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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7925 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7925

 To provide for the standardization, publication, and accessibility of 
data relating to public outdoor recreational use of Federal waterways, 
                        and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 10, 2024

 Mr. D'Esposito (for himself, Mr. Levin, Ms. Salazar, Mr. Huffman, Ms. 
Kamlager-Dove, Mr. Donalds, Mrs. Peltola, Mr. Panetta, Mr. Kilmer, Mr. 
Carl, and Mr. Moylan) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                 to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To provide for the standardization, publication, and accessibility of 
data relating to public outdoor recreational use of Federal waterways, 
                        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 ``Modernizing Access to Our Public 
Oceans Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Federal fishing restriction area.--The term ``Federal 
        fishing restriction area'' means a defined area in which all or 
        certain fishing activities are temporarily or permanently 
        banned or restricted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration.
            (2) Federal waterway.--The term ``Federal waterway'' means 
        any portion of a body of water managed in part or in entirety 
        by the Secretary.
            (3) Federal waterway restriction.--The term ``Federal 
        waterway restriction'' means a restriction on access to or use 
        of a Federal waterway applied under applicable law by the 
        Secretary.
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Commerce.

SEC. 3. DATA STANDARDIZATION.

    Not later than 30 months after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, shall 
develop and adopt standards with respect to the collection and 
dissemination of geospatial data relating to public outdoor 
recreational use of Federal waterways and Federal fishing restriction 
areas, including such data made available under section 4.

SEC. 4. DATA PUBLICATION AND ACCESSIBILITY.

    (a) Federal Waterway Fishing Access Data.--Not later than 4 years 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, to the 
maximum extent practicable, shall make available on a publicly 
accessible website geographic information system data that--
            (1) includes, with respect to Federal waterway 
        restrictions--
                    (A) information with respect to the conditions 
                under which Federal waterways are open or closed to 
                entry, watercraft, low-elevation aircraft, or diving;
                    (B) the areas of Federal waterways with 
                restrictions on motorized propulsion, horsepower, or 
                gasoline fuel;
                    (C) the areas of Federal waterways with anchoring 
                restrictions, no-wake zones, or vessel speed 
                restrictions; and
                    (D) the types of watercraft that are restricted on 
                each area of a Federal waterway, including the 
                permissibility of--
                            (i) motorboats;
                            (ii) non-motorized watercraft;
                            (iii) personal watercraft;
                            (iv) airboats;
                            (v) amphibious aircraft; and
                            (vi) oceangoing ships; and
            (2) describes--
                    (A) the location and geographic boundaries of 
                Federal fishing restriction areas, including--
                            (i) any zones where, and periods when, 
                        fishing is limited under paragraphs (2), (3), 
                        and (4) of section 303(b)(2) of the Magnuson-
                        Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
                        (16 U.S.C. 1853(b)(2));
                            (ii) full and partial closures, in terms of 
                        both area and duration, as well as seasonal 
                        closures;
                            (iii) no-catch zones; and
                            (iv) Federal fishing restrictions within or 
                        surrounding marine protected areas, including 
                        National Marine Sanctuaries; and
                    (B) to the maximum extent practicable, restrictions 
                imposed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
                Administration on method of catch, such as requirements 
                relating to the use of circle hooks, descending 
                devices, and trolling.
    (b) Federal Waterway Access and Navigation Information.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall, to the maximum extent 
        practicable, continue to make available digitized geographic 
        information system data that includes, with respect to access 
        to Federal waterways--
                    (A) navigation information;
                    (B) bathymetric information; and
                    (C) depth charts.
            (2) Website.--The Secretary shall make the data described 
        in paragraph (1) available on the website on which the 
        Secretary makes the data described in subsection (a) available.
    (c) Data Accessibility.--The Secretary shall ensure that the 
website on which the Secretary makes the data described in subsections 
(a) and (b) available--
            (1) organizes that data so that the data is findable, 
        accessible, interoperable, and reusable; and
            (2) includes a mechanism by which users can be easily 
        updated when new data becomes available.
    (d) Public Comment.--The Secretary shall develop a process to allow 
members of the public to submit questions or comments regarding the 
data described in subsections (a) and (b) and the accessibility of that 
data under subsection (c).
    (e) Updates.--The Secretary, to the maximum extent practicable, 
shall update--
            (1) the data described in subsections (a)(1) and (b) not 
        less frequently than 2 times each year; and
            (2) the data described in subsection (a)(2) in real time as 
        changes to Federal fishing restriction areas take effect.
    (f) Nondisclosure of Certain Information.--The Secretary may not 
disclose, in any geographic information system data made publicly 
available under this section, information regarding the nature, 
location, character, or ownership of historic, paleontological, 
cultural, or archaeological resources, consistent with applicable law.

SEC. 5. COOPERATION AND COORDINATION.

    (a) Community Partners and Third-Party Providers.--For purposes of 
carrying out this Act, the Secretary may--
            (1) coordinate and partner with non-Federal entities, 
        including--
                    (A) State agencies;
                    (B) interstate marine fisheries commissions;
                    (C) Regional Ocean Partnerships;
                    (D) experts in data science, analytics, and 
                operations research;
                    (E) the private sector, including technology or 
                geospatial data industries; and
                    (F) nonprofit organizations; and
            (2) enter into agreements with experts described in 
        subparagraph (D) of paragraph (1), or experts within entities 
        described in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (E), or (F) of that 
        paragraph, to carry out any of the provisions of this Act.
    (b) Interagency Coordination.--The Secretary shall, to the maximum 
extent practicable, work with the relevant offices of the Department of 
the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, the Coast Guard, the Army 
Corps of Engineers, and the Interagency Working Group on Ocean and 
Coastal Mapping codified by section 12203 of the Ocean and Coastal 
Mapping Integration Act (33 U.S.C. 3502) to ensure compatibility and 
interoperability among applicable Federal databases with respect to the 
collection and dissemination of geospatial data relating to public 
outdoor recreational use of Federal waterways and Federal fishing 
restriction areas.
    (c) Applicability of Federal, State, and Tribal Regulations.--The 
Secretary, in developing and distributing geospatial data under this 
Act, shall make clear that the data are subject to--
            (1) applicable Federal regulations; and
            (2) applicable State and Tribal regulations.

SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act may be construed--
            (1) to modify or alter the definition of the term 
        ``navigable waters'' under any provision of Federal law;
            (2) to affect the jurisdiction or authority of Federal or 
        State agencies to regulate navigable waters; or
            (3) to increase or diminish the responsibility or authority 
        of Federal or State agencies to manage fisheries.
                                 <all>
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