Regional Ocean Partnership Act
Latest action · Feb 15, 2022 By Senator Cantwell from Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation filed written report. Report No. 117-78.
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.
- IntroducedMay 27, 2021
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Regional Ocean Partnership Act
This bill allows the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to designate and support Regional Ocean Partnerships between coastal states that share a common ocean or coastal area or border the Great Lakes. It also allows partnerships between coastal states and non-coastal states that share a common watershed or would contribute to the priorities of the partnership.
Specifically, NOAA may designate a partnership as a Regional Ocean Partnership if it (1) is established to coordinate the management of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources among state governments and Indian tribes; (2) focuses on the environmental issues affecting the ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes areas of the coastal states participating in the partnership; (3) complements existing coastal and ocean management efforts of states and Indian tribes on an interstate scale, focusing on shared regional priorities; (4) does not have a regulatory function; and (5) is not duplicative of an existing Regional Ocean Partnership.
The bill designates the following entities as Regional Ocean Partnerships:
- the Gulf of Mexico Alliance,
- the Northeast Regional Ocean Council,
- the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean, and
- the West Coast Ocean Alliance.
Each partnership must maintain mechanisms for coordination, consultation and engagement with the federal government, Indian tribes, nongovernmental entities, and other federally mandated regional entities.
A partnership may use provided federal funds to award grants and enter into contracts for certain purposes, including to monitor the water quality and living resources of multistate ocean and coastal ecosystems.
Cosponsors 1
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Jun 24, 2021.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-NH | Margaret Wood Hassan | Jun 24, 2021 |
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 May 27, 2021Markup Jun 16, 2021Reported Dec 17, 2021 |
Actions 6
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Feb 15, 2022By Senator Cantwell from Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation filed written report. Report No. 117-78.
- Dec 17, 2021Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cantwell with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
- Dec 17, 2021Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 217.
- Jun 16, 2021Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
- May 27, 2021Introduced in Senate
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 estimate
- Oct 12, 2021S. 1894, Regional Ocean Partnership ActAs ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on June 16, 2021
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| IF12188 | What Is the Blue Economy? | Resource | May 6, 2025 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 3817 | Regional Ocean Partnership Act of 2021 | Related bill | Jun 22, 2021 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to designate Regional Ocean Partnerships of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Regional Ocean Partnership Act
- Short Title(s) as Reported to Senate
- Regional Ocean Partnership Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources.
- Alabama
- Aquatic ecology
- Atlantic Ocean
- California
- Congressional oversight
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
- Environmental education
- Environmental health
- Florida
- Government studies and investigations
- Gulf of Mexico
- Indian lands and resources rights
- Intergovernmental relations
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Mississippi
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York State
- Oregon
- Pacific Ocean
- Public Lands and Natural Resources
- Regional and metropolitan planning
- Research administration and funding
- Rhode Island
- State and local government operations
- Texas
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington State
- Water quality
- Wildlife conservation and habitat protection
Text 2
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Dec 17, 2021Reported to Senate
- May 27, 2021Introduced 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.
