H.R. 774 would provide the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) with additional tools to enforce fisheries laws and combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The bill would establish uniform enforcement policies and procedures under the many federal statutes that govern the regulation of commercial fishing. The bill also would allow NOAA to implement two international fishing agreements previously entered into by the United States.
Assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 774 would cost $2 million over the 2016-2020 period. Because enacting the bill could increase revenues (from civil and criminal penalties) and associated direct spending, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that such increases in penalties and spending would be less than $500,000 annually and would offset each other in most years.
CBO has reviewed title I of H.R. 774 and determined that it contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA). Section 4 of UMRA excludes from the application of that act any legislative provisions that are necessary for the ratification or implementation of international treaty obligations. CBO has determined that Titles II and III fall within that exclusion because they would implement international fishing treaties.
