IIB 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1716 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
JUNE 10, 2019 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation 
AN ACT 
To direct the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the 
Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, to conduct coastal community vulner-
ability assessments related to ocean acidification, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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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.’’. 
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— 
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(1) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub-
section (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 
public report, which shall be updated at least once 
every 7 years. 
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The assessment con-
ducted under paragraph (1) shall— 
‘‘(A) identify the United States coastal 
communities, including island communities, low- 
population rural communities, and subsistence 
communities, that are most dependent on coast-
al and ocean resources that may be impacted by 
ocean acidification; 
‘‘(B) assess the nature of the social and 
economic vulnerabilities of those communities, 
including the economic impact on local or re-
gional commercial fisheries and recreational op-
portunities; 
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‘‘(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 
research 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; 
‘‘(ii) National Integrated Coastal and 
Ocean Observation System regional infor-
mation coordination entities established 
under section 12304(c)(4) of the Inte-
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grated 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 VULNER-
ABILITY
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 con-
ducting or have completed vulnerability assessments, stra-
tegic research planning, or other similar activities related 
to ocean acidification and its impacts on coastal commu-
nities, 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 activi-
ties.’’. 
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