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 Communities 
Ocean Acidification Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. STATE AND UNITED STATES DEFINED. 
Section 12403 of the Federal Ocean Acidification Re-
search And Monitoring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3702) is 
amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para-
graph (4); 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(3) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each State 
of the United States, the District of Columbia, the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, 
Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
Islands, the Virgin Islands of the United States, and 
any other territory or possession of the United 
States.’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(5) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘United States’ 
means the States, collectively.’’. 
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SEC. 3. COASTAL COMMUNITY VULNERABILITY ASSESS-
MENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 12406 of the Federal Ocean 
Acidification Research And Monitoring Act of 2009 (33 
U.S.C. 3705) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection 
(d); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(b) COMMUNITY VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, through the 
program established under subsection (a), shall con-
duct an ocean acidification coastal community vul-
nerability assessment, and issue a corresponding pub-
lic report, which shall be updated at least once every 
7 years. 
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The assessment conducted 
under paragraph (1) shall— 
‘‘(A) identify the United States coastal com-
munities, including island communities, low- 
population rural communities, and subsistence 
communities, that are most dependent on coastal 
and ocean resources that may be impacted by 
ocean acidification; 
‘‘(B) assess the nature of the social and eco-
nomic vulnerabilities of those communities, in-
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cluding the economic impact on local or regional 
commercial fisheries and recreational opportuni-
ties; 
‘‘(C) identify the ocean acidification im-
pacts that might harm those communities, in-
cluding impacts from changes in ocean and 
coastal marine resources that are not managed 
by the Federal Government; 
‘‘(D) identify key knowledge gaps where re-
search could be devoted to better understand the 
possible impacts of ocean acidification on those 
communities, the risks and threats facing those 
communities, and possible adaptation strategies 
for those communities; and 
‘‘(E) be conducted in collaboration with ex-
perts, indigenous knowledge groups, and stake-
holders who are familiar with the unique eco-
nomic, social, ecological, geographic, and re-
source concerns of coastal communities in the 
United States, including representatives of— 
‘‘(i) the National Marine Fisheries 
Service and the Office for Coastal Manage-
ment of the National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Administration; 
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‘‘(ii) National Integrated Coastal and 
Ocean Observation System regional infor-
mation coordination entities established 
under section 12304(c)(4) of the Integrated 
Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act 
of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3603(c)(4)); 
‘‘(iii) regional ocean acidification net-
works; and 
‘‘(iv) State sea grant programs (as de-
fined in section 203 of the National Sea 
Grant College Program Act (33 U.S.C. 
1122)). 
‘‘(c) SUPPORT FOR STATE AND LOCAL VULNERABILITY 
ASSESSMENTS AND STRATEGIC RESEARCH PLANNING.—In 
carrying out the program established under subsection (a), 
the Secretary shall collaborate with State, local, and tribal 
government entities that are conducting or have completed 
vulnerability assessments, strategic research planning, or 
other similar activities related to ocean acidification and 
its impacts on coastal communities, for the purpose of— 
‘‘(1) determining whether such activities can be 
used as a model for other communities; and 
‘‘(2) identifying opportunities for the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other 
relevant Federal agencies to support such activities.’’. 
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(b) 
ONGOING
INPUT
MECHANISM.—Section 
12404(b)(5) of the Federal Ocean Acidification Research 
And Monitoring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3703(b)(5)) is 
amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘including information’’ and in-
serting the following: ‘‘including— 
‘‘(A) information’’; 
(2) by striking the period at the end and insert-
ing ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(B) an ongoing mechanism that allows af-
fected industry members, coastal stakeholders, 
non-Federal 
resource 
managers, 
community 
acidification networks, indigenous knowledge 
groups, and scientific experts not employed by 
the Federal Government to provide input on re-
search, data, and monitoring that is necessary to 
support on-the-ground management, decision-
making, and adaptation related to ocean acidifi-
cation and its impacts.’’. 
(c) STRATEGIC RESEARCH PLAN.—Section 12405 of 
the Federal Ocean Acidification Research And Monitoring 
Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3704) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)— 
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