

 

subject of the violation.

 

     Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days

 

after the date it is enacted into law.