Title: American Fisheries Advisory Committee Act
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources

Summary:
American Fisheries Advisory Committee Act
This bill amends the Saltonstall-Kennedy Act to direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)	to establish the American Fisheries Advisory Committee to advise on an existing grant program to address the needs of fishing communities, optimize economic benefits by building and maintaining sustainable fisheries, and increase opportunities to keep working waterfronts viable.
NOAA must establish six regions within the committee.	The committee must consist of members chosen regionally and across all sectors of the fishing industry.	Additionally, the committee must: (1)	identify the needs of the fishing industry, (2)	develop grant proposals to fund projects that address the industry needs, (3)	review grant applications, and (4)	provide NOAA with grant applicants for approval.
NOAA may not approve a grant application unless	the application selected for funding meets the proposal criteria developed by the committee.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1322 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1322

To establish the American Fisheries Advisory Committee to assist in the 
 awarding of fisheries research and development grants, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 8, 2017

Mr. Sullivan (for himself, Ms. Cantwell, and Ms. Murkowski) introduced 
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 
                on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish the American Fisheries Advisory Committee to assist in the 
 awarding of fisheries research and development grants, and for other 
                               purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``American Fisheries Advisory 
Committee Act''.

SEC. 2. AMERICAN FISHERIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

    (a) Establishment.--Section 2 of the Act of August 11, 1939 (15 
U.S.C. 713c-3), is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(f) American Fisheries Advisory Committee.--
            ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Committee.--The term `Committee' means the 
                American Fisheries Advisory Committee established under 
                paragraph (2).
                    ``(B) Fishing community.--The term `fishing 
                community' means harvesters, marketers, growers, 
                processors, recreational fishermen, charter fishermen, 
                and persons providing them with goods and services.
                    ``(C) Marketing and promotion.--The term `marketing 
                and promotion' means an activity aimed at encouraging 
                the consumption of seafood or expanding or maintaining 
                commercial markets for seafood.
                    ``(D) Processor.--The term `processor' means any 
                person in the business of preparing or packaging 
                seafood (including seafood of the processor's own 
                harvesting) for sale.
                    ``(E) Seafood.--The term `seafood' means farm-
                raised and wild-caught fish, shellfish, or marine algae 
                harvested in the United States or by a United States 
                flagged vessel for human consumption.
            ``(2) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
        of the enactment of the American Fisheries Advisory Committee 
        Act, the Secretary shall establish 6 regions within the 
        American Fisheries Advisory Committee as follows:
                    ``(A) Region 1 shall consist of Alaska, Hawaii, the 
                Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the 
                Territories of Guam and American Samoa.
                    ``(B) Region 2 shall consist of Maine, New 
                Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and 
                Connecticut.
                    ``(C) Region 3 shall consist of Texas, Alabama, 
                Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Arkansas, Puerto Rico, 
                and territory of the Virgin Islands.
                    ``(D) Region 4 shall consist of California, 
                Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.
                    ``(E) Region 5 shall consist of New Jersey, New 
                York, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, 
                South Carolina, and Georgia.
                    ``(F) Region 6 shall consist of Michigan, 
                Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and 
                Pennsylvania.
            ``(3) Membership.--The Committee shall be composed of the 
        following members:
                    ``(A) Regional representation.--Each of the regions 
                listed in subparagraphs (A) through (F) of paragraph 
                (2) shall be represented on the Committee by 3 
                members--
                            ``(i) who are appointed by the Secretary;
                            ``(ii) who reside in a State or territory 
                        in the region that the member will represent;
                            ``(iii) of which--
                                    ``(I) one shall have experience as 
                                a seafood harvester;
                                    ``(II) one shall have experience as 
                                a processor; and
                                    ``(III) one shall have experience 
                                as a recreational fisher; and
                            ``(iv) that are selected so that the 
                        members of the Committee have experience or 
                        expertise with as many seafood species as 
                        practicable.
                    ``(B) At-large members.--The Secretary shall 
                appoint to the Committee at-large members to ensure 
                that the Committee fairly reflects the expertise and 
                interest of the fishing community located in each 
                region, as follows:
                            ``(i) One individual with experience in 
                        mass market food distribution.
                            ``(ii) One individual with experience in 
                        mass market food retail or food service.
                            ``(iii) One individual with experience in 
                        the marketing of seafood.
                            ``(iv) One individual with experience in 
                        growing seafood.
                            ``(v) One individual with experience as a 
                        recreational fisher.
                            ``(vi) One individual who is an employee of 
                        the National Marine Fisheries Service with 
                        expertise in fisheries research.
                            ``(vii) One individual that represents the 
                        fisheries science community.
            ``(4) Member terms.--The term for a member of the Committee 
        shall be 3 years, except that the Secretary shall designate 
        staggered terms for the members initially appointed to the 
        Committee.
            ``(5) Responsibilities.--The Committee shall be responsible 
        for--
                    ``(A) identifying needs of the fishing community 
                that may be addressed by a project funded with a grant 
                under subsection (c);
                    ``(B) developing the request for proposals for such 
                grants;
                    ``(C) reviewing applications for such grants; and
                    ``(D) selecting applications for approval under 
                subsection (c)(2)(B).
            ``(6) Chair.--The Committee shall elect a chair by a 
        majority of those voting, if a quorum is present.
            ``(7) Quorum.--A simple majority of members of the 
        Committee shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may 
        hold hearings.
            ``(8) Meetings.--
                    ``(A) Frequency.--The Committee shall meet not more 
                than 2 times each year.
                    ``(B) Location.--The meetings of the Committee 
                shall rotate between the geographic regions described 
                under paragraph (2).
            ``(9) Staff.--The Committee may employ staff as necessary.
            ``(10) Per diem and expenses and funding.--
                    ``(A) In general.--A member of the Committee shall 
                serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed in 
                accordance with section 5703 of title 5, United States 
                Code, for reasonable travel costs and expenses incurred 
                in performing duties as a member of the Committee.
                    ``(B) Funding.--The reimbursements made under 
                subparagraph (A) shall be paid with the funds made 
                available for grants under subsection (c).
            ``(11) Conflict of interest.--The conflict of interest and 
        recusal provisions set out in section 302(j) of the Magnuson-
        Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 
        1852(j)) shall apply to any decision by the Committee and to 
        all members of the Committee as if each member of the Committee 
        is an affected individual within the meaning of such section 
        302(j), except that in addition to the disclosure requirements 
        of section 302(j)(2)(C) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(j)(2)(C)), 
        each member of the Committee shall disclose any financial 
        interest or relationship in an organization or with an 
        individual that is applying for a grant under subsection (c) 
        held by the member of the Committee, including an interest as 
        an officer, director, trustee, partner, employee, contractor, 
        agent, or other representative.''.
    (b) Role in Approval of Grants.--Section 2(c)(3) of the Act of 
August 11, 1939 (15 U.S.C. 713c-3(c)(3)), is amended to read as 
follows:
    ``(3)(A) No application for a grant under this subsection may be 
approved unless--
                    ``(i) the Secretary is satisfied that the applicant 
                has the requisite technical and financial capability to 
                carry out the project;
                    ``(ii) the Secretary evaluates the proposed project 
                as to--
                            ``(I) the selections of the Committee 
                        established in subsection (f);
                            ``(II) soundness of design;
                            ``(III) the possibilities of securing 
                        productive results;
                            ``(IV) minimization of duplication with 
                        other fisheries research and development 
                        projects;
                            ``(V) the organization and management of 
                        the project;
                            ``(VI) methods proposed for monitoring and 
                        evaluating the success or failure of the 
                        project; and
                            ``(VII) such other criteria as the 
                        Secretary may require; and
                    ``(iii) the application selected for funding meets 
                the proposal developed by the American Fisheries 
                Advisory Committee under subsection (f).
            ``(B) Justification.--If the Secretary fails to provide 
        funds to a grant selected by the Committee, the Secretary shall 
        provide a written document to the Committee justifying the 
        decision.''.

SEC. 3. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF GRANTS PROPOSALS.

    Section 2(c) of the Act of August 11, 1939 (15 U.S.C. 713c-3(c)), 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) Any person awarded a grant under this subsection 
        shall make publicly available a title and abstract of the 
        project to be carried out by the grant funds that serves as the 
        public justification for funding the project that includes a 
        statement describing how the project serves to enhance United 
        States fisheries, including harvesting, processing, marketing, 
        and associated infrastructures, if applicable.''.
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