From Godfrey Harris of the Ivory Institute…
"Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 96 on Sunday, October 4. Beginning
July 1, 2016, the sale of virtually any object made from or with
ivory in the State of California - older pianos and violin bows being
the principal exceptions - will be become a misdemeanor subject to a
$50,000 fine. The bill goes beyond Federal law by ending both
commercial and private sales of all antique ivory objects - unless
the piece contains less than 5% ivory by volume. The Governor’s
reasoning for approving the bill was not immediately known, but the
Humane Society of the U. S. - the animal rights group that pushed
retiring Speaker Toni Adkins into sponsoring the bill - noted that
AB 96 would close “loopholes” that escaped the ban Governor Brown
signed three decades ago.
Please recall that the California Fish and Game Department told me
in Sacramento that they have no personnel and no funds to enforce the
law and none is currently anticipated to materialize. So don’t be
shocked if you read of a show raid or two next summer on some
hapless Chinatown establishment, swap meet spot, antique mall, or
smaller auction house to bring attention to the new law. The Ivory
Education Institute is currently exploring with its legal team
whether a class action suit, claiming that AB 96 is a violation of
the 5th and 14th Amendment to the Federal Constitution by a taking
of such property as netsuke, chess sets, portraits, and jewelry
without compensation, is viable."
Godfrey (Jeff) Harris
IvoryEducationInstitute.org