UPDATED: New Ivory Ban Legislation Introduced in California

Updated on February 3, 2015

Ivory Ban Legislation Introduced in Several States 

On the heels of ivory ban laws enacted last year in New Jersey and New York, legislatures in several other states have seen the introduction of bills to ban the sale of ivory and ivory-containing products, including musical instruments.  Bills have been introduced in California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa,  and Washington, with other states targeted for similar legislation according to conservation groups.  (A bill was introduced in Virginia, but was defeated in committee.) Some of the bills contain a ban on all sales, while others contain limited exemptions for certain musical instruments.  Some sponsors have erroneously indicated that the federal government has already banned the interstate sale of ivory.  NAMM is working with other music industry organizations in an advocacy outreach effort to insure that any new state laws contain exemptions for musical instruments which are not unnecessarily encumbered by burdensome documentation impractical manufacturing cut-off dates.

January 13, 2015

California Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins has introduced a bill (AB96) which would ban virtually all elephant and mammoth ivory sales within the state effective July 1, 2016.  Patterned after the recently-enacted New York State law, the California bill would exempt musical instruments with less than 20% ivory by volume provided the seller has "historical documentation" showing the instrument's provenance and demonstrating that it was manufactured not later than 1975.

Text of AB 96 as introduced can be found HERE.  

Though AB 96 is in the early stages of the legislative process, NAMM is monitoring developments in connection with this legislation and is actively seeking to work with other interested groups in an advocacy posture.