To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to reform procedures for the payment of funds from the asset forfeiture fund, and for other purposes.

Summary: Asset Forfeiture Fund Reform and Distribution Act of 2011 - Amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to require the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) or the Secretary of the Treasury, after September 30, 2011, to use each of the sums received as fines, penalties, and forfeitures of property for violations of any provisions of such Act, or of any other fishery resource law enforced by the Secretary, to make a payment to: (1) the state in which the violation occurred, (2) the state in which the vessel involved in the violation is homeported if the violation did not occur in a state, or (3) the state most directly affected by a violation neither occurring in a state nor involving a vessel. (Current law authorizes using such sums for certain civil and criminal enforcement costs.)

Directs states to use such amounts for specified research and monitoring activities.

Sets forth transitional rules authorizing the Secretary to use such amounts received before October 1, 2011, to reimburse appropriate legal fees and costs, up to $200,000 per person, to specified persons the Secretary directed to receive a remittance of at least a portion of a fisheries enforcement penalty.

Prohibits the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from assigning specified rulemaking or adjudication proceedings to an individual who has served as an NOAA administrative law judge for at least a five-year period if such proceeding pertains to the same fishery management region to which the majority of such proceedings that the individual presided over within the period pertained.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Asset Forfeiture Fund Reform and 
Distribution Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. ASSET FORFEITURE FUND REFORM.

    (a) In General.--Section 311(e) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1861(e)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``(1) Notwithstanding'' and inserting 
        ``(1)(A) Notwithstanding''; and
            (2) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by striking ``may pay from'' and inserting 
                ``shall use each of the''; and
                    (B) by striking ``(16 U.S.C. 3371 et seq.)--'' and 
                all that follows through the end of the paragraph and 
                inserting the following: ``(16 U.S.C. 3371 et seq.), to 
                make a payment, in the amount of the sum received--
            ``(i) if the violation occurred in a State, to such State;
            ``(ii) if the violation did not occur in a State, to the 
        State in which the vessel involved in the violation is 
        homeported; or
            ``(iii) if the violation did not occur in a State and did 
        not involve a vessel, to the State which is most directly 
        affected by the violation.
    ``(B) Amounts paid to a State under subparagraph (A) shall be used 
for research and monitoring activities as determined appropriate by the 
head of the agency of the State that is responsible for management of 
marine fisheries. Such activities may include--
            ``(i) fishery research and independent stock assessments, 
        including cooperative research;
            ``(ii) socioeconomic assessments, including socioeconomic 
        conditions of fishing communities;
            ``(iii) data collection, including creation of an 
        information system that will enable timely audit and 
        transmission of data for utilization by researchers and other 
        collaborating institutions;
            ``(iv) compensation for the costs of analyzing the economic 
        impacts of fishery management decisions and to analyze 
        potential methods to provide targeted compensation to fisherman 
        that have been harmed by such management decisions;
            ``(v) at-sea and shoreside monitoring of fishing;
            ``(vi) preparation of fishery impact statements; and
            ``(vii) other activities that a Regional Fishery Management 
        Council of which the State is a member considers to be 
        necessary to rebuild or maintain sustainable fisheries, ensure 
        healthy ecosystems, provide socioeconomic economic assistance, 
        or maintain fishing communities.''.
    (b) Rule of Application.--The amendments made by subsection (a) 
shall apply with respect to amounts received under section 311(e) of 
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 
1861(e)) after September 30, 2011.
    (c) Transition Rule.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary may use any amount received 
        as a fisheries enforcement penalty before October 1, 2011, to 
        reimburse appropriate legal fees and costs to a covered person 
        in an amount not to exceed $200,000 per covered person.
            (2) Timing.--
                    (A) Submission of application.--A covered person 
                seeking reimbursement of appropriate legal fees and 
                costs under paragraph (1) shall submit to the Secretary 
                an application for such reimbursement--
                            (i) in the case of a covered person 
                        described in paragraph (4)(B)(i), not later 
                        than December 31, 2011; and
                            (ii) in the case of a covered person 
                        described in paragraph (4)(B)(ii), not later 
                        than 1 year after the date on which the 
                        Secretary directed that such covered person 
                        shall receive a remittance of a fisheries 
                        enforcement penalty.
                    (B) Determination.--Not later than 60 days after 
                receiving an application under paragraph (1), the 
                Secretary shall make a final determination on whether 
                to provide such reimbursement and the amount of any 
                such reimbursement.
            (3) Remaining funds.--The Secretary shall use--
                    (A) 80 percent of the amounts described in 
                paragraph (1) remaining after all reimbursements have 
                been made under such paragraph, for fishery stock 
                assessments in the fishery management region that the 
                Secretary determines to be appropriate; and
                    (B) 20 percent of such amounts to make payments to 
                States in accordance with section 311(e)(1) of the 
                Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
                Act (16 U.S.C. 1861(e)(1)).
            (4) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    (A) The term ``appropriate legal fees and costs'' 
                means the legal fees and costs incurred by a covered 
                person--
                            (i) that the Secretary determines were 
                        appropriately incurred by the covered person in 
                        successfully challenging a fisheries 
                        enforcement penalty; and
                            (ii) that were incurred not later than 30 
                        days after the date on which the Secretary 
                        directed that such penalty shall be remitted to 
                        the covered person.
                    (B) The term ``covered person'' means--
                            (i) a person that the Secretary directed 
                        shall receive a remittance of a fisheries 
                        enforcement penalty in the Decision Memorandum; 
                        or
                            (ii) a person that--
                                    (I) received a Notice of Violation 
                                and Assessment issued on or after March 
                                17, 1994, for a fisheries enforcement 
                                penalty that was settled or otherwise 
                                resolved prior to February 3, 2010;
                                    (II) paid such fisheries 
                                enforcement penalty;
                                    (III) submitted a complaint prior 
                                to May 7, 2011, seeking remittance of 
                                such civil penalty; and
                                    (IV) the Secretary directed shall 
                                receive a remittance of a fisheries 
                                enforcement penalty or a portion of 
                                such remittance.
                    (C) The term ``Decision Memorandum'' means the 
                Secretarial Decision Memorandum issued by the Secretary 
                on May 17, 2011, entitled ``Decisions regarding Certain 
                NOAA Fisheries Enforcement Cases Based on Special 
                Master Swartwood's Report and Recommendations''.
                    (D) The term ``fisheries enforcement penalty'' 
                means any fine, penalty, or forfeiture of property 
                imposed for a violation of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
                Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et 
                seq.) or of any other marine resource law enforced by 
                the Secretary, including the Lacey Act Amendments of 
                1981 (16 U.S.C. 3371 et seq.).
                    (E) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
                Commerce.

SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGES IN THE NATIONAL OCEANIC 
              AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION.

    (a) In General.--Subject to subsection (b), the Administrator of 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (referred to in 
this section as ``NOAA'') may not assign any proceeding required to be 
conducted in accordance with sections 556 and 557 of title 5 to an 
individual who has served as an administrative law judge for NOAA for a 
period of five or more years if such proceeding pertains to the same 
fishery management region to which the majority of such proceedings 
that the individual presided over within the period pertained.
    (b) Reassignment After Five Years.--Subsection (a) does not apply 
to an individual who has not served as an administrative law judge for 
NOAA within a five-year period ending on the date of the assignment 
described in such subsection.

SEC. 4. DEFINITION OF FISHERY MANAGEMENT REGION.

    In this Act, the term ``fishery management region'' means a region 
under the jurisdiction of a Regional Fishery Management Council 
established under section 302 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852).