BILL NUMBER: AB 1188	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  SEPTEMBER 4, 2015
	AMENDED IN SENATE  SEPTEMBER 1, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Gipson

                        FEBRUARY 27, 2015

   An act to  amend   repeal and amend 
Section 653o of the Penal Code, relating to imported 
animals.   animals, and declaring the urgency thereof,
to take effect immediately. 


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1188, as amended, Gipson. Importation or sale of endangered
animals.
   Existing law makes it unlawful to import into the state for
commercial purposes, to possess with intent to sell, or to sell
within the state, the dead body or other part or product of specified
endangered animals, including kangaroos.
   This bill would delete the prohibition on the importation,
possession with the intent to sell, and selling within the state of
kangaroos. 
   This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute. 
   Vote:  majority   2/3  . Appropriation:
no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Section 653o of the   Penal
Code   , as amended by Section 1 of Chapter 464 of the
Statutes of 2014, is repealed.  
   653o.  (a) It is unlawful to import into this state for commercial
purposes, to possess with intent to sell, or to sell within the
state, the dead body, or any part or product thereof, of a polar
bear, leopard, ocelot, tiger, cheetah, jaguar, sable antelope, wolf
(Canis lupus), zebra, whale, cobra, python, sea turtle, colobus
monkey, kangaroo, vicuna, sea otter, free-roaming feral horse,
dolphin or porpoise (Delphinidae), Spanish lynx, or elephant.
   (b) (1) Commencing January 1, 2020, it shall be unlawful to import
into this state for commercial purposes, to possess with intent to
sell, or to sell within the state, the dead body, or any part or
product thereof, of a crocodile or alligator.
   (2) This subdivision shall not be construed to authorize the
importation or sale of any alligator or crocodilian species, or any
products thereof, that are listed as endangered under the federal
Endangered Species Act, or to allow the importation or sale of any
alligator or crocodilian species, or any products thereof, in
violation of any federal law or international treaty to which the
United States is a party.
   (c) (1) This section shall not apply to kangaroos that may be
harvested lawfully under Australian national and state law, the
federal Endangered Species Act of 1971 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531 et seq.),
and applicable international conventions, provided that the
Department of Fish and Game is annually informed in writing, by May
1, by the Australian government that the commercial harvest of
kangaroos in any future year will not exceed the official quota for
that year, consistent with Australian national and state law, and of
the sustainability principles on which that quota is based.
   (2) If the department fails to receive the report described in
paragraph (1), the department shall inform the Australian national
government that future importation of kangaroos that otherwise may be
harvested lawfully under Australian national and state law, the
federal Endangered Species Act of 1971 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531 et seq.),
and applicable international conventions shall be halted and their
importation into this state for commercial purposes, possession with
intent to sell, or sale within the state will be subject to the
provisions of this section.
   (d) A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor
and shall be subject to a fine of not less than one thousand dollars
($1,000) and not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) or
imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed six months, or both
that fine and imprisonment, for each violation.
   (e) The prohibitions against importation for commercial purposes,
possession with intent to sell, and sale of the species listed in
this section are severable. A finding of the invalidity of any one or
more prohibitions shall not affect the validity of any remaining
prohibitions.
   (f) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2016, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2016, deletes or extends
that date. 
   SECTION 1.   SEC. 2.   Section 653o of
the Penal Code, as amended by Section 2 of Chapter 464 of the
Statutes of 2014, is amended to read:
   653o.  (a)  (1)    It is unlawful to import into
this state for commercial purposes, to possess with intent to sell,
or to sell within the state, the dead body, or any part or product
thereof, of a polar bear, leopard, ocelot, tiger, cheetah, jaguar,
sable antelope, wolf (Canis lupus), zebra, whale, cobra, python, sea
turtle, colobus monkey, vicuna, sea otter, free-roaming feral horse,
dolphin or porpoise (Delphinidae), Spanish lynx, or elephant. 
   (2) This subdivision shall not be construed to authorize the
importation or sale of any kangaroo species that may be harvested
unlawfully under Australian national and state law, the federal
Endangered Species Act of 1971 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531 et seq.), and
applicable international conventions. 
   (b) (1) Commencing January 1, 2020, it is unlawful to import into
this state for commercial purposes, to possess with intent to sell,
or to sell within the state, the dead body, or any part or product
thereof, of a crocodile or alligator.
   (2) This subdivision does not authorize the importation or sale of
any alligator or crocodilian species, or any products thereof, that
are listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act, or
to allow the importation or sale of any alligator or crocodilian
species, or any products thereof, in violation of any federal law or
international treaty to which the United States is a party.
   (c) A violation of this section is punishable as a misdemeanor and
is subject to a fine of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000)
and not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) or imprisonment in
the county jail not to exceed six months, or both that fine and
imprisonment, for each violation.
   (d) The prohibitions against importation for commercial purposes,
possession with intent to sell, and sale of the species listed in
this section are severable. A finding of the invalidity of any one or
more prohibitions shall not affect the validity of any remaining
prohibitions. 
   (e) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2016.

   SEC. 3.    This act is an urgency statute necessary
for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety
within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go
into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
 
   To allow over 600 retail stores that carry these products in
California to continue abiding by our current law, and to, as soon as
possible, avoid the risk of possible litigation as a result of the
ban.