PRINTER'S NO. 144
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
264
Session of
2015
INTRODUCED BY ALLOWAY, LEACH, STACK, BREWSTER, WHITE, COSTA,
FARNESE AND BOSCOLA, JANUARY 16, 2015
REFERRED TO JUDICIARY, JANUARY 16, 2015
AN ACT
Amending Title 12 (Commerce and Trade) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, prohibiting the sale of shark fins;
and imposing a penalty.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Title 12 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes is amended by adding a chapter to read:
CHAPTER 55
PROHIBITION ON SALE OF SHARK FINS
Sec.
5501. Definitions.
5502. Prohibition.
5503. Penalty.
§ 5501. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this chapter
shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Shark fin." The raw, dried or otherwise processed detached
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fin or the raw, dried or otherwise processed detached tail of a
member of the superorder selachimorpha. The term does not
include a drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration of
the Department of Health and Human Services of the United
States.
§ 5502. Prohibition.
(a) Prohibition.--Except as provided in subsection (b), a
person may not possess, sell, offer for sale, trade or
distribute a shark fin.
(b) Exceptions.--
(1) Possession of a shark fin is permissible if:
(i) the shark was landed under a license from
another state; and
(ii) it is being possessed in this Commonwealth for
taxidermy.
(2) Before September 1, 2015, a restaurant may possess,
sell, offer for sale, trade or distribute shark fin that:
(i) is prepared for consumption; and
(ii) the restaurant possesses prior to September 2,
2014.
§ 5503. Penalty.
A person who violates section 5502 (relating to prohibition)
commits a summary offense . Each shark fin possessed, sold,
offered for sale or purchased in violation of section 5502 is a
separate offense.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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