Youth Coastal Fishing Program Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3925 To direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to establish a grant program to fund youth fishing projects. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 7, 2023 Ms. SALAZAR (for herself, Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE, Mr. KIM of New Jersey, Mrs. GONZA´LEZ-COLO´N, Mr. WALTZ, Mr. KILMER, Mr. KILDEE, Mrs. CAMMACK, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. GIMENEZ, and Mr. PALLONE) in- troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Nat- ural Resources A BILL To direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra- tion to establish a grant program to fund youth fishing projects. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Youth Coastal Fishing 4 Program Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. YOUTH COASTAL FISHING GRANT PROGRAM. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 7 program to award grants and provide technical assistance 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:44 Jun 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3925.IH H3925 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3925 IH to eligible entities for the purpose of establishing youth 1 fishing projects. 2 (b) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible entity seeking a 3 grant under this section shall submit an application at 4 such time, in such manner, and containing such informa- 5 tion as the Secretary may require. 6 (c) DETERMINATIONS OF ELIGIBILITY.—The Sec- 7 retary shall develop criteria for purposes of determining 8 whether an entity is eligible to receive a grant under this 9 section in consultation with relevant offices of the Na- 10 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, such as 11 the Office of Coastal Management, the National Sea 12 Grant Office, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and 13 the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. 14 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 15 a grant award under this section shall use the amount of 16 the award for purposes related to conducting a youth fish- 17 ing project, including— 18 (1) the purchase or rental of fishing equipment; 19 (2) the cost of transporting participants to and 20 from a youth fishing project; 21 (3) fees associated with boat rental, pier access, 22 or other facilities; 23 (4) fishing license purchases; 24 (5) fishing guide costs; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:44 Jun 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3925.IH H3925 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3925 IH (6) such other expenses related to conducting a 1 youth fishing project as the Secretary considers ap- 2 propriate. 3 (e) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec- 4 tion, the Secretary shall give priority to applications con- 5 taining proposals for youth fishing projects focused on an 6 underserved community. 7 (f) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 1 year after 8 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 9 submit to Congress a report on— 10 (1) the eligible entities awarded grants under 11 this section; 12 (2) the amount each such entity received; 13 (3) how those entities used the grant award; 14 and 15 (4) the number of participants in youth fishing 16 projects funded by grants under this section. 17 (g) FUNDING.— 18 (1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 19 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec- 20 retary $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 21 through 2028 to carry out this section. 22 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pur- 23 suant to the authorization of appropriations under 24 paragraph (1) shall remain available until expended. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:44 Jun 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3925.IH H3925 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3925 IH (3) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Not more than 3 1 percent of amounts appropriated pursuant to the au- 2 thorization of appropriations under paragraph (1) 3 may be used by the Secretary for the administrative 4 costs of carrying out this section. 5 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 6 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 7 ty’’ means— 8 (A) a nonprofit organization; 9 (B) an educational institution; 10 (C) a State, local, or Tribal government; or 11 (D) a Native Hawaiian organization (as 12 defined in section 6207 of the Elementary and 13 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 14 7517)). 15 (2) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 16 ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization de- 17 scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 18 Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under 19 501(a) of that Code. 20 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 21 the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the 22 Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and At- 23 mosphere. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:44 Jun 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3925.IH H3925 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3925 IH (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each 1 State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 2 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American 3 Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern 4 Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands of the United 5 States, and any other territory or possession of the 6 United States. 7 (5) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘Tribal 8 government’’ means the recognized governing body 9 of any Indian or Alaska Native Tribe, band, nation, 10 pueblo, village, community, component band, or com- 11 ponent reservation, individually identified (including 12 parenthetically) in the list published most recently as 13 of the date of the enactment of this Act pursuant to 14 section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian 15 Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131). 16 (6) UNDERSERVED COMMUNITY.—The term 17 ‘‘underserved community’’ means a population of in- 18 dividuals sharing a particular characteristic, or a ge- 19 ographic community, that has been systematically 20 denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of 21 economic, social, and civic life, such as— 22 (A) racial and ethnic minorities; 23 (B) individuals with access and functional 24 needs; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:44 Jun 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3925.IH H3925 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3925 IH (C) individuals otherwise adversely affected 1 by persistent poverty or inequality. 2 (7) YOUTH FISHING PROJECT.—The term 3 ‘‘youth fishing project’’ means a project that pro- 4 vides youth with— 5 (A) a recreational fishing experience con- 6 ducted from a shore, pier, or boat located in the 7 Great Lakes, coastal waters, ocean waters, or a 8 tidal river; 9 (B) education about marine science, con- 10 servation, and fishing regulations; and 11 (C) information on where and how to con- 12 tinue fishing. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:44 Jun 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3925.IH H3925 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS