Title: MARITIME Act
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works

Summary:
Maritime Academy Reinvestment And Training Improvements for Mariner Employment Act or the MARITIME Act
This bill directs the U.S. Maritime Administration to provide assistance for the construction, installation, or maintenance of harbor projects that will support a federally owned vessel operated by a state maritime academy or a nonfederal oceanographic research facility.
The bill designates state maritime academies as centers of excellence, making them eligible for maritime workforce training and education assistance.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1452 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1452

To establish a program to provide assistance for education and research 
                                harbors.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 14, 2019

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish a program to provide assistance for education and research 
                                harbors.

    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 ``Maritime Academy Reinvestment And 
Training Improvements for Mariner Employment Act'' or the ``MARITIME 
Act''.

SEC. 2. EDUCATION AND RESEARCH HARBORS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 541 of title 46, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 54103. Education and research harbors
    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Administrator.--The term `Administrator' means the 
        Administrator of the Maritime Administration.
            ``(2) Eligible harbor.--The term `eligible harbor' means a 
        harbor that supports or will support a federally owned vessel 
        operated by--
                    ``(A) a State maritime academy (as defined in 
                section 51102 of this title); or
                    ``(B) a non-Federal oceanographic research 
                facility.
    ``(b) Establishment of Program.--The Administrator shall establish 
a program to provide assistance to a non-Federal interest for a project 
relating to an eligible harbor.
    ``(c) Form of Assistance.--A non-Federal interest may receive 
assistance for a project for--
            ``(1) the construction or maintenance dredging of an 
        eligible harbor;
            ``(2) the construction, installation, or maintenance of 
        infrastructure in an eligible harbor, including bulkheads, 
        aprons, and piles;
            ``(3) the construction or maintenance dredging of a berth 
        in an eligible harbor; or
            ``(4) the construction or maintenance dredging providing 
        access from an eligible harbor to the nearest navigation 
        channel or deep water.
    ``(d) Local Cooperation Agreement.--
            ``(1) In general.--Before providing assistance under this 
        section, the Administrator shall enter into a local cooperation 
        agreement (referred to in this subsection as an `agreement') 
        with a non-Federal interest to provide for design or 
        construction of the project to be carried out with the 
        assistance.
            ``(2) Requirements.--An agreement entered into under this 
        subsection shall provide for the following:
                    ``(A) Plan.--Development by the Administrator, in 
                consultation with appropriate Federal and State 
                officials, of a facilities or resource protection and 
                development plan, including appropriate engineering 
                plans and specifications.
                    ``(B) Legal and institutional structures.--
                Establishment of such legal and institutional 
                structures as are necessary to ensure the effective 
                long-term operation of the project by the non-Federal 
                interest.
            ``(3) Cost sharing.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in 
                this paragraph, the Federal share of project costs for 
                a project under this section--
                            ``(i) shall not exceed 65 percent; and
                            ``(ii) may be in the form of grants or 
                        reimbursements of project costs.
                    ``(B) Credit for design work.--The non-Federal 
                interest shall receive credit for the reasonable costs 
                of design work completed by the non-Federal interest 
                before entering into an agreement with the 
                Administrator for a project.
                    ``(C) Credit for interest.--In the case of a delay 
                in the funding of the Federal share of the costs of a 
                project under this section, the non-Federal interest 
                shall receive credit for reasonable interest incurred 
                in providing the Federal share of the project costs.
                    ``(D) Land, easements, rights-of-way, and 
                relocations.--The non-Federal interest shall receive 
                credit for land, easements, rights-of-way, and 
                relocations provided by the non-Federal interest toward 
                the non-Federal share of project costs (including all 
                reasonable costs associated with obtaining permits 
                necessary for the construction, operation, and 
                maintenance of the project on publicly owned or 
                controlled land), but not to exceed 25 percent of the 
                total project cost.
                    ``(E) Operation and maintenance.--The non-Federal 
                share of operation and maintenance costs for a project 
                constructed under this section shall be 100 percent.
    ``(e) Applicability of Other Federal and State Laws.--Nothing in 
this section waives, limits, or otherwise affects the applicability of 
any provision of Federal or State law (including regulations) that 
would otherwise apply to a project under this section.
    ``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section for each fiscal year an amount 
not greater than $15,000,000, to remain available until expended.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``54103. Education and research harbors.''.

SEC. 3. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE FOR DOMESTIC MARITIME WORKFORCE TRAINING 
              AND EDUCATION.

    Section 54102 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(d) State Maritime Academy.--The Secretary of Transportation 
shall designate each State Maritime Academy, as defined in section 
51102(4) of this title, as a center of excellence under this 
section.''.
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