I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3541 
To amend the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to require the Secretary 
of Commerce to establish a coastal climate change adaptation prepared-
ness and response program, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 27, 2019 
Mr. CARBAJAL (for himself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, and Mr. ROONEY of Florida) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To amend the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to 
require the Secretary of Commerce to establish a coastal 
climate change adaptation preparedness and response 
program, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Coastal State Climate 
Preparedness Act of 2019’’. 
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SEC. 2. CLIMATE CHANGE PREPAREDNESS IN THE COAST-
AL ZONE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Coastal Zone Management 
Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following: 
‘‘CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION PREPAREDNESS AND 
RESPONSE PROGRAM 
‘‘SEC. 320. (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
establish, consistent with the national policies set forth in 
section 303, a coastal climate change adaptation prepared-
ness and response program to— 
‘‘(1) provide assistance to coastal States to vol-
untarily develop coastal climate change adaptation 
plans, pursuant to approved management programs 
approved under section 306, to minimize contribu-
tions to climate change and to prepare for and re-
duce the negative consequences that may result from 
climate change in the coastal zone; and 
‘‘(2) provide financial and technical assistance 
and training to enable coastal States to implement 
plans developed pursuant to this section through 
coastal States’ enforceable policies. 
‘‘(b) COASTAL
CLIMATE
CHANGE
ADAPTATION 
PLANNING AND PREPAREDNESS GRANTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, subject to 
the availability of appropriations, may make a grant 
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to any coastal State for the purpose of developing 
climate change adaptation plans pursuant to guide-
lines issued by the Secretary under paragraph (8). 
‘‘(2) PLAN CONTENT.—A plan developed with a 
grant under this subsection shall include the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(A) Identification of public facilities and 
public services, working waterfronts, coastal re-
sources of national significance, coastal waters, 
energy facilities, or other land and water uses 
located in the coastal zone that are likely to be 
impacted by climate change. 
‘‘(B) Adaptive management strategies for 
land use to respond or adapt to changing envi-
ronmental conditions, including strategies to 
protect biodiversity, protect water quality, and 
establish habitat buffer zones, migration cor-
ridors, and climate refugia. 
‘‘(C) Adaptive management strategies for 
ocean-based ecosystems and resources, includ-
ing strategies to plan for and respond to geo-
graphic or temporal shifts in marine resources, 
to create protected areas that will provide cli-
mate refugia, and to maintain and restore 
ocean ecosystem function. 
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‘‘(D) Requirements to initiate and main-
tain long-term monitoring of environmental 
change to assess coastal zone adaptation and to 
adjust when necessary adaptive management 
strategies and new planning guidelines to attain 
the policies under section 303. 
‘‘(E) Other information considered nec-
essary by the Secretary to identify the full 
range of climate change impacts affecting coast-
al communities. 
‘‘(3) STATE
HAZARD
MITIGATION
PLANS.— 
Plans developed with a grant under this subsection 
shall be consistent with State hazard mitigation 
plans and natural disaster response and recovery 
programs developed under State or Federal law. 
‘‘(4) ALLOCATION.—Grants under this sub-
section shall be available only to coastal States with 
management programs approved by the Secretary 
under section 306 and shall be allocated among such 
coastal States in a manner consistent with regula-
tions promulgated pursuant to section 306(c). 
‘‘(5) PRIORITY.—In the awarding of grants 
under this subsection, the Secretary may give pri-
ority to any coastal State that has received grant 
funding to develop program changes pursuant to 
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paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (5), (6), (7), and (8) of sec-
tion 309(a). 
‘‘(6) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 
may provide technical assistance to a coastal State 
consistent with section 310 to ensure the timely de-
velopment of plans supported by grants awarded 
under this subsection. 
‘‘(7) FEDERAL APPROVAL.—In order to be eligi-
ble for a grant under subsection (c), a coastal State 
must have its plan developed under this subsection 
approved by the Secretary. 
‘‘(8) GUIDELINES.—Within 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this section, the Secretary, in 
consultation with the coastal States, shall issue 
guidelines for the implementation of the grant pro-
gram established under this subsection. 
‘‘(c) COASTAL
CLIMATE
CHANGE
ADAPTATION 
PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, subject to 
the availability of appropriations, may make grants 
to any coastal State that has a climate change adap-
tation plan approved under subsection (b)(7), in 
order to support projects that implement strategies 
contained within such plans. 
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‘‘(2) PROGRAM
REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec-
retary, within 90 days after approval of the first 
plan approved under subsection (b)(7), shall publish 
in the Federal Register requirements regarding ap-
plications, allocations, eligible activities, and all 
terms and conditions for grants awarded under this 
subsection. No less than 30 percent, and no more 
than 50 percent, of the funds appropriated in any 
fiscal year for grants under this subsection shall be 
awarded through a merit-based competitive process. 
‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE
ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary 
may award grants to coastal States to implement 
projects in the coastal zone to address stress factors 
in order to improve coastal climate change adapta-
tion, including the following: 
‘‘(A) Activities to address physical disturb-
ances within the coastal zone, especially activi-
ties related to public facilities and public serv-
ices, tourism, sedimentation, ocean acidification, 
and other factors negatively impacting coastal 
waters. 
‘‘(B) Monitoring, control, or eradication of 
disease organisms and invasive species. 
‘‘(C) Activities to address the loss, deg-
radation, or fragmentation of wildlife habitat 
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through projects to establish or protect marine 
and terrestrial habitat buffers, wildlife refugia, 
other wildlife refuges, or networks thereof, pres-
ervation of migratory wildlife corridors and 
other transition zones, and restoration of fish 
and wildlife habitat. 
‘‘(D) Projects to reduce, mitigate, or other-
wise address likely impacts caused by natural 
hazards in the coastal zone, including sea level 
rise, coastal inundation, storm water manage-
ment, coastal erosion and subsidence, severe 
weather 
events 
such 
as 
cyclonic 
storms, 
tsunamis and other seismic threats, and fluc-
tuating Great Lakes water levels. The Secretary 
shall give priority to projects that utilize green 
infrastructure solutions. 
‘‘(E) Projects to adapt existing infrastruc-
ture, including enhancements to both built and 
natural environments. 
‘‘(F) Provision of technical training and 
assistance to local coastal policy makers to in-
crease awareness of science, management, and 
technology 
information 
related 
to 
climate 
change and adaptation strategies. 
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‘‘(4) PROMOTION AND USE OF NATIONAL ESTU-
ARINE RESEARCH RESERVES.—The Secretary shall 
promote and encourage the use of National Estua-
rine Research Reserves as sites for pilot or dem-
onstration projects carried out with grants awarded 
under this section.’’. 
(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 
318(a) of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 
U.S.C. 1464(a)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the 
end of paragraph (1); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (2) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) for grants under section 320, such sums 
as are necessary.’’. 
(c) INTENT OF CONGRESS.—Nothing in this section 
shall be construed to require any coastal State to amend 
or modify its approved management program pursuant to 
section 306(e) of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 
1972 (16 U.S.C. 1455(e)) or to extend the enforceable 
policies of a coastal State beyond the coastal zone as iden-
tified in the coastal State’s approved management pro-
gram. 
Æ 
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