To amend the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to reauthorize coastal services, training, education, and technical support programs of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to establish a performance evaluation system for such administration, and for other purposes.

February 27, 2003

Mr. SAXTON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources

To amend the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to reauthorize coastal services, training, education, and technical support programs of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to establish a performance evaluation system for such administration, and for other purposes.

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 `Coastal Services and Performance Evaluation Act of 2003'.

SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title.

Sec. 2. Table of contents.

Sec. 3. Amendment of Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972.

Sec. 4. Policy.

Sec. 5. Coastal Zone Management Fund.

Sec. 6. Coastal services.

Sec. 7. Review of performance.

Sec. 8. Amendments relating to Walter B. Jones Awards for Excellence in Coastal Zone Management.

Sec. 9. Reports.

Sec. 10. Authorization of appropriations.

Sec. 11. Technical corrections.

Sec. 12. Coastal zone management outcome indicators and monitoring and performance evaluation system.

SEC. 3. AMENDMENT OF COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT ACT OF 1972.

Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or other provision of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.).

SEC. 4. POLICY.

Section 303 (16 U.S.C. 1452) is amended in paragraph (2)(J) by striking `State' the second place it appears and inserting `State and Federal fish'.

SEC. 5. COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT FUND.

Section 308 (16 U.S.C. 1456a) is amended--

(1) in subsection (a) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:

`(2) Loan repayments made pursuant to this subsection--

`(A) shall be retained by the Secretary and deposited into the Coastal Zone Management Fund established under subsection (b); and

`(B) subject to amounts provided in appropriation Acts, shall be available to the Secretary for purposes of this title and transferred to the Operations, Research, and Facilities account to offset the costs of implementing this title.'; and

(2) in subsection (b)--

(A) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3); and

(B) by striking `(b)(1)' and inserting `(b)'.

SEC. 6. COASTAL SERVICES.

Section 310 (16 U.S.C. 1456c) is amended--

(1) by striking so much as precedes subsection (b) and inserting the following:

`COASTAL SERVICES, TRAINING, EDUCATION, AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT

`SEC. 310. (a)(1) The Secretary shall conduct a program of training, education, technical assistance, technology transfer, management-oriented research, and other services to support--

`(A) State coastal management programs and national estuarine reserves designated under this title; and

`(B) other Federal agencies, local governments, Indian tribes, other persons, and international cooperative efforts relating to the comprehensive planning, conservation, and management of ocean and coastal resources.

`(2) The Secretary may, in implementing this program, take into consideration the need to address regional or local concerns, including the unique needs of island States and territories, in order to provide effective and efficient support and develop expertise.

`(3) The Secretary shall coordinate the technical assistance, studies, management-oriented research, and other activities under this section with any other relevant activities conducted by or subject to the authority of the Secretary.';

(2) in subsection (b) by inserting `COORDINATION AND CONSULTATION- ' after `(b)'; and

(3) by adding at the end the following:

`(c) ASSISTANCE FROM OTHER AGENCIES AND PERSONS- (1) Each department, agency, and instrumentality of the executive branch of the Federal Government may assist the Secretary, on a reimbursable basis or otherwise, in carrying out the purposes of this section, including the furnishing of information to the extent permitted by law, the transfer of personnel with their consent and without prejudice to their position and rating, and the performance of any research, study, and technical assistance that does not interfere with the performance of the primary duties of such department, agency, or instrumentality.

`(2) The Secretary may enter into contracts or other arrangements with other Federal agencies and any other qualified person for the purposes of carrying out this section.'.

SEC. 7. REVIEW OF PERFORMANCE.

Section 312 (16 U.S.C. 1458) is amended by striking `SEC. 312.' and all that follows through subsection (a) and inserting the following:

`SEC. 312. (a) REVIEW- No less than every 5 years, the Secretary shall conduct a review of the performance of a coastal State's management program. Each review shall include a written evaluation with an assessment and detailed findings concerning the extent to which the State has implemented and enforced the program approved by the Secretary, addressed the coastal management needs identified in section 303(2)(A) through (K), met any outcome indicators established by the Secretary under section 12 of the Coastal Services and Performance Evaluation Act of 2003, and adhered to the terms of any grant, loan, or cooperative agreement funded under this title.'.

SEC. 8. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO WALTER B. JONES AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT.

Section 314 (16 U.S.C. 1460) is amended--

(1) by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

`(a) AUTHORIZATION OF PROGRAM- (1) The Secretary may implement a program to promote excellence in coastal zone management by identifying and making awards acknowledging outstanding accomplishments in the field of coastal zone management. An award under this section shall be known as a `Walter B. Jones Award'.

`(2) Awards under this section may include, subject to the availability of appropriations--

`(A) cash awards of not more than $5,000 each;

`(B) research grants; and

`(C) public ceremonies to acknowledge accomplishments in the field of coastal zone management.';

(2) in subsection (b) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking `shall elect annually' and inserting `may select annually for an award under this section'; and

(3) by repealing subsection (e).

SEC. 9. REPORTS.

Section 316(a) (16 U.S.C. 1462(a)) is amended--

(1) in subsection (a)--

(A) by striking `to the President for transmittal'; and

(B) in clause (10) by striking `and an evaluation of the effectiveness of financial assistance under section 308 in dealing with such consequences'; and

(2) by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:

`(c) STATE OF THE COAST REPORT- Not less than 24 months after the date of the enactment of this subsection, and not less than every 24 months thereafter, the Secretary shall provide a coastal status report to the Congress that includes the following:

`(1) An assessment of the ecological status and trends of United States marine resources.

`(2) An identification and analysis of the changes in those status and trends since the previous report.

`(3) An identification and assessment of Government performance measures that track the status and trends of United States marine resources.

`(4) An evaluation of the adequacy of marine resource monitoring and assessment programs.'.

SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

Section 318(a) (16 U.S.C. 1464(a)) is amended--

(1) in paragraph (1) by striking `and' after the semicolon at the end;

(2) in paragraph (2) by striking the period at the end and inserting `; and'; and

(3) by adding at the end the following:

`(3) to carry out section 310 and for awards under section 314--

`(A) $28,000,000 for fiscal year 2004;

`(B) $29,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; and

`(C) $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2008.'.

SEC. 11. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.

The Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 is amended--

(1) in section 304(5) (16 U.S.C. 1453(5)) by striking the semicolon and inserting a colon;

(2) in section 306(a), as redesignated by this Act, in paragraph (10)(A) by inserting a comma after `development';

(3) by striking `coastal state' each place it appears and inserting `coastal State';

(4) by striking `coastal states' each place it appears and inserting `coastal States';

(5) by striking `coastal state's' each place it appears and inserting `coastal State's';

(6) by striking the term `state' each place it appears in reference to a State of the United States (other than in the term `coastal state') and inserting `State';

(7) by striking the term `states' each place it appears in reference to States of the United States (other than in the term `coastal states') and inserting `States'; and

(8) by striking the term `state's' each place it appears in reference to a State of the United States (other than in the term `coastal state's') and inserting `State's'.

SEC. 12. COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT OUTCOME INDICATORS AND MONITORING AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION SYSTEM.

(a) IN GENERAL-

(1) PERFORMANCE GUIDELINES AND EVALUATION- The Secretary of Commerce shall, by not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, submit to the Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives a report identifying a common set of measurable outcome indicators to evaluate the performance of State coastal zone management programs in furthering the goals and objectives identified in the States' approved coastal management programs, and in the achievement of the national policy declared in section 303 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1452).

(2) ASSESSMENT OF COASTAL AND MARINE MONITORING, ASSESSMENT, AND OTHER INFORMATION- The Secretary shall, by not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, submit to the Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives a report providing--

(A) an assessment of the adequacy of coastal and marine monitoring, assessment, and other information necessary to establish a coastal zone management outcome monitoring and performance evaluation system; and

(B) recommendations for improving the availability of such information, including funding needs.

(3) OUTCOME MONITORING AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION SYSTEM- The Secretary shall, by not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, establish a national coastal zone management outcome monitoring and performance evaluation system that uses the common set of indicators identified in the report under paragraph (1).

(b) CONSULTATION-

(1) STATE CONSULTATION- In preparing each of the reports under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult with and provide a copy of the draft report to each coastal State, through the Governor of the State or the head of the State agency designated by such Governor pursuant to section 310(d)(6) of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1455(d)(6)).

(2) PUBLIC COMMENT AND PARTICIPATION- The Secretary shall also implement a public process to solicit the views and comments of Federal agencies, local governments, regional organizations, port authorities, and other interested public and private persons regarding such reports, and shall make available to such persons copies of each draft of such reports for review and comment.

(3) RESPONSE TO COMMENTS- The Secretary shall include in each final report under subsection (a)--

(A) any comments on each draft of the report received from a Governor or the head of such a designated State agency, and the Secretary's responses to such comments; and

(B) a summary of other public comments regarding the report, and the Secretary's response to those comments.

(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- To carry out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $1,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2004, 2005, and 2006.

END