[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2926 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2926

To amend title 46, United States Code, to adjust certain standards for 
                shipping safety, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 22, 2019

  Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York introduced the following bill; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
                             Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 46, United States Code, to adjust certain standards for 
                shipping safety, 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 ``Navigation Safety Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. ELECTRONIC CHARTS; EQUIVALENCY.

    (a) Requirements.--Section 3105(a)(1) of title 46, United States 
Code, is amended to read as follows:
            ``(1) Electronic charts in lieu of marine charts, charts, 
        and maps.--Subject to paragraph (2), the following vessels, 
        while operating on the navigable waters of the United States, 
        shall be equipped with and operate electronic navigational 
        charts conforming to a standard acceptable to the Secretary in 
        lieu of any marine charts, charts, and maps required by titles 
        33 and 46, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the 
        date of the enactment of this paragraph:
                    ``(A) A self-propelled commercial vessel of at 
                least 65 feet in overall length.
                    ``(B) A vessel carrying more than a number of 
                passengers for hire determined by the Secretary.
                    ``(C) A towing vessel of more than 26 feet in 
                overall length and 600 horsepower.
                    ``(D) Any other vessel for which the Secretary 
                decides that electronic charts are necessary for the 
                safe navigation of the vessel.''.
    (b) Exemptions and Waivers.--Section 3105(a)(2) of title 46, United 
States Code, is amended by--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``operates; and'' and 
        inserting ``operates;'';
            (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``those waters.'' and 
        inserting ``those waters; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) permit vessels that operate solely landward 
                of the baseline from which the territorial sea of the 
                United States is measured to utilize software-based, 
                platform-independent electronic chart systems that the 
                Secretary determines are capable of displaying 
                electronic navigational charts with necessary scale and 
                detail to ensure safe navigation for the intended 
                voyage.''.

SEC. 3. OFFSHORE NAVIGATION.

    (a) Port Access Routes.--Section 70003(e) of title 46, United 
States Code, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ``continues; and'' and 
        inserting ``continues;'';
            (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) shall, unless otherwise authorized by the Secretary, 
        and notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, 
        require--
                    ``(A) a 2-nautical-mile buffer between the parallel 
                outer or seaward boundary of a traffic lane and any 
                offshore structure affixed to the submerged land of the 
                Outer Continental Shelf; and
                    ``(B) a 5-nautical-mile buffer between the entry or 
                exit of any traffic separation scheme and any offshore 
                structure.''.
    (b) Navigation; Conflict Mitigation.--Not later than 1 year after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the department 
in which the Coast Guard is operating shall implement the 
recommendations of the Atlantic Coast Port Access Route Study, docket 
number USCG-2011-0351, dated February 24, 2016, including any 
recommendations in the appendices thereto.
    (c) Fairways.--Not later than July 1, 2021, the Commandant of the 
Coast Guard shall conduct a review of navigation on the East Coast of 
the United States and submit recommendations for new fairways on such 
coast to facilitate commerce to the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate.

SEC. 4. SAFETY OF SPECIAL ACTIVITIES.

    (a) In General.--Title 46, United States Code, is amended by 
inserting after section 70005 the following:
``Sec. 70006. Safety of special activities
    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary may establish a safety zone to 
address special activities in the exclusive economic zone.
    ``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) The term `safety zone' has the meaning provided in 
        section 165.20 of title 33, Code of Federal Regulations.
            ``(2) The term `special activities' includes--
                    ``(A) space activities, including launch and 
                reentry, as those terms are defined in section 50902 of 
                title 51, carried out by United States citizens; and
                    ``(B) offshore energy development activities, as 
                described in section 8(p)(1)(C) of the Outer 
                Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(p)(1)(C)), 
                on or near a fixed platform.
            ``(3) The term `United States citizen' has the same meaning 
        as the term `eligible owners' in section 12103.
            ``(4) The term `fixed platform' means an artificial island, 
        installation, or structure permanently attached to the sea-bed 
        for the purpose of exploration or exploitation of resources or 
        for other economic purposes.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 700 of title 46, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
section 70005 the following:

``70006. Safety of special activities.''.
    (c) Regulations.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the department in 
        which the Coast Guard is operating shall establish regulations 
        to implement this section.
            (2) Alignment with other regulations.--Such regulations 
        shall align with subchapter C of chapter III of title 14, Code 
        of Federal Regulations.

SEC. 5. TOWING VESSELS; OPERATION OUTSIDE THE BOUNDARY LINE.

    (a) Interim Exemption.--A towing vessel to which this section 
applies is exempt from any additional requirements of subtitle II of 
title 46, United States Code, and chapter I of title 33 and chapter I 
of title 46, Code of Federal Regulations that would result solely from 
such vessel operating outside the Boundary Line (as such term is 
defined in section 103 of title 46, United States Code) if such 
vessel--
            (1) is listed as a response vessel on a vessel response 
        plan and is operating outside the Boundary Line solely to 
        perform duties of a response vessel; or
            (2) is operating outside the Boundary Line solely to 
        perform operations necessary to escort a vessel with limited 
        maneuverability.
    (b) Applicability.--This section applies to a towing vessel--
            (1) that is subject to inspection under chapter 33 of title 
        46, United States Code, and subchapter M of title 46, Code of 
        Federal Regulations;
            (2) with only ``Lakes, Bays, and Sounds'' or ``Rivers'' 
        routes recorded on such vessel's certificate of documentation 
        under section 176.110 of title 46, Code of Federal Regulations; 
        and
            (3)(A) that, with respect to a vessel that is described in 
        subsection (a)(1), is listed on a vessel response plan under 
        part 155 of title 33, Code of Federal Regulations, on the date 
        of the enactment of this Act; or
            (B) that, with respect to a vessel described in subsection 
        (a)(2), is regularly engages in harbor assist operations, 
        including the docking, undocking, mooring, unmooring, and 
        escorting of vessels with limited maneuverability.
    (c) Limitations.--A vessel exempted under subsection (a) is subject 
to the following operating limitations:
            (1) Response vessels.--The voyage of a vessel exempted 
        under subsection (a)(1) shall--
                    (A) be less than 12 hours in total duration; and
                    (B) originate and end in the inspection zone of a 
                single Officer In-Charge, Marine Inspection, as defined 
                in section 3305(d)(4) of title 46, United States Code.
            (2) Escort vessels.--The voyage of a vessel exempted under 
        subsection (a)(2) shall--
                    (A) be less than 12 hours in total duration;
                    (B) originate and end in the inspection zone of a 
                single Officer In-Charge, Marine Inspection, as such 
                term is defined in section 3305(d)(4) of title 46, 
                United States Code; and
                    (C) occurs no further than 10 nautical miles from 
                the Boundary Line.
    (d) Termination.--The interim exemption provided under subsection 
(a) shall terminate on July 22, 2023.
    (e) Restriction.--The Officer In-Charge, Marine Inspection, as 
defined in section 3305(d)(4) of title 46, United States Code, for an 
inspection zone may restrict operations under the exemptions provided 
under subsection (a) for safety purposes.
    (f) Briefing.--Not later than July 22, 2022, the Commandant of the 
Coast Guard shall brief the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate regarding the 
following:
            (1) The impacts of the interim exemptions provided under 
        this section.
            (2) Any safety concerns regarding the expiration of such 
        interim exemptions.
            (3) Whether such interim exemptions should be extended or 
        made permanent in the interests of safety.
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