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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Lundstrom
DATE TYPED 1/27/05
HB HJM02
SHORT TITLE Enforce Indian Arts Act of 1990
SB
ANALYST Weber
APPROPRIATION
Appropriation Contained Estimated Additional Impact Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY05
FY06
FY05
FY06
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
SUMMARY
The federal Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 is a truth-in-advertising law that prohibits misrepresenta-
tion in marketing Indian arts and crafts products within the United States.
The law regulates the following:
•
Makes it is illegal to offer or display for sale or sell any art or craft product in a manner that
falsely suggests that it is Indian-produced, an Indian product or the product of a particular Indian,
an Indian tribe or an Indian arts and crafts organization;
•
For a first-time violation of the act, an individual may face a civil penalty or a criminal penalty
with a fine of up to two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) or a five-year prison term, or
both. Alternately for a first-time violation of the act, a business may face a civil penalty or be
prosecuted and fined up to one million dollars ($1,000,000), or both; and
•
Under the act, "Indian" is defined as a member of any federally or state-recognized Indian tribe or
an individual certified as an Indian artisan by an Indian tribe.
•
The act covers all Indian and Indian-style traditional and contemporary arts and crafts produced
after 1935.
•
The act requires that all products be marked truthfully regarding the Indian heritage and the tribal
affiliation of the producers, so as not to mislead a consumer.
•
Under the act it is illegal to market an art or craft item using the name of a tribe if a member or
certified Indian artisan of that tribe did not actually create the art or craft item; and
The United States attorney for the district of New Mexico has the necessary legal authority to prosecute a
violation of the act as with any consumer fraud complaint. The federal Indian arts and crafts board re-
ceives and refers valid complaints about violations of the act to the federal bureau of investigation for in-