Senate Bill S1949

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1949
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 17, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sens. HOYLMAN-SIGAL, BAILEY, KAVANAGH, KRUEGER, SEPULVEDA,
   SERRANO  --  read  twice  and  ordered printed, and when printed to be
   committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
 
 AN ACT to amend the  environmental  conservation  law,  in  relation  to
   prohibiting  the sale, trade or bartering or possession with intent to
   sell, trade or barter of certain wild animals or wild animal  products
   and the penalties imposed therefor
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 1  of  section  11-0536  of  the  environmental
 conservation  law,  as  amended  by  chapter 338 of the laws of 2009, is
 amended to read as follows:
   1. Except as provided in subdivision three hereof, no part of the skin
 or body, whether raw or manufactured, of the following species  of  wild
 animals  or  the animal itself may be sold, TRADED, BARTERED, or offered
 for sale, OR POSSESSED WITH INTENT TO SELL, TRADE OR BARTER by any indi-
 vidual, firm, corporation, association or partnership within  the  state
 of  New York:--Leopard (Panthera pardus), Snow Leopard (Uuncia), Clouded
 Leopard (Neofelis  nebulosa),  Tiger  (Panthera  tigres),  Asiatic  Lion
 (Panthera leo persica), Cheetah (Acinoyx jubatus), Alligators, Caiman or
 Crocodile of the Order Crocodylia (except as provided in subdivision two
 of this section), tortoises of the genus Gopherus, marine turtles of the
 family  Cheloniidae and the family Dermochelidae, Vicuna (Vicugna vicug-
 na), Wolf (Canis lupus), Red Wolf (Canis niger), or  Tasmanian  Forester
 Kangaroo  (Macropus  giganteus  tasmaniensis)  or Polar Bear (Thalarctos
 maritimus), Mountain Lion, sometimes  called  Cougar  (Felis  Concolar),
 Jaguar  (Panthera  onca),  Ocelot  (Felis  pardalis),  or  Margay (Felis
 wiedii),  [Sumatran  Rhinoceros  (Dicerorhinus  sumatrensis),  or  Black
 Rhinoceros  (Dicero  bicornis)]  RHINOCEROS  (RHINOCEROTIDAE) OR GIRAFFE
 (GIRAFFA CAMELOPARDALIS).

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD06152-01-3
 S. 1949                             2
              

 
   § 2. Section 71-0924 of the environmental conservation law, as amended
 by chapter 326 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:
 §  71-0924.  Illegal  commercialization of fish, shellfish, crustaceans,
              and wildlife.
   1. Notwithstanding  any  other  provision  of  this  chapter,  when  a
 violation involves the sale, trade or barter of fish, shellfish, crusta-
 ceans, wildlife, or parts thereof, the sale, trade or barter of which is
 prohibited by the fish and wildlife law, the following additional penal-
 ties shall be imposed:
   [1.]  A. where the value of fish, shellfish, crustaceans, wildlife, or
 parts thereof, is two hundred fifty dollars or less, the  offense  shall
 be  a  violation punishable by a fine of five hundred dollars and/or not
 more than fifteen days of imprisonment;
   [2.] B. where the value of fish, shellfish, crustaceans, wildlife,  or
 parts  thereof,  is  more  than  two  hundred fifty dollars but does not
 exceed one thousand five hundred dollars, the offense shall be a  misde-
 meanor  punishable  by  a  fine of five thousand dollars and/or not more
 than one year of imprisonment;
   [3.] C. where the value of fish, shellfish, crustaceans, wildlife,  or
 parts  thereof,  exceeds  one thousand five hundred dollars, the offense
 shall constitute a class E felony under the provisions of the penal law;
 [and]
   [4.] D. where the value of  ivory  articles,  as  defined  in  section
 11-0535-a  of  this  chapter,  exceeds twenty-five thousand dollars, the
 offense shall constitute a class D felony under the  provisions  of  the
 penal law; AND
   E. WITH RESPECT TO A VIOLATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION 11-0536 OF
 THIS  CHAPTER,  IN  ADDITION  TO ANY OTHER FINES OR PENALTIES, WHERE THE
 VALUE OF  WILDLIFE,  OR  PARTS  THEREOF,  EXCEEDS  TWENTY-FIVE  THOUSAND
 DOLLARS,  THE  OFFENSE  SHALL  CONSTITUTE  A  CLASS  D  FELONY UNDER THE
 PROVISIONS OF THE PENAL LAW, AND SHALL BE PUNISHABLE BY A  FINE  OF  THE
 GREATER  OF:  (I)  TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS; OR (II) UP TO TWICE THE FAIR
 MARKET VALUE OF THE WILDLIFE, OR PARTS THEREOF.
   [5.] 2. For the purposes of this section the value of fish, shellfish,
 crustaceans and wildlife shall be the fair market  value  of  or  actual
 price paid for such resource, whichever is greater. For purposes of this
 section,  "sale" shall include the acts of selling, trading or bartering
 and all related acts, such as the act of offering  for  sale,  trade  or
 barter,  and  shall also include the illegal possession of fish, shellf-
 ish, wildlife or crustacea with intent to sell. It shall be  presumptive
 evidence  of  possession  with intent to sell when such fish, shellfish,
 wildlife or crustacea is possessed in quantities exceeding the allowable
 recreational quantities, or is possessed in a retail or wholesale outlet
 commonly used for the buying or selling of such fish,  shellfish,  wild-
 life  or  crustacea, provided, however, that nothing in this subdivision
 shall preclude the admission of other evidence which may serve to  inde-
 pendently prove a defendant's intent to sell.
   §  3.  Subdivisions 1, 2 and 3 of section 71-0927 of the environmental
 conservation law, subdivisions 1 and 2 as amended and subdivision  3  as
 added  by  chapter  284  of  the  laws  of  2004, are amended to read as
 follows:
   1. Anyone convicted of violating the prohibition  against  harvesting,
 taking,  possessing  or  transporting  shellfish under facts and circum-
 stances meeting the criteria for imposition  of  sanctions  pursuant  to
 PARAGRAPH C OF subdivision [3] 1 of section 71-0924; or anyone convicted
 two or more times within five years of violating the prohibition against
 S. 1949                             3

 harvesting, taking, possessing or transporting shellfish under facts and
 circumstances  meeting the criteria for imposition of sanctions pursuant
 to PARAGRAPH B OF subdivision [3] 1 of section 71-0924, or of  violating
 subdivision 1 or 2, paragraph e or f of subdivision 3, subdivision 6, 8,
 9,  10,  11, or 13 of section 13-0309, section 13-0317, subdivision 2 of
 section 13-0323, section  13-0325,  [subdivision  3  or  5  of]  section
 13-0327,  or  section  13-0344 of this chapter shall have his license to
 take and land shellfish revoked and shall not be relicensed for a  mini-
 mum  of five years thereafter, in addition to any other sanction imposed
 pursuant to this article.
   2. Anyone convicted of unlawfully harvesting,  taking,  possessing  or
 transporting  any  marine  fish,  shellfish or crustacea under facts and
 circumstances meeting the criteria for imposition of sanctions  pursuant
 to  PARAGRAPH  C  OF  subdivision  [3]  1  of section 71-0924; or anyone
 convicted two or more times within five years of unlawfully  harvesting,
 taking, possessing or transporting any marine fish, shellfish or crusta-
 cea under facts and circumstances meeting the criteria for imposition of
 sanctions  pursuant  to  PARAGRAPH  B  OF  subdivision  [3] 1 of section
 71-0924, or of violating subdivision 1, paragraph c  of  subdivision  2,
 subdivision  5, 6, 7 or 9 of section 13-0329, or section 13-0344 of this
 chapter shall have his license to take and  land  lobsters  revoked  and
 shall not be relicensed for a minimum of five years thereafter, in addi-
 tion to any other sanction imposed pursuant to this article.
   3.  Any person convicted of violating the prohibition against harvest-
 ing, taking, possessing or transporting any marine food fish under facts
 and circumstances meeting  the  criteria  for  imposition  of  sanctions
 pursuant  to PARAGRAPH C OF subdivision [3] 1 of section 71-0924; or any
 person convicted two or more times within five years  of  violating  the
 prohibition  against  harvesting, taking, possessing or transporting any
 marine food fish under facts and circumstances meeting the criteria  for
 imposition  of sanctions pursuant to PARAGRAPH B OF subdivision [3] 1 of
 section 71-0924, or of violating section 13-0344 of this chapter,  shall
 have his license to take and land marine food fish revoked and shall not
 be  licensed  for a minimum of five years thereafter, in addition to any
 other sanctions imposed pursuant to this article.
   § 4. This act shall take effect  immediately.  Effective  immediately,
 the  addition,  amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation neces-
 sary for the implementation of  this  act  on  its  effective  date  are
 authorized to be made and completed on or before such date.