Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance and Rehabilitation Act of 2023

II 118TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 2560 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 15 (legislative day, APRIL 10), 2024 Received AN ACT To require the Secretary of Commerce to establish the Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance Grant Program, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:43 Jan 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2560.RDS H2560 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2 HR 2560 RDS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sea Turtle Rescue As- 2 sistance and Rehabilitation Act of 2023’’. 3 SEC. 2. SEA TURTLE RESCUE ASSISTANCE AND REHABILI- 4 TATION GRANT PROGRAM. 5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 6 a grant program, to be known as the ‘‘Sea Turtle Rescue 7 Assistance and Rehabilitation Grant Program’’, to encour- 8 age and facilitate coordinated rapid response and rescue 9 by awarding grants for the purposes described in sub- 10 section (c). 11 (b) DESIGNATION OF STRANDING AND REHABILITA- 12 TION REGIONS.—The Secretary shall designate geographic 13 regions of the United States as stranding and rehabilita- 14 tion regions for the purposes of carrying out this section. 15 (c) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Program are to 16 provide for— 17 (1) the recovery, short- or long-term care, 18 transportation, and treatment of stranded marine 19 turtles; 20 (2) the release of rescued and recovered marine 21 turtles; 22 (3) the collection of data and samples from 23 stranded marine turtles for scientific research re- 24 lated to marine turtle health; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:43 Jan 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2560.RDS H2560 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3 HR 2560 RDS (4) facility operation costs that are directly re- 1 lated to activities described in paragraphs (1), (2), 2 and (3). 3 (d) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—The 4 Secretary shall ensure, to the extent practicable, that 5 funds awarded under this section are distributed equitably 6 among stranding and rehabilitation regions, taking into 7 account— 8 (1) the number of stranding and rehabilitation 9 events that occurred in each stranding and rehabili- 10 tation region in the preceding 5 years; and 11 (2) the conservation priorities and recovery 12 needs of species of marine turtles that are threat- 13 ened or endangered under the Endangered Species 14 Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 15 (e) APPLICATION.—An applicant for a grant under 16 this section shall submit an application in such form and 17 manner as the Secretary shall prescribe. 18 (f) GRANT CRITERIA.— 19 (1) DEVELOPMENT OF CRITERIA.—The Sec- 20 retary shall, in consultation with the Director of the 21 United States Fish and Wildlife Service, establish by 22 regulation appropriate criteria for awarding grants 23 under this section. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:43 Jan 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2560.RDS H2560 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4 HR 2560 RDS (2) STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT.—As part of 1 the process for developing and finalizing criteria 2 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall, in con- 3 sultation with the Director of the United States Fish 4 and Wildlife Service, provide opportunities for en- 5 gagement with representatives from stranding and 6 rehabilitation regions and representatives of State 7 governments and public and private organizations 8 with an established record in coordination, rescue, 9 rehabilitation, and release, as well as related sci- 10 entific research, marine conservation, and forensic 11 science, with respect to stranded marine turtles. 12 (3) REQUIRED CRITERIA.—The criteria devel- 13 oped under paragraph (1) shall prioritize applicants 14 with an established record of coordination, rescuing, 15 rehabilitation, scientific research, and forensic 16 science with respect to stranded and rehabilitated 17 marine turtles or conducting scientific research and 18 forensic science on stranded and rehabilitated ma- 19 rine turtles. 20 (g) LIMITATIONS.— 21 (1) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF GRANT.—No grant 22 awarded under this section may exceed $150,000 in 23 any 12-month period. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:43 Jan 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2560.RDS H2560 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 5 HR 2560 RDS (2) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—The non-Fed- 1 eral share of the costs of an activity conducted with 2 a grant awarded under the Program shall be not less 3 than 50 percent of such costs, including in-kind 4 services and the use of property. 5 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 6 (1) MARINE TURTLE.—The term ‘‘marine tur- 7 tle’’ means any member of the family Cheloniidae or 8 Dermochelyidae. 9 (2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 10 the Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance and Rehabilitation 11 Grant Program established under subsection (a). 12 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 13 the Secretary of Commerce. 14 (4) STRANDING.—The term ‘‘stranding’’ means 15 an event in which— 16 (A) a marine turtle is dead and is— 17 (i) on a beach or shore of the United 18 States; or 19 (ii) in waters under the jurisdiction of 20 the United States (including any navigable 21 waters); or 22 (B) a marine turtle is alive and is— 23 (i) on a beach or shore of the United 24 States and unable to return to the water; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:43 Jan 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2560.RDS H2560 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 6 HR 2560 RDS (ii) on a beach or shore of the United 1 States and in need of medical attention; or 2 (iii) in waters under the jurisdiction 3 of the United States (including any navi- 4 gable waters), and in need of medical at- 5 tention or other necessary intervention to 6 aid its likelihood of survival. 7 (5) STRANDING AND REHABILITATION RE- 8 GION.—The term ‘‘stranding and rehabilitation re- 9 gion’’ means a geographic region designated by the 10 Secretary under subsection (b). 11 Passed the House of Representatives April 11, 2024. Attest: KEVIN F. MCCUMBER, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:43 Jan 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2560.RDS H2560 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS