Description:
H.R. 3094 would create the Gulf States Red Snapper Management Authority (GSRSMA) and would transfer the management of red snapper fish in parts of the Gulf of Mexico from the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) to the GSRSMA. Under the bill, the GSRSMA would set planning standards for coastal states along the Gulf of Mexico to use when creating their own plans for managing red snapper. The GSRSMA would be required to review, approve, and enforce those plans. The states’ plans and any relevant supporting data would have to be available to the public.
Under current law, the Council uses funding provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to manage multiple fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico. In 2016, NOAA allocated $3.6 million to the Council for fishery management activities. CBO expects that under H.R. 3094 the need for that level of funding would not significantly change.
The bill would prohibit federal funding from being used to carry out the management of red snapper fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico by the GSRSMA or its members. Based on an analysis of information provided by NOAA about the cost to set standards for and evaluate fish management plans, CBO estimates that implementing S. 3094 would cost $1 million over the 2017-2021 period. Any spending by the federal government would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
Enacting H.R. 3094 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 3094 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2027.
H.R. 3094 would impose an intergovernmental mandate as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) by requiring states along the Gulf of Mexico to submit fisheries management plans and annual reports to the GSRSMA. Because states currently perform similar activities to comply with regulations under existing federal law, CBO expects that the incremental compliance costs would be small and would fall below the annual threshold established in UMRA for intergovernmental mandates ($77 million in 2016, as adjusted for inflation).
The bill contains no private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA.
