[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 759 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.759
One Hundred Nineteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Saturday,
the third day of January, two thousand and twenty six
An Act
To provide for the standardization, publication, and accessibility of
data relating to public outdoor recreational use of Federal waterways,
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 ``Modernizing Access to Our Public
Oceans Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Exclusive economic zone.--The term ``exclusive economic
zone'' has the meaning given that term in section 107 of title 46,
United States Code.
(2) Fishing restriction.--The term ``fishing restriction''
means a restriction on fishing in a federally managed fishery
established under section 303(b)(2) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1853(b)(2)), including--
(A) a full or partial fishing closure, in terms of both
area and duration, or a seasonal closure;
(B) a no-catch zone in the fishery;
(C) a restriction on the method of catch for the fishery;
and
(D) another restriction on fishing, as determined by the
Secretary.
(3) Indian tribe; tribal organization.--The terms ``Indian
Tribe'' and ``Tribal organization'' have the meanings given those
terms in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education
Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
(4) Native hawaiian organization.--The term ``Native Hawaiian
organization'' has the meaning given the term in section 6207 of
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
7517), except that the term includes the Department of Hawaiian
Home Lands and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs of the State of
Hawaii.
(5) Nonprofit organization.--The term ``nonprofit
organization'' means an organization that is described in section
501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from
taxation under section 501(a) of such Code.
(6) Recreational vessel.--The term ``recreational vessel'' has
the meaning given that term in section 2101 of title 46, United
States Code.
(7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
Commerce.
SEC. 3. DATA STANDARDIZATION.
Not later than 31 months after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Secretary, in consultation with relevant stakeholders,
including State and local governments, Indian Tribes, and Native
Hawaiian organizations, shall develop and adopt standards with respect
to the coordination and dissemination of geospatial data relating to
fishing restrictions, use of the exclusive economic zone by
recreational vessels, and access to Federal waters by such vessels,
including such data made available under section 4.
SEC. 4. DATA PUBLICATION AND ACCESSIBILITY.
(a) Data on Fishing and Recreational Vessels in Exclusive Economic
Zone.--Not later than 4 years after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Office of
Science and Technology of the National Marine Fisheries Service, and to
the maximum extent practicable, shall make available on a publicly
accessible website geographic information system data that--
(1) includes, with respect to the exclusive economic zone--
(A) information with respect to the conditions under which
fishing restrictions are imposed and the areas within the
exclusive economic zone that are open or closed to recreational
boating, diving, and related recreational activities (as
determined by the Secretary), including for safety reasons such
as because of the presence of harmful algal blooms;
(B) the areas of the exclusive economic zone with
restrictions on the use of motorized propulsion, horsepower, or
fuel by or of recreational vessels; and
(C) the types of recreational vessels that are restricted
on each area of the exclusive economic zone;
(2) describes the geographic boundaries of areas where fishing
restrictions occur; and
(3)(A) identifies Federal marine protected areas, including
National Marine Sanctuaries, national marine monuments, and other
federally protected waters; and
(B) includes information on what fishing, recreational boating,
and other related recreational activities are authorized in each
such area.
(b) Data on Navigation Within Exclusive Economic Zone.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall continue to make available
digitized geographic information system data that includes, with
respect to access to the exclusive economic zone--
(A) navigation information;
(B) bathymetric information;
(C) depth charts; and
(D) other information, consistent with law and policy.
(2) Website.--The Secretary shall, to the extent practicable,
make the data described in paragraph (1) available on the website
on which the Secretary makes the data described in subsection (a)
available.
(c) Data Accessibility.--The Secretary shall ensure that the
website on which the Secretary makes the data described in subsections
(a) and (b) available--
(1) organizes that data so that the data is findable,
accessible, interoperable, and reusable; and
(2) includes a mechanism by which users can be easily updated
when new data becomes available.
(d) Public Comment.--The Secretary shall develop--
(1) a process to allow members of the public to submit
questions or comments regarding the data described in subsections
(a) and (b) and the accessibility of that data under subsection
(c); and
(2) methods to improve the accessibility of data.
(e) Updates.--The Secretary shall update--
(1) the data described in subsections (a)(1) and (b) not less
frequently than 2 times each year; and
(2) the data described in paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection
(a) in real time.
(f) Nondisclosure of Certain Information.--The Secretary may not,
consistent with applicable law and policy, disclose, in any geographic
information system data made publicly available under this section--
(1) information regarding the nature, location, character, or
ownership of historic, paleontological, cultural, or archaeological
resources; or
(2) commercial fishing information, including proprietary
information.
(g) Treatment of Tribal Waters and Fishing Areas.--The authorities
granted by this section shall not apply with respect to any usual or
accustomed fishing areas or Tribal waters.
SEC. 5. COOPERATION AND COORDINATION.
(a) Community Partners and Third-party Providers.--For purposes of
carrying out this Act, the Secretary may--
(1) coordinate and partner with non-Federal entities,
including--
(A) States;
(B) Indian Tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, and
Tribal organizations;
(C) interstate commissions (as defined in section 303 of
the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act of 1986 (16 U.S.C.
4102));
(D) Regional Ocean Partnerships (as defined in section
10202 of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2023 (16 U.S.C. 1468));
(E) experts in data science, analytics, and operations
research;
(F) the private sector, including technology or geospatial
data industries;
(G) nonprofit organizations; and
(H) institutions of higher education (as defined in section
201 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)); and
(2) enter into agreements with experts within entities
described in any of subparagraphs (A) through (H) of paragraph (1)
to carry out any of the provisions of this Act.
(b) Interagency Coordination.--The Secretary shall, to the maximum
extent practicable, work with the relevant offices of the Department of
the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Defense,
the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, the
Coast Guard, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Interagency Working
Group on Ocean and Coastal Mapping codified by section 12203 of the
Ocean and Coastal Mapping Integration Act (33 U.S.C. 3502), to ensure
compatibility and interoperability among applicable Federal databases
with respect to the collection and dissemination of geospatial data
relating to public outdoor recreational use of the exclusive economic
zone.
(c) Applicability of Federal, State, and Tribal Law and
Regulations.--The Secretary, in developing and distributing geospatial
data under this Act, shall make clear that the data are subject to
applicable laws and regulations of the Federal Government, States, and
Indian Tribes.
SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act may be construed--
(1) to modify or alter the definition of the term ``navigable
waters'' under any provision of Federal law;
(2) to affect the jurisdiction or authority of Federal or State
agencies to regulate navigable waters;
(3) to increase or diminish the responsibility or authority of
Federal or State agencies or Indian Tribes to manage fisheries
under existing law;
(4) to satisfy any requirement for government-to-government
consultation with Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations;
or
(5) to affect or modify any treaty or other right of any Indian
Tribe.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.