Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB4843
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Full Text of HB4843  100th General Assembly

HB4843enr 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  
  
  

 


 
HB4843 EnrolledLRB100 20395 SLF 35708 b

1    AN ACT concerning ivory.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Ivory
5Ban Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
7    "Ivory" means any tooth or tusk composed of ivory from any
8animal, including, but not limited to, an elephant,
9hippopotamus, mammoth, narwhal, walrus, or whale, or any piece
10thereof, whether raw ivory or worked ivory, or made into, or
11part of, an ivory product.
12    "Ivory product" means any item that contains, or that is
13wholly or partially made from, any ivory.
14    "Raw ivory" means any ivory the surface of which, polished
15or unpolished, is unaltered or minimally changed by carving.
16    "Rhinoceros horn" means the horn, or any piece thereof, of
17any species of rhinoceros.
18    "Rhinoceros horn product" means any item that contains, or
19is wholly or partially made from, any rhinoceros horn.
20    "Total value of the ivory, ivory products, rhinoceros horn,
21and rhinoceros horn products" means the fair market value of
22the ivory, ivory products, rhinoceros horn, and rhinoceros horn
23products, or the actual price paid for the ivory, ivory

 

 

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1products, rhinoceros horn, and rhinoceros products, whichever
2is greater.
3    "Worked ivory" means ivory that has been embellished,
4carved, marked, or otherwise altered so that it can no longer
5be considered raw ivory.
 
6    Section 10. Prohibitions.
7    (a) In addition to the prohibitions under any other law, it
8shall be unlawful for any person to import, sell, offer for
9sale, purchase, barter, or possess with intent to sell, any
10ivory, ivory product, rhinoceros horn, or rhinoceros horn
11product, except as provided by this Act.
12    (b) It shall be a rebuttable presumption of possession with
13intent to sell when any ivory, ivory product, rhinoceros horn,
14or rhinoceros horn product is possessed in a retail or
15wholesale outlet commonly used for the buying or selling of
16similar products, provided, however, that nothing in this
17subsection (b) shall preclude a finding of intent to sell based
18on any other evidence which may serve to independently
19establish that intent. The act of obtaining an appraisal of
20ivory, an ivory product, rhinoceros horn, or a rhinoceros horn
21product, alone shall not constitute possession with intent to
22sell.
23    (c) A person may convey ivory, an ivory product, rhinoceros
24horn, or a rhinoceros horn product to the legal beneficiary of
25the ivory, ivory product, rhinoceros horn, or rhinoceros horn

 

 

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1product which is part of an estate or other items being
2conveyed to lawful beneficiaries upon the death of the owner of
3the ivory, ivory product, rhinoceros horn, or rhinoceros horn
4product or in anticipation of that death.
5    (d) None of the prohibitions set forth in this Section
6shall apply to employees or agents of the federal or State
7government undertaking any law enforcement activities under
8federal or State law or any mandatory duties required by
9federal or State law.
10    (e) The prohibition on import set forth in subsection (a)
11of this Section shall not apply where the import is expressly
12authorized by federal license or permit.
13    (f) The Department of Natural Resources may permit, under
14terms and conditions as the Department may adopt by rule, the
15import, sale, offer for sale, purchase, barter, or possession
16with intent to sell, of any ivory, ivory product, rhinoceros
17horn, or rhinoceros horn product for bona fide educational or
18scientific purposes, unless this activity is prohibited by
19federal law.
 
20    Section 12. Exemptions. The prohibitions under Section 10
21shall not apply:
22        (1) When the ivory or rhinoceros horn is part of a bona
23    fide antique gun or knife and is less than 20% by volume of
24    the antique, and the seller establishes by documentation
25    that the antique is not less than 100 years old.

 

 

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1        (2) When the ivory or rhinoceros horn is part of a
2    musical instrument, including, but not limited to, a string
3    or wind instrument or piano, and that is less than 20% by
4    volume of the instrument, and the owner or seller provides
5    historical documentation demonstrating provenance and
6    showing the item was manufactured no later than 1975.
 
7    Section 15. Penalties.
8    (a) In addition to any applicable penalties which may be
9imposed under any other law, a person violating any provision
10of Section 10 of this Act, or any rule adopted under Section 20
11of this Act, shall be guilty of:
12        (1) for a first offense, a business offense and shall
13    be fined not less than $1,000 or an amount equal to 2 times
14    the total value of the ivory, ivory products, rhinoceros
15    horn, and rhinoceros horn products involved in the offense,
16    whichever is greater; and
17        (2) for a second or subsequent offense, a Class A
18    misdemeanor and shall be fined not less than $5,000 or an
19    amount equal to 2 times the total value of the ivory, ivory
20    products, rhinoceros horn, and rhinoceros horn products
21    involved in the offense, whichever is greater.
22    (b) Upon a conviction for violating the provisions of
23Section 10 of this Act, the court shall order the seizure of
24all ivory, ivory products, rhinoceros horn, and rhinoceros horn
25products involved in the violation and determine the penalty

 

 

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1for the violation based on the assessed value of the seized
2products under subsection (a) of this Section. After sentencing
3the defendant, the court shall order that the seized ivory,
4ivory products, rhinoceros horn, and rhinoceros horn products
5be transferred to the Department of Natural Resources for
6proper disposition. The Department, at its discretion, may
7destroy the ivory, ivory products, rhinoceros horn, and
8rhinoceros horn products or donate them to an educational or
9scientific institution or organization, including, but not
10necessarily limited to, a museum, university, or research
11group.
 
12    Section 20. Rulemaking authority. The Department of
13Natural Resources may adopt any rules necessary for the
14implementation of this Act.