Description:
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on March 18, 2014
H.R. 4032 would exempt the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) from prosecution under the Lacey Act for transferring water containing invasive species from Oklahoma to Texas. The Lacey Act protects plants and wildlife by creating civil and criminal penalties for various violations, including transferring invasive species across state borders.
Based on information provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would have no significant effect on the federal budget. Under current law, federal agencies, including the USFWS and the Department of Justice, have the authority to negotiate agreements that would allow the NTMWD to make these transfers without being prosecuted. Enacting H.R. 4032 could reduce revenues from penalties under the Lacey Act; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that any such reductions would be negligible. Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending.
H.R. 4032 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
