‘‘(H) The Secretary may appoint addi-
tional representatives from other Federal agen-
cies as the Secretary considers appropriate. 
‘‘(4) ADMINISTRATION.—For purposes of sec-
tion 15109— 
‘‘(A) the Committee shall be treated as a 
committee established under chapter 151; and 
‘‘(B) the Secretary of Transportation shall 
fulfill all duties and responsibilities and have all 
authorities of the Secretary of Homeland Secu-
rity with regard to the Committee.’’. 
(2) TREATMENT OF EXISTING COMMITTEE.— 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law— 
(A) an advisory committee substantially 
similar to the National Maritime Transpor-
tation System Advisory Committee established 
by this section and that was in force or in effect 
on the day before the date of the enactment of 
this Act, including the charter, membership, 
and other aspects of such committee, may re-
main in force or in effect for the 2-year period 
beginning on the date of the enactment of this 
section; and 
(B) during such 2-year period— 
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(i) requirements relating the National 
Maritime Transportation System Advisory 
Committee established by such section 
shall be treated as satisfied by such sub-
stantially similar advisory committee; and 
(ii) the enactment of this section shall 
not be the basis— 
(I) to deem, find, or declare such 
committee, 
including 
the 
charter, 
membership, and other aspects there-
of, void, not in force, or not in effect; 
(II) to suspend the activities of 
such committee; or 
(III) to bar the members of such 
committee from a meeting. 
(3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis at 
the beginning of chapter 555 of title 46, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘55502. National Maritime Transportation System Advisory Committee.’’. 
(4) REPEAL.—Section 55603 of title 46, United 
States Code, and the item relating to that section in 
the analysis for chapter 556 of that title, are re-
pealed. 
(d) GREAT
LAKES
PILOTAGE
ADVISORY
COM-
MITTEE.— 
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(1) IN
GENERAL.—Title 46, United States 
Code, is amended by striking section 9307 and in-
serting the following: 
‘‘§ 9307. Great Lakes Pilotage Advisory Committee 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Great 
Lakes Pilotage Advisory Committee (in this section re-
ferred to as the ‘Committee’). 
‘‘(b) FUNCTION.—The Committee— 
‘‘(1) may review proposed Great Lakes pilotage 
regulations and policies and make recommendations 
to the Secretary that the Committee considers ap-
propriate; and 
‘‘(2) may advise, consult with, report to, and 
make recommendations to the Secretary on matters 
relating to Great Lakes pilotage. 
‘‘(c) MEMBERSHIP.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall con-
sist of 7 members appointed by the Secretary in ac-
cordance with this section and section 15109. 
‘‘(2) EXPERTISE.—Each member of the Com-
mittee shall have particular expertise, knowledge, 
and experience in matters relating to the function of 
the Committee. 
‘‘(3) REPRESENTATION.—Members of the Com-
mittee shall be appointed as follows: 
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‘‘(A) The President of each of the 3 Great 
Lakes pilotage districts, or the President’s rep-
resentative. 
‘‘(B) At least 1 member shall represent the 
interests of vessel operators that contract for 
Great Lakes pilotage services. 
‘‘(C) At least 1 member shall represent the 
interests of Great Lakes ports. 
‘‘(D) At least 1 member shall represent the 
interests of shippers whose cargoes are trans-
ported through Great Lakes ports. 
‘‘(E) At least 1 member shall have a back-
ground in finance or accounting and must have 
been recommended to the Secretary by a unani-
mous vote of the other members of the Com-
mittee. 
‘‘(4) ADMINISTRATION.—For purposes of sec-
tion 15109, the Committee shall be treated as a 
committee established under chapter 151.’’. 
(2) TREATMENT OF EXISTING COMMITTEE.— 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law— 
(A) an advisory committee substantially 
similar to the Great Lakes Pilotage Advisory 
Committee established by this section and that 
was in force or in effect on the day before the 
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date of the enactment of this Act, including the 
charter, membership, and other aspects of the 
committee, may remain in force or in effect for 
a period of 2 years from the date of enactment 
of this Act; and 
(B) during such 2-year period— 
(i) requirements relating to the Great 
Lakes Pilotage Advisory Committee estab-
lished by this section shall be treated as 
satisfied by the substantially similar advi-
sory committee; and 
(ii) the enactment of this section shall 
not be the basis— 
(I) to deem, find, or declare such 
committee, 
including 
the 
charter, 
membership, and other aspects there-
of, void, not in force, or not in effect; 
(II) to suspend the activities of 
such committee; or 
(III) to bar the members of such 
committee from a meeting. 
SEC. 307. EXPIRED MARITIME LIENS. 
Section 31343(e) of title 46, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘A notice’’; and 
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(2) by inserting after paragraph (1), as so des-
ignated by this section, the following: 
‘‘(2) On expiration of a notice of claim of lien under 
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall remove such expired no-
tice.’’. 
SEC. 308. OFFSHORE NAVIGATION. 
(a) PORT ACCESS ROUTES.—Section 70003(e) of 
title 46, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘continues; 
and’’ and inserting ‘‘continues;’’; 
(2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at 
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(5) shall, unless otherwise authorized by the 
Secretary, and notwithstanding any other provision 
of this chapter, require— 
‘‘(A) a 2-nautical-mile buffer between the 
parallel outer or seaward boundary of a traffic 
lane and any offshore structure affixed to the 
submerged land of the Outer Continental Shelf; 
and 
‘‘(B) a 5-nautical-mile buffer between the 
entry or exit of any traffic separation scheme 
and any offshore structure.’’. 
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(b) NAVIGATION; CONFLICT MITIGATION.—Not later 
than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard 
is operating shall implement the recommendations of the 
Atlantic Coast Port Access Route Study, docket number 
USCG–2011–0351, dated February 24, 2016, including 
any recommendations in the appendices thereto. 
(c) FAIRWAYS.—Not later than July 1, 2021, the 
Commandant of the Coast Guard shall conduct a review 
of navigation on the East Coast of the United States and 
submit recommendations for new fairways on such coast 
to facilitate commerce to the Committee on Transpor-
tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor-
tation of the Senate. 
(d) PORT ACCESS ROUTE STUDIES.— 
(1) COMPLETION DATES.—The Commandant of 
the Coast Guard shall complete— 
(A) the Chuckchi Sea, Bering Strait and 
Bering Sea Port Access Route Study not later 
than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 
this Act; and 
(B) the Alaskan Arctic Coast Port Access 
Route Study not later than 5 years after the 
date of the enactment of this Act. 
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SEC. 309. TRAINING; EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROVIDERS. 
(a) SECURITY PLAN IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.— 
Section 70107 of title 46, United States Code, is amend-
ed— 
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘law enforce-
ment personnel’’ and inserting ‘‘emergency response 
providers’’; 
(2) in subsection (b)(8), by striking ‘‘law en-
forcement personnel—’’ and inserting ‘‘emergency 
response providers—’’; and 
(3) in subsection (c)(2)(C), by striking ‘‘law en-
forcement agency personnel’’ and inserting ‘‘emer-
gency response providers’’. 
(b) CREDENTIALING FOR STATE AND LOCAL SUP-
PORT.—Section 70132 of title 46, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘law enforce-
ment personnel—’’ and inserting ‘‘emergency re-
sponse providers—’’; 
(2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘law enforce-
ment personnel’’ each place it appears and inserting 
‘‘emergency response providers’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(d) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this section, 
the term ‘emergency response providers’ has the meaning 
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given that term in section 2 of the Homeland Security Act 
of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101).’’. 
SEC. 310. AIMING A LASER POINTER AT A VESSEL. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 700 of 
title 46, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘§ 70014. Aiming a laser pointer at a vessel 
‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful to cause the 
beam of a laser pointer to strike a vessel operating on the 
navigable waters of the United States. 
‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.—This section shall not apply to 
a member or element of the Department of Defense or 
Department of Homeland Security acting in an official ca-
pacity for the purpose of research, development, oper-
ations, testing, or training. 
‘‘(c) LASER POINTER DEFINED.—In this section the 
term ‘laser pointer’ means any device designed or used to 
amplify electromagnetic radiation by stimulated emission 
that emits a beam designed to be used by the operator 
as a pointer or highlighter to indicate, mark, or identify 
a specific position, place, item, or object.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for such 
chapter is amended by adding at the end of the items re-
lating to such subchapter the following: 
‘‘70014. Aiming a laser pointer at a vessel.’’. 
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SEC. 311. MARITIME TRANSPORTATION ASSESSMENT. 
Section 55501(e) of title 46, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘an assess-
ment of the condition’’ and inserting ‘‘a conditions 
and performance analysis’’; 
(2) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 
inserting a semicolon; 
(3) in paragraph (5) by striking the period and 
inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(4) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(6) a compendium of the Federal programs 
engaged in the maritime transportation system.’’. 
SEC. 312. SAFETY OF SPECIAL ACTIVITIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title 46, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 70005 the following: 
‘‘§ 70006. Safety of special activities 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may establish a 
safety zone to address special activities in the exclusive 
economic zone. 
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘safety zone’ has the meaning 
provided in section 165.20 of title 33, Code of Fed-
eral Regulations. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘special activities’ includes— 
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‘‘(A) space activities, including launch and 
reentry, as those terms are defined in section 
50902 of title 51, carried out by United States 
citizens; and 
‘‘(B) offshore energy development activi-
ties, as described in section 8(p)(1)(C) of the 
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 
1337(p)(1)(C)), on or near a fixed platform. 
‘‘(3) The term ‘United States citizen’ has the 
same meaning as the term ‘eligible owners’ in sec-
tion 12103. 
‘‘(4) The term ‘fixed platform’ means an artifi-
cial island, installation, or structure permanently at-
tached to the sea-bed for the purpose of exploration 
or exploitation of resources or for other economic 
purposes.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap-
ter 700 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by 
inserting after the item relating to section 70005 the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘70006. Safety of special activities.’’. 
(c) REGULATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
of the department in which the Coast Guard is oper-
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ating shall establish regulations to implement this 
section. 
(2) ALIGNMENT WITH OTHER REGULATIONS.— 
Such regulations shall align with subchapter C of 
chapter III of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations. 
SEC. 313. ENGINE CUT-OFF SWITCHES; USE REQUIREMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4312 of title 46, United 
States Code, is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsections (b), (c), and 
(d) as subsections (c), (d), and (e), respectively; and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(b) USE REQUIREMENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An individual operating a 
covered recreational vessel shall use an engine cut- 
off switch link while operating on plane or above dis-
placement speed. 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—The requirement under 
paragraph (1) shall not apply if— 
‘‘(A) the main helm of the covered vessel 
is installed within an enclosed cabin; or 
‘‘(B) the vessel does not have an engine 
cut-off switch and is not required to have one 
under subsection (a).’’. 
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(b) CIVIL PENALTY.—Section 4311 of title 46, 
United States Code, is amended by— 
(1) redesignating subsections (c), (d), (e), (f), 
and (g) as subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), and (h), re-
spectively; and 
(2) inserting after subsection (b) the following: 
‘‘(c) A person violating section 4312(b) of this title 
is liable to the United States Government for a civil pen-
alty of not more than— 
‘‘(1) $100 for the first offense; 
‘‘(2) $250 for the second offense; and 
‘‘(3) $500 for any subsequent offense.’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made in 
subsections (a) and (b) shall take effect 90 days after the 
date of the enactment of this section, unless the Com-
mandant of the Coast Guard, prior to the date that is 90 
days after the date of the enactment of this section, deter-
mines that the use requirement enacted in subsection (a) 
would not promote recreational boating safety. 
SEC. 314. EXEMPTIONS AND EQUIVALENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4305 of title 46, United 
States Code, is amended— 
(1) by striking the heading and inserting the 
following: 
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‘‘§ 4305. Exemptions and equivalents’’; 
(2) by inserting ‘‘(a) EXEMPTIONS.—’’ before 
‘‘If the Secretary’’; 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(b) EQUIVALENTS.—The Secretary may accept a 
substitution for associated equipment performance or 
other safety standards for a recreational vessel if the sub-
stitution provides an equivalent level of safety.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap-
ter 43 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by 
striking the item relating to section 4305 and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘4305. Exemptions and equivalents.’’. 
TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS 
SEC. 401. COASTWISE TRADE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant of the Coast 
Guard shall review the adequacy of and continuing need 
for provisions in title 46, Code of Federal Regulations, 
that require a United States vessel documented under 
chapter 121 of title 46, United States Code, possessing 
a coastwise endorsement under that chapter, and engaged 
in coastwise trade to comply with regulations for vessels 
engaged in an international voyage. 
(b) BRIEFING.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Commandant of 
the Coast Guard shall provide to the Committee on Trans-
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portation and Infrastructure of the House of Representa-
tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate a briefing on the findings 
of the review required under subsection (a) and a discus-
sion of how existing laws and regulations could be amend-
ed to ensure the safety of vessels described in subsection 
(a) while infringing as little as possible on commerce. 
SEC. 402. UNMANNED MARITIME SYSTEMS. 
(a) ASSESSMENT.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Commandant of the 
Coast Guard, acting through the Blue Technology 
Center of Expertise, shall regularly assess available 
unmanned maritime systems for potential use to 
support missions of the Coast Guard. 
(2) CONSULTATION.—The Commandant shall 
make the assessment required under paragraph (1) 
after consultation with the Department of Defense, 
other Federal agencies, the academic sector, and de-
velopers and manufacturers of unmanned maritime 
systems. 
(b) REPORT.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than one year 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, and bi-
ennially thereafter, the Commandant shall submit to 
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
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of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
Senate a report on the actual and potential effects 
of the use of then-existing unmanned maritime sys-
tems on the mission effectiveness of the Coast 
Guard. 
(2) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under 
paragraph (1) shall include the following: 
(A) An inventory of current unmanned 
maritime systems used by the Coast Guard, an 
overview of such usage, and a discussion of the 
mission effectiveness of such systems, including 
any benefits realized or risks or negative as-
pects of such usage. 
(B) A prioritized list of Coast Guard mis-
sion requirements that could be met with addi-
tional unmanned maritime systems, and the es-
timated costs of acquiring and operating such 
systems. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) UNMANNED MARITIME SYSTEMS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘unmanned 
maritime systems’’ means remotely operated or 
autonomous vehicles produced by the commer-
cial sector designed to travel in the air, on or 
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under the ocean surface, on land, or any com-
bination thereof, and that function without an 
on-board human presence. 
(B) EXAMPLES.—Such term includes the 
following: 
(i) Unmanned undersea vehicles. 
(ii) Unmanned surface vehicles. 
(iii) Unmanned aerial vehicles. 
(iv) Autonomous underwater vehicles. 
(v) Autonomous surface vehicles. 
(vi) Autonomous aerial vehicles. 
(2) AVAILABLE
UNMANNED
MARITIME
SYS-
TEMS.—The term ‘‘available unmanned maritime 
systems’’ includes systems that can be purchased 
commercially or are in use by the Department of 
Defense or other Federal agencies. 
SEC. 403. EXPEDITED TRANSFER IN CASES OF SEXUAL AS-
SAULT; DEPENDENTS OF MEMBERS OF THE 
COAST GUARD. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Commandant of the Coast Guard 
shall establish a policy to allow the transfer of a member 
of the Coast Guard whose dependent is the victim of sex-
ual assault perpetrated by a member of the Armed Forces 
who is not related to the victim. 
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