Title: Allowing Alaska IVORY Act
Policy area: Animals

Summary:
Allowing Alaska to Improve Vital Opportunities in the Rural Economy Act or the Allowing Alaska IVORY Act
This bill amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to revise an exemption for Alaskan natives from a moratorium on taking and importing marine mammals and marine mammal products with respect to ivory from walruses, whales, or mammoths. Under current law, the term "take" means to harass, hunt, capture, or kill, or attempt to harass, hunt, capture, or kill a marine mammal.
States may not prohibit: (1) the importation, sale, transfer, trade, barter, or possession of ivory from walruses or whales if the ivory is legally produced by Alaskan natives as an authentic native article of handicrafts and clothing; or (2) the importation, sale, transfer, trade, or possession of mammoth ivory or mammoth ivory products.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1965 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1965

   To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to protect the 
   cultural practices and livelihoods of producers of Alaska Native 
   handicrafts and traditional mammoth ivory products, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 17, 2017

 Mr. Sullivan (for himself and Ms. Murkowski) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to protect the 
   cultural practices and livelihoods of producers of Alaska Native 
   handicrafts and traditional mammoth ivory products, and for other 
                               purposes.

    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 ``Allowing Alaska to Improve Vital 
Opportunities in the Rural Economy Act'' or the ``Allowing Alaska IVORY 
Act''.

SEC. 2. ALASKA NATIVE HANDICRAFTS.

    Section 101(b) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 
U.S.C. 1371(b)) is amended--
            (1) by striking paragraph (1) and all that follows through 
        ``is done'' in the first sentence of paragraph (2) and 
        inserting the following:
                    ``(A)(i) is for subsistence purposes; or
                    ``(ii) is done'';
            (2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as subparagraph (B), and 
        indenting appropriately;
            (3) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A)(i) (as 
        redesignated by paragraph (1)), by striking ``(b) Except as'' 
        and inserting the following:
    ``(b) Application to Certain Alaska Natives.--
            ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Authentic native article of handicrafts and 
                clothing.--The term `authentic native article of 
                handicrafts and clothing' means an item composed wholly 
                or in some significant respect of natural materials 
                that is produced, decorated, or fashioned in the 
                exercise of traditional native handicrafts without the 
                use of a pantograph, multiple carvers, or any other 
                mass copying device.
                    ``(B) Traditional native handicrafts.--The term 
                `traditional native handicrafts' includes weaving, 
                carving, stitching, sewing, lacing, beading, drawing, 
                and painting.
            ``(2) Application.--Except as'';
            (4) in subparagraph (A)(ii) of paragraph (2) (as 
        redesignated by paragraph (1)), by striking ``and clothing:'' 
        and all that follows through ``painting'' and inserting ``and 
        clothing'';
            (5) in the flush text following subparagraph (B) of 
        paragraph (2) (as redesignated by paragraph (2)), by striking 
        ``Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this subsection, 
        when'' and inserting the following:
            ``(3) Limitations.--Notwithstanding paragraph (2), if'';
        and
            (6) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Special rules.--
                    ``(A) Interstate commerce.--Only authentic native 
                articles of handicrafts and clothing may be sold in 
                interstate commerce.
                    ``(B) Edible portions of marine mammals.--Any 
                edible portion of a marine mammal may be sold in a 
                native village or town in Alaska or for native 
                consumption.
            ``(5) Prohibitions.--
                    ``(A) Walrus ivory or whale bone.--No State shall 
                prohibit the importation, sale, offer for sale, 
                transfer, trade, barter, possession or possession with 
                the intent to sell, transfer, trade, or barter of 
                walrus ivory or whale bone produced under this title by 
                an Indian, Aleut, or Eskimo as an authentic native 
                article of handicrafts and clothing.
                    ``(B)  Mammoth ivory.--No State shall prohibit the 
                importation, sale, offer for sale, transfer, trade, 
                possession or possession with the intent to sell, 
                transfer, trade, or barter of mammoth ivory or a 
                mammoth ivory product.''.
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