[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1769 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
114th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1769
To amend the African Elephant Conservation Act to conserve elephants
while appropriately regulating ivory in the United States.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 15, 2015
Mr. Daines (for himself and Mr. Alexander) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment
and Public Works
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the African Elephant Conservation Act to conserve elephants
while appropriately regulating ivory in the United States.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``African Elephant Conservation and
Legal Ivory Possession Act of 2015''.
SEC. 2. LIMITED EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN AFRICAN ELEPHANT IVORY.
Section 2203 of the African Elephant Conservation Act (16 U.S.C.
4223) is amended--
(1) in the section heading by striking ``acts.'' and
inserting ``acts.
``(a) In General.--'';
(2) in subsection (a) (as so designated), by inserting
``subsection (b) and'' after ``in''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(b) Exemption.--Nothing in this Act or subsection (a) or (d) of
section 9 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1538)
prohibits the importation or exportation, or requires permission of the
Secretary for the importation or exportation, of--
``(1) any raw ivory or worked ivory--
``(A) imported solely to become part of a permanent
collection of a museum, return to a lending museum, or
display in a museum; or
``(B) exported solely--
``(i) to display in a foreign museum; or
``(ii) to return to a foreign person who
lent the ivory to a museum in the United
States;
``(2) any raw ivory or worked ivory that was lawfully
importable into the United States on February 24, 2014,
regardless of the date on which the ivory was acquired; or
``(3) any worked ivory that was previously lawfully
possessed in the United States.''.
SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF ELEPHANT IVORY.
Section 2203 of the African Elephant Conservation Act (16 U.S.C.
4223) (as amended by section 2) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(c) Treatment of Elephant Ivory.--Nothing in this Act or the
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) or the African
Elephant Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 4201 et seq.)--
``(1) prohibits, or authorizes prohibiting, the purchase,
possession, sale, delivery, receipt, shipment, export or
import, or transportation of African elephant ivory, or any
product or antique containing African elephant ivory, that has
been lawfully imported or crafted in the United States; or
``(2) authorizes using any means of determining for
purposes of this Act or the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) whether African elephant ivory or an
antique containing African elephant ivory has been lawfully
imported, exported, bought, sold, possessed, or transported,
including any presumption or burden of proof applied in such a
determination, other than the means used by the Secretary as of
February 24, 2014.''.
SEC. 4. SPORT-HUNTED ELEPHANT TROPHIES.
Section 2203 of the African Elephant Conservation Act (16 U.S.C.
4223) (as amended by section 3) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(d) Sport-Hunted Elephant Trophies.--Nothing in this Act or
subsection (a) or (d) of section 9 of the Endangered Species Act of
1973 (16 U.S.C. 1538) prohibits any citizen or legal resident of the
United States, or an agent of such an individual, from importing a
sport-hunted African elephant trophy under section 2202(e), if the
country in which the African elephant was taken had an elephant
population on appendix II of CITES on the date on which the trophy
elephant was taken.
``(e) Relationship to the Convention.--Nothing in this section
modifies or repeals--
``(1) the duties of the Secretary to implement CITES and
the appendices of CITES; or
``(2) section 8A or 9(c) of the Endangered Species Act of
1973 (16 U.S.C. 1537a, 1538(c)).''.
SEC. 5. PLACEMENT OF UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICER IN EACH AFRICAN ELEPHANT RANGE
COUNTRY.
Part I of the African Elephant Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 4211 et
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 2105. PLACEMENT OF UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICER IN EACH AFRICAN ELEPHANT RANGE
COUNTRY.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary, in coordination with the
Secretary of State, may station in each African country that has a
significant population of African elephants one United States Fish and
Wildlife Service law enforcement officer in the primary United States
diplomatic or consular post.
``(b) Duties.--A United States Fish and Wildlife Service law
enforcement officer stationed in an African elephant range country
under subsection (a) shall--
``(1) assist local wildlife rangers in the protection of
African elephants; and
``(2) facilitate the apprehension of individuals who
illegally kill, or assist the illegal killing of, African
elephants.''.
SEC. 6. CERTIFICATION FOR PURPOSES OF THE FISHERMEN'S PROTECTIVE ACT OF
1967.
Section 2202 of the African Elephant Conservation Act (16 U.S.C.
4222) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(g) Certification.--If the Secretary determines that a country,
directly or indirectly, is a significant transit or destination point
for illegal ivory trade, the Secretary shall certify that fact to the
President with respect to the country for purposes of section 8(a) of
the Fishermen's Protective Act of 1967 (22 U.S.C. 1978(a)).''.
SEC. 7. AFRICAN ELEPHANT CONSERVATION ACT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PRIORITY
AND REAUTHORIZATION.
(a) Financial Assistance Priority.--Section 2101 of the African
Elephant Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 4211) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as subsections
(f) and (g), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after subsection (d) the following:
``(e) Priority.--The Secretary shall, in providing financial
assistance under this section, give priority to projects designed to
facilitate the acquisition of equipment and training of wildlife
officials in ivory producing countries to be used in anti-poaching
efforts.''.
(b) Reauthorization.--Section 2306(a) of the African Elephant
Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 4245(a)) is amended by striking ``2007
through 2012'' and inserting ``2016 through 2020''.
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