(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the Senate on August 26, 2003. The summary of that version is repeated here.)
Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Amendments Act of 2003 - Amends the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998 to reauthorize and revise its provisions.
(Sec. 2) Makes permanent the Inter-Agency Task Force on Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia (Task Force) (by repealing a provision which authorizes the President to disestablish it after it submits a specified plan).
(Sec. 3) Requires the President, in conjunction with State Governors, to develop and submit to Congress a Prediction and Response Plan to protect environmental and public health from impacts of harmful algal blooms. Requires the plan to be submitted to Congress within 12 months after enactment of this Act. Specifies plan, publication and Federal assistance requirements.
(Sec. 4) Requires the Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with the Task Force, to provide for local and regional assessments of hypoxia and harmful algal blooms, as requested by coastal States, Indian tribes, and local governments. Provides guidelines for such assessments.
Directs the Task Force to complete and submit to Congress scientific assessments of: (1) Great Lakes harmful algal blooms; and (2) hypoxia in U.S. coastal waters including the Great Lakes. Requires such hypoxia assessments to continue to be completed by the Task Force and submitted to Congress at least once every five years after the first one.
(Sec. 5) Extends the authorization of appropriations under the Act to the Secretary of Commerce for research, education, and monitoring activities related to the prevention, reduction, and control of harmful algal blooms and hypoxia. Allocates such funding among the following programs: (1) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) research and assessment activities at the research laboratories of the National Ocean Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service; (2) Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms (ECOHAB) project under the Coastal Ocean Program, with a certain portion to conduct the scientific assessment of Great Lakes harmful algal blooms; (3) NOAA's National Ocean Service to conduct peer-reviewed research on management measures that can be taken to prevent, reduce, control, and mitigate harmful algal blooms; (4) Federal and State annual monitoring and analysis activities for harmful algal blooms administered by the National Ocean Service; (5) activities related to research and monitoring on hypoxia by the National Ocean Service and NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research; and (6) conducting of the Local and Regional Assessments (by the Secretary, in coordination with the Task Force).