04/30/1996 03:02 PM Senate L&C

                                                                               
          SB 273 NATIVE HANDICRAFTS & INSTATE PRODUCTS                        
                                                                              
 SENATOR KELLY announced  SB 273  to be up for consideration.  He              
 noted there was a proposed CS.                                                
                                                                               
 SENATOR LINCOLN, sponsor, said the CS accommodated the concern                
 about retailers verifying articles coming into them for                       
 authenticity and would they be liable for it rather than the                  
 seller.  She said the class B misdemeanor penalty was removed.                
                                                                               
 In section 2, page 1, line 9 inserts "in the course of business" at           
 "retail" to exempt people who choose to sell items from their                 
 private collections.                                                          
                                                                               
 The third item under AS45.65.064 was changed to require the artist            
 to provide the certificate of origin to the buyer for any                     
 handicraft she sells at retail or wholesale for $50 or more.  The             
 reason they use $50 instead of $100 because one didn't know how               
 much the article would actually sell for.                                     
                                                                               
 That same section requires a person other than the maker of the               
 handicraft who sells an authentic native handicraft at retail or              
 wholesale for $100 or more to provide the buyer with a certificate            
 of origin.                                                                    
                                                                               
 Section C notices that the artist must prepare the certificate of             
 origin and then states the seller who is not the maker is not                 
 responsible for the accuracy of the contents of the certificate.              
 She agreed with this amendment because it puts the responsibility             
 upon the maker of the item rather than the seller.                            
                                                                               
 SENATOR LINCOLN displayed several authentic and fake handicrafts to           
 the committee to illustrate her point.                                        
                                                                               
 SENATOR LINCOLN said that the reason for this legislation is                  
 because 80 percent of a $77.5 million was spent on arts and crafts            
 in Alaska that are non-native made and in many instances, non-                
 Alaskan.  She is not saying they can't sell the fake things, but              
 she is saying that someone who pays a lot of money for something              
 can ask for a certificate of authenticity.                                    
                                                                               
 She said there is no jail time, but the fine is changed from $1000            
 to $5000.  It doesn't require a policeman.  It's not beyond a                 
 reasonable doubt, but just a preponderance of evidence.                       
                                                                               
 Number 290                                                                    
                                                                               
 SENATOR SALO moved to adopt the CS to SB 273.  There were no                  
 objections and it was so ordered.                                             
                                                                               
 SENATOR TORGERSON moved to pass CSSB 273 (L&C) from committee with            
 individual recommendations.  There were no objections and it was so           
 ordered.