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[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 497 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.497

                    One Hundred Seventeenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America

                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

           Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,
          the third day of January, two thousand and twenty two

                                 An Act

 
To establish the American Fisheries Advisory Committee to assist in the 
  awarding of fisheries research and development grants, and for other 
                                purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
    This Act may be cited as the ``American Fisheries Advisory 
Committee Act''.
SEC. 2. AMERICAN FISHERIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
    (a) Establishment.--Section 2 of the Act of August 11, 1939 (15 
U.S.C. 713c-3), is amended--
        (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (f); and
        (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the following:
    ``(e) American Fisheries Advisory Committee.--
        ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
            ``(A) Committee.--The term `Committee' means the American 
        Fisheries Advisory Committee established under paragraph (2).
            ``(B) Fishing community.--The term `fishing community' 
        means harvesters, marketers, growers, processors, recreational 
        fishermen, charter fishermen, and persons providing them with 
        goods and services.
            ``(C) Marketing and promotion.--The term `marketing and 
        promotion' means an activity aimed at encouraging the 
        consumption of seafood or expanding or maintaining commercial 
        markets for seafood.
            ``(D) Processor.--The term `processor' means any person in 
        the business of preparing or packaging seafood (including 
        seafood of the processor's own harvesting) for sale.
            ``(E) Seafood.--The term `seafood' means farm-raised and 
        wild-caught fish, shellfish, or marine algae harvested in the 
        United States or by a United States flagged vessel for human 
        consumption.
        ``(2) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
    the enactment of the American Fisheries Advisory Committee Act, the 
    Secretary shall establish 6 regions within the American Fisheries 
    Advisory Committee as follows:
            ``(A) Region 1 shall consist of Alaska, Hawaii, the 
        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the 
        Territories of Guam and American Samoa.
            ``(B) Region 2 shall consist of Maine, New Hampshire, 
        Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
            ``(C) Region 3 shall consist of Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, 
        Mississippi, Florida, Arkansas, Puerto Rico, and the Territory 
        of the Virgin Islands of the United States.
            ``(D) Region 4 shall consist of California, Washington, 
        Oregon, and Idaho.
            ``(E) Region 5 shall consist of New Jersey, New York, 
        Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, 
        and Georgia.
            ``(F) Region 6 shall consist of Michigan, Minnesota, 
        Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
        ``(3) Membership.--The Committee shall be composed of the 
    following members:
            ``(A) Regional representation.--Each of the regions listed 
        in subparagraphs (A) through (F) of paragraph (2) shall be 
        represented on the Committee by 3 members--
                ``(i) who are appointed by the Secretary;
                ``(ii) who reside in a State or territory in the region 
            that the member will represent;
                ``(iii) of which--

                    ``(I) one shall have experience as a seafood 
                harvester or processor;
                    ``(II) one shall have experience as recreational or 
                commercial fisher or have experience growing seafood; 
                and
                    ``(III) one shall be an individual who represents 
                the fisheries science community or the relevant 
                Regional Fishery Management Council; and

                ``(iv) that are selected so that the members of the 
            Committee have experience or expertise with as many seafood 
            species as practicable.
            ``(B) At-large members.--The Secretary shall appoint to the 
        Committee at-large members as follows:
                ``(i) One individual with experience in food 
            distribution, marketing, retail, or food service.
                ``(ii) One individual with experience in the 
            recreational fishing industry supply chain, such as 
            fishermen, manufacturers, retailers, and distributors.
                ``(iii) One individual with experience in the 
            commercial fishing industry supply chain, such as 
            fishermen, manufacturers, retailers, and distributors.
                ``(iv) One individual who is an employee of the 
            National Marine Fisheries Service with expertise in 
            fisheries research.
            ``(C) Balanced representation.--In selecting the members 
        described in subparagraphs (A) and (B), the Secretary shall 
        seek to maximize on the Committee, to the extent practicable, a 
        balanced representation of expertise in United States 
        fisheries, seafood production, and science.
        ``(4) Member terms.--The term for a member of the Committee 
    shall be 3 years, except that the Secretary shall designate 
    staggered terms for the members initially appointed to the 
    Committee.
        ``(5) Responsibilities.--The Committee shall be responsible 
    for--
            ``(A) identifying needs of the fishing community that may 
        be addressed by a project funded with a grant under subsection 
        (c);
            ``(B) developing the request for proposals for such grants;
            ``(C) reviewing applications for such grants; and
            ``(D) selecting applications for approval under subsection 
        (c)(2)(B).
        ``(6) Chair.--The Committee shall elect a chair by a majority 
    of those voting, if a quorum is present.
        ``(7) Quorum.--A simple majority of members of the Committee 
    shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may hold hearings.
        ``(8) Meetings.--
            ``(A) Frequency.--The Committee shall meet not more than 2 
        times each year.
            ``(B) Location.--The meetings of the Committee shall rotate 
        between the geographic regions described under paragraph (2).
            ``(C) Minimizing costs.--The Committee shall seek to 
        minimize the operational costs associated with meetings, 
        hearings, or other business of the Committee, including through 
        the use of video or teleconference.
        ``(9) Designation of staff member.--The Secretary shall 
    designate a staff member to coordinate the activities of the 
    Committee and to assist with administrative and other functions as 
    requested by the Committee.
        ``(10) Per diem and expenses and funding.--
            ``(A) In general.--A member of the Committee shall serve 
        without compensation, but shall be reimbursed in accordance 
        with section 5703 of title 5, United States Code, for 
        reasonable travel costs and expenses incurred in performing 
        duties as a member of the Committee.
            ``(B) Funding.--The costs of reimbursements under 
        subparagraph (A) and the other costs associated with the 
        Committee shall be paid from funds made available to carry out 
        this section (which may include funds described in subsection 
        (f)(1)(B)), except that no funds allocated for grants under 
        subsection (f)(1)(A) shall be expended for any purpose under 
        this subsection.
        ``(11) Conflict of interest.--The conflict of interest and 
    recusal provisions set out in section 302(j) of the Magnuson-
    Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(j)) 
    shall apply to any decision by the Committee and to all members of 
    the Committee as if each member of the Committee is an affected 
    individual within the meaning of such section 302(j), except that 
    in addition to the disclosure requirements of section 302(j)(2)(C) 
    of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(j)(2)(C)), each member of the Committee 
    shall disclose any financial interest or relationship in an 
    organization or with an individual that is applying for a grant 
    under subsection (c) held by the member of the Committee, including 
    an interest as an officer, director, trustee, partner, employee, 
    contractor, agent, or other representative.
        ``(12) Technical review of applications.--
            ``(A) In general.--Prior to review of an application for a 
        grant under subsection (c) by the Committee, the Secretary 
        shall obtain an independent written technical evaluation from 3 
        or more appropriate Federal, private, or public sector experts 
        (such as industry, academia, or governmental experts) who--
                ``(i) have subject matter expertise to determine the 
            technical merit of the proposal in the application;
                ``(ii) shall independently evaluate each such proposal; 
            and
                ``(iii) shall certify that the expert does not have a 
            conflict of interest concerning the application that the 
            expert is reviewing.
            ``(B) Guidance.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        enactment of the American Fisheries Advisory Committee Act, the 
        Secretary shall issue guidance related to carrying out the 
        technical evaluations under subparagraph (A). Such guidance 
        shall include criteria for the elimination by the National 
        Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of applications that 
        fail to meet a minimum level of technical merit as determined 
        by the review described in subparagraph (A).''.
    (b) Role in Approval of Grants.--Section 2(c)(3) of the Act of 
August 11, 1939 (15 U.S.C. 713c-3(c)(3)), is amended to read as 
follows:
    ``(3)(A) No application for a grant under this subsection may be 
approved unless the Secretary--
        ``(i) is satisfied that the applicant has the requisite 
    technical and financial capability to carry out the project; and
        ``(ii) based on the recommendations of the American Fisheries 
    Advisory Committee established in subsection (e), evaluates the 
    proposed project as to--
            ``(I) soundness of design;
            ``(II) the possibilities of securing productive results;
            ``(III) minimization of duplication with other fisheries 
        research and development projects;
            ``(IV) the organization and management of the project;
            ``(V) methods proposed for monitoring and evaluating the 
        success or failure of the project; and
            ``(VI) such other criteria as the Secretary may require.
    ``(B) If the Secretary fails to provide funds to a grant selected 
by the American Fisheries Advisory Committee, the Secretary shall 
provide a written document to the Committee justifying the decision.''.
SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF SPECIFIED PURPOSES OF FISHERIES RESEARCH AND 
DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS GRANTS PROGRAM TO INCLUDE FISHERIES RESEARCH AND 
DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.
    Section 2(c)(1) of the Act of August 11, 1939 (15 U.S.C. 713c-
3(c)(1)), is amended by inserting ``fisheries science, recreational 
fishing,'' before ``harvesting,''.
SEC. 4. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF GRANTS PROPOSALS.
    Section 2(c) of the Act of August 11, 1939 (15 U.S.C. 713c-3(c)), 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
        ``(6) Any person awarded a grant under this subsection shall 
    make publicly available a title and abstract of the project to be 
    carried out by the grant funds that serves as the public 
    justification for funding the project that includes a statement 
    describing how the project serves to enhance United States 
    fisheries, including harvesting, processing, marketing, and 
    associated infrastructures, if applicable.''.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.
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