106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2327

AN ACT

To establish a Commission on Ocean Policy, and for other

purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Oceans Act of 2000’’.
2

S 2327 ES

1 SEC. 2. PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES.

2 The purpose of this Act is to establish a commission

3 to make recommendations for coordinated and comprehen4 sive national ocean policy that will promote—

5 (1) the protection of life and property against

6 natural and manmade hazards;

7 (2) responsible stewardship, including use, of

8 fishery resources and other ocean and coastal re9 sources;

10 (3) the protection of the marine environment

11 and prevention of marine pollution;

12 (4) the enhancement of marine-related com13 merce and transportation, the resolution of conflicts

14 among users of the marine environment, and the en15 gagement of the private sector in innovative ap16 proaches for sustainable use of living marine re17 sources and responsible use of non-living marine re18 sources;

19 (5) the expansion of human knowledge of the

20 marine environment including the role of the oceans

21 in climate and global environmental change and the

22 advancement of education and training in fields re23 lated to ocean and coastal activities;

24 (6) the continued investment in and develop25 ment and improvement of the capabilities, perform26 ance, use, and efficiency of technologies for use in
3

S 2327 ES

1 ocean and coastal activities, including investments

2 and technologies designed to promote national en3 ergy and food security;

4 (7) close cooperation among all government

5 agencies and departments and the private sector to

6 ensure—

7 (A) coherent and consistent regulation and

8 management of ocean and coastal activities;

9 (B) availability and appropriate allocation

10 of Federal funding, personnel, facilities, and

11 equipment for such activities;

12 (C) cost-effective and efficient operation of

13 Federal departments, agencies, and programs

14 involved in ocean and coastal activities; and

15 (D) enhancement of partnerships with

16 State and local governments with respect to

17 ocean and coastal activities, including the man18 agement of ocean and coastal resources and

19 identification of appropriate opportunities for

20 policy-making and decision-making at the State

21 and local level; and

22 (8) the preservation of the role of the United

23 States as a leader in ocean and coastal activities,

24 and, when it is in the national interest, the coopera25 tion by the United States with other nations and
4

S 2327 ES

1 international organizations in ocean and coastal ac2 tivities.

3 SEC. 3. COMMISSION ON OCEAN POLICY.

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established

5 the Commission on Ocean Policy. The Federal Advisory

6 Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), except for sections 3, 7,

7 and 12, does not apply to the Commission.

8 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—

9 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Commission shall be

10 composed of 16 members appointed by the President

11 from among individuals described in paragraph (2)

12 who are knowledgeable in ocean and coastal activi13 ties, including individuals representing State and

14 local governments, ocean-related industries, aca15 demic and technical institutions, and public interest

16 organizations involved with scientific, regulatory,

17 economic, and environmental ocean and coastal ac18 tivities. The membership of the Commission shall be

19 balanced by area of expertise and balanced geo20 graphically to the extent consistent with maintaining

21 the highest level of expertise on the Commission.

22 (2) NOMINATIONS.—The President shall ap23 point the members of the Commission, within 90

24 days after the effective date of this Act, including in25 dividuals nominated as follows:
5

S 2327 ES

1 (A) 4 members shall be appointed from a

2 list of 8 individuals who shall be nominated by

3 the Majority Leader of the Senate in consulta4 tion with the Chairman of the Senate Com5 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor6 tation.

7 (B) 4 members shall be appointed from a

8 list of 8 individuals who shall be nominated by

9 the Speaker of the House of Representatives in

10 consultation with the Chairmen of the House

11 Committees on Resources, Transportation and

12 Infrastructure, and Science.

13 (C) 2 members shall be appointed from a

14 list of 4 individuals who shall be nominated by

15 the Minority Leader of the Senate in consulta16 tion with the Ranking Member of the Senate

17 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans18 portation.

19 (D) 2 members shall be appointed from a

20 list of 4 individuals who shall be nominated by

21 the Minority Leader of the House in consulta22 tion with the Ranking Members of the House

23 Committees on Resources, Transportation and

24 Infrastructure, and Science.
6

S 2327 ES

1 (3) CHAIRMAN.—The Commission shall select a

2 Chairman from among its members. The Chairman

3 of the Commission shall be responsible for—

4 (A) the assignment of duties and respon5 sibilities among staff personnel and their con6 tinuing supervision; and

7 (B) the use and expenditure of funds avail8 able to the Commission.

9 (4) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy on the Commis10 sion shall be filled in the same manner as the origi11 nal incumbent was appointed.

12 (c) RESOURCES.—In carrying out its functions under

13 this section, the Commission—

14 (1) is authorized to secure directly from any

15 Federal agency or department any information it

16 deems necessary to carry out its functions under this

17 Act, and each such agency or department is author18 ized to cooperate with the Commission and, to the

19 extent permitted by law, to furnish such information

20 (other than information described in section

21 552(b)(1)(A) of title 5, United States Code) to the

22 Commission, upon the request of the Commission;

23 (2) may enter into contracts, subject to the

24 availability of appropriations for contracting, and

25 employ such staff experts and consultants as may be
7

S 2327 ES

1 necessary to carry out the duties of the Commission,

2 as provided by section 3109 of title 5, United States

3 Code; and

4 (3) in consultation with the Ocean Studies

5 Board of the National Research Council of the Na6 tional Academy of Sciences, shall establish a multi7 disciplinary science advisory panel of experts in the

8 sciences of living and non-living marine resources to

9 assist the Commission in preparing its report, in10 cluding ensuring that the scientific information con11 sidered by the Commission is based on the best sci12 entific information available.

13 (d) STAFFING.—The Chairman of the Commission

14 may, without regard to the civil service laws and regula15 tions, appoint and terminate an Executive Director and

16 such other additional personnel as may be necessary for

17 the Commission to perform its duties. The Executive Di18 rector shall be compensated at a rate not to exceed the

19 rate payable for Level V of the Executive Schedule under

20 section 5136 of title 5, United States Code. The employ21 ment and termination of an Executive Director shall be

22 subject to confirmation by a majority of the members of

23 the Commission.

24 (e) MEETINGS.—
8

S 2327 ES

1 (1) ADMINISTRATION.—All meetings of the

2 Commission shall be open to the public, except that

3 a meeting or any portion of it may be closed to the

4 public if it concerns matters or information de5 scribed in section 552b(c) of title 5, United States

6 Code. Interested persons shall be permitted to ap7 pear at open meetings and present oral or written

8 statements on the subject matter of the meeting.

9 The Commission may administer oaths or affirma10 tions to any person appearing before it:

11 (A) All open meetings of the Commission

12 shall be preceded by timely public notice in the

13 Federal Register of the time, place, and subject

14 of the meeting.

15 (B) Minutes of each meeting shall be kept

16 and shall contain a record of the people present,

17 a description of the discussion that occurred,

18 and copies of all statements filed. Subject to

19 section 552 of title 5, United States Code, the

20 minutes and records of all meetings and other

21 documents that were made available to or pre22 pared for the Commission shall be available for

23 public inspection and copying at a single loca24 tion in the offices of the Commission.
9

S 2327 ES

1 (2) INITIAL MEETING.—The Commission shall

2 hold its first meeting within 30 days after all 16

3 members have been appointed.

4 (3) REQUIRED PUBLIC MEETINGS.—The Com5 mission shall hold at least one public meeting in

6 Alaska and each of the following regions of the

7 United States:

8 (A) The Northeast (including the Great

9 Lakes).

10 (B) The Southeast (including the Carib11 bean).

12 (C) The Southwest (including Hawaii and

13 the Pacific Territories).

14 (D) The Northwest.

15 (E) The Gulf of Mexico.

16 (f) REPORT.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Within 18 months after the

18 establishment of the Commission, the Commission

19 shall submit to Congress and the President a final

20 report of its findings and recommendations regard21 ing United States ocean policy.

22 (2) REQUIRED MATTER.—The final report of

23 the Commission shall include the following assess24 ment, reviews, and recommendations:
10

S 2327 ES

1 (A) An assessment of existing and planned

2 facilities associated with ocean and coastal ac3 tivities including human resources, vessels, com4 puters, satellites, and other appropriate plat5 forms and technologies.

6 (B) A review of existing and planned ocean

7 and coastal activities of Federal entities, rec8 ommendations for changes in such activities

9 necessary to improve efficiency and effective10 ness and to reduce duplication of Federal ef11 forts.

12 (C) A review of the cumulative effect of

13 Federal laws and regulations on United States

14 ocean and coastal activities and resources and

15 an examination of those laws and regulations

16 for inconsistencies and contradictions that

17 might adversely affect those ocean and coastal

18 activities and resources, and recommendations

19 for resolving such inconsistencies to the extent

20 practicable. Such review shall also consider con21 flicts with State ocean and coastal management

22 regimes.

23 (D) A review of the known and anticipated

24 supply of, and demand for, ocean and coastal

25 resources of the United States.
11

S 2327 ES

1 (E) A review of and recommendations con2 cerning the relationship between Federal, State,

3 and local governments and the private sector in

4 planning and carrying out ocean and coastal ac5 tivities.

6 (F) A review of opportunities for the devel7 opment of or investment in new products, tech8 nologies, or markets related to ocean and coast9 al activities.

10 (G) A review of previous and ongoing State

11 and Federal efforts to enhance the effectiveness

12 and integration of ocean and coastal activities.

13 (H) Recommendations for any modifica14 tions to United States laws, regulations, and

15 the administrative structure of Executive agen16 cies, necessary to improve the understanding,

17 management, conservation, and use of, and ac18 cess to, ocean and coastal resources.

19 (I) A review of the effectiveness and ade20 quacy of existing Federal interagency ocean pol21 icy coordination mechanisms, and recommenda22 tions for changing or improving the effective23 ness of such mechanisms necessary to respond

24 to or implement the recommendations of the

25 Commission.
12

S 2327 ES

1 (3) CONSIDERATION OF FACTORS.—In making

2 its assessment and reviews and developing its rec3 ommendations, the Commission shall give equal con4 sideration to environmental, technical feasibility, eco5 nomic, and scientific factors.

6 (4) LIMITATIONS.—The recommendations of

7 the Commission shall not be specific to the lands

8 and waters within a single State.

9 (g) PUBLIC AND COASTAL STATE REVIEW.—

10 (1) NOTICE.—Before submitting the final re11 port to the Congress, the Commission shall—

12 (A) publish in the Federal Register a no13 tice that a draft report is available for public

14 review; and

15 (B) provide a copy of the draft report to

16 the Governor of each coastal State, the Com17 mittees on Resources, Transportation and In18 frastructure, and Science of the House of Rep19 resentatives, and the Committee on Commerce,

20 Science, and Transportation of the Senate.

21 (2) INCLUSION OF GOVERNORS’ COMMENTS.—

22 The Commission shall include in the final report

23 comments received from the Governor of a coastal

24 State regarding recommendations in the draft re25 port.
13

S 2327 ES

1 (h) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE FOR REPORT AND

2 REVIEW.—Chapter 5 and chapter 7 of title 5, United

3 States Code, do not apply to the preparation, review, or

4 submission of the report required by subsection (e) or the

5 review of that report under subsection (f).

6 (i) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall cease to

7 exist 30 days after the date on which it submits its final

8 report.

9 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

10 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

11 a total of $6,000,000 for the 3 fiscal-year period beginning

12 with fiscal year 2001, such sums to remain available until

13 expended.

14 SEC. 4. NATIONAL OCEAN POLICY.

15 (a) NATIONAL OCEAN POLICY.—Within 120 days

16 after receiving and considering the report and rec17 ommendations of the Commission under section 3, the

18 President shall submit to Congress a statement of pro19 posals to implement or respond to the Commission’s rec20 ommendations for a coordinated, comprehensive, and long21 range national policy for the responsible use and steward22 ship of ocean and coastal resources for the benefit of the

23 United States. Nothing in this Act authorizes the Presi24 dent to take any administrative or regulatory action re25 garding ocean or coastal policy, or to implement a reorga-
14

S 2327 ES

1 nization plan, not otherwise authorized by law in effect

2 at the time of such action.

3 (b) COOPERATION AND CONSULTATION.—In the

4 process of developing proposals for submission under sub5 section (a), the President shall consult with State and

6 local governments and non-Federal organizations and indi7 viduals involved in ocean and coastal activities.

8 SEC. 5. BIENNIAL REPORT.

9 Beginning in September, 2001, the President shall

10 transmit to the Congress biennially a report that includes

11 a detailed listing of all existing Federal programs related

12 to ocean and coastal activities, including a description of

13 each program, the current funding for the program, link14 ages to other Federal programs, and a projection of the

15 funding level for the program for each of the next 5 fiscal

16 years beginning after the report is submitted.

17 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

18 In this Act:

19 (1) MARINE ENVIRONMENT.—The term ‘‘ma20 rine environment’’ includes—

21 (A) the oceans, including coastal and off22 shore waters;

23 (B) the continental shelf; and

24 (C) the Great Lakes.
15

S 2327 ES

1 (2) OCEAN AND COASTAL RESOURCE.—The

2 term ‘‘ocean and coastal resource’’ means any living

3 or non-living natural, historic, or cultural resource

4 found in the marine environment.

5 (3) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’

6 means the Commission on Ocean Policy established

7 by section 3.

8 SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.

9 This Act shall become effective on January 20, 2001.

Passed the Senate June 26, 2000.

Attest:

Secretary.

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2327

AN ACT

To establish a Commission on Ocean Policy, and

for other purposes.