H.R. 697: African Elephant Conservation and Legal Ivory Possession Act of 2015

114th Congress · introduced 2015-02-03 · Animals · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Lands.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2015-02-03 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Young, Don [R-AK-At Large] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Lands. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

African Elephant Conservation and Legal Ivory Possession Act of 2015

Plain summary

African Elephant Conservation and Legal Ivory Possession Act of 2015 This bill reauthorizes the African Elephant Conservation Act (AECA) through FY2020. Ivory may be imported or exported under the AECA and the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) if: (1) the raw ivory or worked ivory is solely for a museum; (2) it was lawfully importable into the United States on February 24, 2014, regardless of when it was acquired; or (3) the worked ivory was previously lawfully possessed in the United States. The Department of the Interior may station one U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service law enforcement officer in the primary U.S. diplomatic or consular post in each African country that has significant population of African elephants to assist local wildlife rangers in protecting the elephants and facilitating the apprehension of individuals who illegally kill them or assist in killing them. Interior must certify a finding that a county is a significant transit or destination point for illegal ivory trade and report the certification to the President for the purposes of the Pelly Amendment to the Fishermen's Protective Act of 1967. The Pelly Amendment authorizes the President to embargo wildlife products when the Interior certifies that a country is engaging in trade or certain actions that diminishes the effectiveness of an international agreement for the conservation of endangered or threatened species. This bill authorizes under the AECA and ESA: (1) the possession, sale, delivery, receipt, shipment, or transportation of African elephant ivory that has been lawfully imported or crafted in the United States, and (2) the importation of a sport-hunted African elephant trophy if the country in which the elephant was taken had elephants that are listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) at the time the trophy was taken.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

African Elephant Conservation and Legal Ivory Possession Act of 2015

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Young, Don [R-AK-At Large] · 2 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (1)

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Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-114hr697.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/114/hr>

Record fed-us-cong114-hr697 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114