[rtt-abq] Fw: SB 38 - wildlife trafficking bill in NM

From: "Cheryl Passalaqua" <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> (Redacted sender "nmcheryl" for DMARC)
To: "rtt-abq@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <rtt-abq@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 9 Feb 2019 21:04:38 +0000 (UTC)

From our friend, Christina.
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Hello All,



This morning, SB 38, the Wildlife Trafficking Act passed unanimously* out of
Senate Conservation. However, there are going to be considerable hurdles for it
to get through Senate Judiciary. Many of the members on Senate Conservation are
also on Judiciary, which is part of the reason they let it pass through. Also,
there was an amendment from Senator Bill Soules that we will have to partially
remedy.



The beginning of the bill states:



"covered animal species" means any extant species of elephant, rhinoceros,
tiger, lion, leopard, cheetah, jaguar, pangolin, great ape, marine turtle,
shark, caiman, ray or other species covered by Appendix 1 of the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna…”



Soules brought up the idea of sharks teeth as an example of a commonly sold
item and because no sharks are listed on Appendix 1 (How is this possible?) he
made an amendment to strike the list of species and have it read “any extant
species covered by Appendix 1…” We were not in a position to oppose this
amendment because the votes were not looking good otherwise. However, because
from certain countries, elephants, rhinoceros and lions are considered Appendix
2, I want to add those species back in at our next committee. From what I can
tell, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, jaguars, pangolins, apes, marine turtles, and
caimans are all already under Appendix 1 so we are not losing anything
there.PLEASE LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS.



Also, there were considerable questions about how the federal permits work and
general confusion that this bill prohibits the SALE of these items and not the
possession. To further address these concerns, we should be able to present the
federal rules on imports. From Senator Payne, he also kept wondering how we
arrived at 200 grams for imports and why guns and musical instruments were
exempted.Here are some Q&As from FWS on the ivory rule from where these were
taken that can help address those questions.Does anyone have the full 2016
order from Obama?



Finally, there was a question about the bill being a “MAY enforce” as opposed
to a “SHALL enforce”. This was a compromise we made last time around to avoid
this being a dreaded “unfunded mandate”. But Payne brought up the idea that
“may enforce” does not exist in New Mexico’s criminal statute. I will be
checking with some other folks, including Sen. Ivey-Soto, butcan anyone provide
guidance?



The bill is now headed to Senate Judiciary where it will probably won’t be
heard before the week of Feb. 18th. However, it’s important that people start
talking to committee members as soon as possible:



Richard Martinez – 5

Daniel Ivey-Soto – 15

Greg Baca – 29

Joe Cervantes – 31

Ron Griggs – 34

Linda Lopez – 11

Mark Moores – 21

Bill O’Neill – 13

Peter Wirth – 25

Bill Payne – 20



Thank you to everyone for their support, and onward,



Michael



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Michael Dax
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New Mexico Outreach Representative
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Defenders of Wildlife
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210 Montezuma Ave. Suite 210, Santa Fe, NM 87501
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Tel: 505-395-7334|
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mdax@xxxxxxxxxxxxx   |  www.defenders.org
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[rtt-abq] Fw: SB 38 - wildlife trafficking bill in NM

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