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[Senate Report 110-340]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

110th Congress 
 2d Session                      SENATE                          Report
                                                                110-340
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     

                                                       Calendar No. 750

                     FLORIDA SALVAGING LICENSE ACT

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 OF THE

           COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION

                                   on

                                S. 2482

                                     

                  May 22, 2008.--Ordered to be printed
       SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
                       one hundred tenth congress
                             second session

                   DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii, Chairman
                   TED STEVENS, Alaska, Vice-Chairman
JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West         JOHN McCAIN, Arizona
    Virginia                         KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas
JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts         OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, Maine
BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota        GORDON H. SMITH, Oregon
BARBARA BOXER, California            JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada
BILL NELSON, Florida                 JOHN E. SUNUNU, New Hampshire
MARIA CANTWELL, Washington           JIM DeMINT, South Carolina
FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, New Jersey      DAVID VITTER, Louisiana
MARK PRYOR, Arkansas                 JOHN THUNE, South Dakota
THOMAS CARPER, Delaware              ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi
CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri
AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota
          Margaret Cummisky, Staff Director and Chief Counsel
         Lila Helms, Deputy Staff Director and Policy Director
       Jean Toal Eisen, Senior Advisor and Deputy Policy Director
     Christine Kurth, Republican Staff Director and General Counsel
                Paul J. Nagle, Republican Chief Counsel
             Mimi Braniff, Republican Deputy Chief Counsel

                                                       Calendar No. 750
110th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     110-340

======================================================================

 
                     FLORIDA SALVAGING LICENSE ACT

                                _______
                                

                  May 22, 2008.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

       Mr. Inouye, from the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                Transportation, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 2482]

    The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to 
which was referred the bill (S. 2482) to repeal the provision 
of title 46, United States Code, requiring a license for 
employment in the business of salvaging on the coast of 
Florida, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon 
without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

                          Purpose of the Bill

  The bill would repeal section 80102 of title 46, United 
States Code, which adversely affects the Florida salvage 
industry and was recently determined to be unconstitutional by 
the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

                          Background and Needs

  Section 80102 was codified in 1847 to regulate the wrecking 
industry, which at the time was associated with piracy and 
other misconduct, by requiring wreckers to obtain licenses from 
Federal district court judges. These licenses have not been 
used since the 1920s when the industry shifted from wrecking to 
large salvaging corporations. Thus, the provision was largely 
obsolete.
  In 2006, P.L. 109-304, a bill to complete the codification of 
title 46, was enacted. Unfortunately, it inappropriately 
altered section 80102 to apply to ``salvaging'' rather than 
``wrecking.'' This change imposed a judicial licensing 
requirement on the modern marine assistance and towing 
industry, which has been licensed under the Coast Guard since 
its inception in the 1980s. This industry supports boaters 
along the U.S. eastern coast, performing more than 120,000 
towing operations and salvaging tens of thousands of vessels 
each year, thereby saving millions of dollars in damages for 
owners and insurance companies, most of them in the State of 
Florida.
  In connection to one petition to obtain a license under this 
newly resurrected law, the DOJ advised the District Court of 
Southern Florida of its opinion that the law is 
unconstitutional on the grounds that it charges judges with a 
licensing function, which is a responsibility of the Executive 
Branch. The court denied the petitioner a license, indicating 
that it was powerless to grant one. The Court also declined to 
judge whether the law is unconstitutional because such a ruling 
would have been outside the scope of the suit. The court called 
on Congress to repeal the law.
  Although any prosecution of a salvager for violation of 
section 80102 would likely fail in court, salvagers in Florida 
are unable to obtain the licenses required by law. Repealing 
the law will eliminate the need for further judicial action to 
resolve this issue.

                         Summary of Provisions

  The bill would repeal section 80102 of title 46, United 
States Code, which adversely affects the Florida salvage 
industry and was recently determined to be unconstitutional by 
the DOJ.

                          Legislative History

  The bill was introduced on December 13, 2007, by Senator Bill 
Nelson and ordered to be reported favorably by the Commerce 
Committee on April 24, 2008. Staff assigned to this legislation 
are Dabney Hegg, Democratic Senior Professional Staff, and Todd 
Bertoson, Republican Senior Counsel.

                            Estimated Costs

  In accordance with paragraph 11(a) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate and section 403 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee provides the 
following cost estimate, prepared by the Congressional Budget 
Office:

                                                       May 7, 2008.
Hon. Daniel K. Inouye,
Chairman, Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 2482, a bill to 
repeal the provision of title 46, United States Code, requiring 
a license for employment in the business of salvaging on the 
coast of Florida.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.
            Sincerely,
                                                   Peter R. Orszag.
    Enclosure.

S. 2482--A bill to repeal the provision of title 46, United States 
        Code, requiring a license for employment in the business of 
        salvaging on the coast of Florida

    S. 2482 would repeal an existing law that requires vessels 
and their masters to each obtain licenses from a U.S. district 
court in Florida to operate salvage businesses off that state's 
coast. CBO estimates that enacting S. 2482 would have no effect 
on the federal budget because no such licenses are currently 
issued by the district courts.
    The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. 
The estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                      Regulatory Impact Statement

  In accordance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides the 
following evaluation of the regulatory impact of the 
legislation, as reported:

                       NUMBER OF PERSONS COVERED

  The reported bill would affect persons employed or seeking 
employment as a master of a vessel in the business of salvaging 
off the coast of Florida.

                            ECONOMIC IMPACT

  S. 2482 is expected to have a positive impact on the economy 
of the State of Florida. This provision helps relieve an undue 
burden on the salvaging industry in the State of Florida, which 
was mistakenly impacted during the recodification of title 46, 
United States Code in 2006.

                                PRIVACY

  The reported bill is not expected to have any impact on the 
privacy rights of individuals.

                               PAPERWORK

  There will be no increase in paperwork burdens resulting from 
the enactment of S. 2482.

                   Congressionally Directed Spending

  In compliance with paragraph 4(b) of rule XLIV of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides that the 
reported bill contains not congressionally directed spending 
items.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

Sec. 1. Repeal of Requirement of License for Employment in the Business 
        of Salvaging on the Coast of Florida.

  This section would repeal section 80102 of title 46, United 
States Code.

                        Changes in Existing Law

  In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 
Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by the bill, 
as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be 
omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new material is printed 
in italic, existing law in which no change is proposed is shown 
in roman):

                      TITLE 46, UNITED STATES CODE

[Sec. 80102. License to salvage on Florida coast

  [(a) Licensing requirements. To be regularly employed in the 
business of salvaging on the coast of Florida, a vessel and its 
master each must have a license issued by a judge of the 
district court of the United States for a judicial district of 
Florida.
  [(b) Judicial findings. Before issuing a license under this 
section, the judge must be satisfied, when the license is for--
          [(1) a vessel, that the vessel is seaworthy and 
        properly equipped for the business of saving property 
        shipwrecked and in distress; or
          [(2) a master, that the master is trustworthy and 
        innocent of any fraud or misconduct related to property 
        shipwrecked or saved on the coast.]

                                  
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