Southern Sea Otter Recovery and Research Act
Latest action · Dec 10, 2010 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 686.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedOct 1, 2009
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Southern Sea Otter Recovery and Research Act - (Sec. 3) Requires the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS), to carry out a Recovery and Research Program for southern sea otter populations along the coast of California that includes: (1) monitoring, analysis, and assessment of population demographics, health, mortality, and life history parameters; and (2) implementation of measures to reduce or eliminate potential factors limiting populations that relate to marine ecosystem health or human activities.
Requires the Secretary to: (1) appoint persons to a southern sea otter recovery implementation team as authorized under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 within a year of commencement of the recovery and research program; (2) establish a peer-reviewed, merit-based process to award competitive grants for research regarding such otters and for projects assisting the recovery of otter populations; and (3) establish a peer review panel to provide scientific advice and guidance to prioritize proposals for grants.
Authorizes research grant topics to include: (1) causes of sea otter mortality; (2) southern sea otter demographics and natural history; (3) effects and sources of poor water quality; (4) effects and sources of infectious diseases and parasites; (5) limitations on the availability of food resources and the impacts of food limitation on southern sea otter carrying capacity; (6) interactions between southern sea otters and coastal fisheries and other human activities in the marine environment; (7) assessment of the keystone ecological role of sea otters in southern and central California's coastal marine ecosystems; and (8) assessment of the adequacy of emergency response and contingency plans.
Authorizes funded recovery projects to include projects to: (1) protect and recover southern sea otters; (2) reduce, mitigate, or eliminate potential factors limiting such populations that are related to human activities; and (3) implement emergency response and contingency plans.
Requires the Secretary to report to Congress on: (1) the status of southern sea otter populations; (2) implementation of the recovery and research and grant programs; and (3) endangered species consultations regarding southern sea otters.
Requires the Secretary to report to Congress and the public on: (1) an evaluation of southern sea otter health, causes of mortality, and the interactions of southern sea otters with California's coastal marine ecosystems; (2) an evaluation of actions taken to improve otter health, reduce mortality, and improve habitat; (3) recommendations for actions to improve otter health, reduce the occurrence of human-related mortality, and improve the health of such coastal marine ecosystems; (4) recommendations for funding to implement this Act; and (5) a description of formal consultations that the Secretary determines are relevant to the research and recovery program established under this Act that are conducted in accordance with interagency cooperation requirements of the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
(Sec. 4) Authorizes appropriations for each of FY2011-FY2016.
(Sec. 5) Terminates this Act on the date the Secretary publishes a determination that the southern sea otter should be removed from the endangered species and threatened species lists.
Cosponsors 1
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Oct 26, 2009.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-CA | Dianne Feinstein | Oct 26, 2009 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee | Referred Oct 2, 2009Markup Jun 9, 2010Reported Dec 10, 2010 |
Actions 6
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Dec 10, 2010Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Rockefeller with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 111-362.
- Dec 10, 2010Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 686.
- Jun 9, 2010Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
- Oct 1, 2009Introduced in Senate
- Oct 1, 2009Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S10067)
In the Congressional Record 3
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S7672 | Harry Reid D-NV, Tom Coburn R-OK | Sep 29, 2010 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S7604 | Harry Reid D-NV | Sep 28, 2010 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S10067 | Barbara Boxer D-CA | Oct 1, 2009 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimates 2
- Jun 22, 2010S. 1748, Southern Sea Otter Recovery and Research Act<p>Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Comemrce, Science, and Transportation on June 9, 2010</p>
- Jun 22, 2010S. 1748, Southern Sea Otter Recovery and Research ActCost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Comemrce, Science, and Transportation on June 9, 2010
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| S. Hrg. 111-512 | THE FUTURE OF OCEAN GOVERNANCE: BUILDING OUR NATIONAL OCEAN POLICY106 pages | Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee | Nov 4, 2009 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 556 | Southern Sea Otter Recovery and Research Act | Related bill | Jul 29, 2009 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to establish a program of research, recovery, and other activities to provide for the recovery of the southern sea otter.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Southern Sea Otter Recovery and Research Act
- Short Titles as Reported to Senate
- Southern Sea Otter Recovery and Research Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Animals.
- Animal protection and human-animal relationships
- Animals
- Aquatic ecology
- California
- Endangered and threatened species
- Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
- Infectious and parasitic diseases
- Mammals
- Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
- Marine pollution
- Research administration and funding
- Veterinary medicine and animal diseases
- Wildlife conservation and habitat protection
Text 2
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Dec 10, 2010Reported to Senate
- Oct 1, 2009Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
