STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3369

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 493

       H.D. 1

       S.D. 2

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 493, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ANIMAL CRUELTY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to protect African elephants and other endangered species that are hunted for their ivory.

     Specifically, this measure:

     (1)  Establishes the offense of the unlawful sale or trade of ivory products for any person who imports, sells, offers to sell, or possesses with the intent to sell any ivory product;

     (2)  Defines "ivory products" as ivory teeth or tusks from any of the following:  elephants, hippopotamuses, walruses, whales, and narwhals;

     (3)  Creates exemptions for the sale or trade of certain ivory products, including antique ivory or ivory legally imported prior to 1975 if from an Asian elephant or prior to 1990 if from an African elephant; provided that the seller can demonstrate that the ivory product meets specific requirements; and

     (4)  Allows the forfeiture of seized ivory products and provides penalties.

     Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Elephants DC, Elephants NJ, Golfing for Elephants, In Defense of Animals - Elephant Protection Campaign, International Fund for Animal Welfare, Natural Resources Defense Council, Save the Elephants, South African Safari Adventures, and forty-two individuals.  Written comments in opposition were received from the League of Women Voters of Hawaii.  The Department of the Attorney General and one individual submitted written comments on the measure.

     Your Committee finds that the international trade of ivory has driven African elephants to the brink of extinction.  Your Committee further finds that an investigation supported by The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International found that Hawaii is the third-highest retailer of elephant ivory in the United States, behind only California and New York.

     Accordingly, your Committee believes that the sale of elephant ivory should be prohibited in Hawaii, with certain limited exceptions, and that the prohibition should also extend to other endangered animals that have ivory teeth or tusks, to prevent an increase in poaching of these other species.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Inserting references to specific federal government definitions and qualifications for exempt antique ivory products and the types of appraisals that may be used to identify them;

     (2)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on the measure; and

     (3)  Making technical nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 493, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 493, H.D. 1, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

____________________________

DAVID Y. IGE, Chair