S. 61 would authorize Washington, Oregon, and California to manage commercial fishing for Dungeness crabs in federal waters adjacent to their states. Under prior law, the states had managed such fishing under authority that expired on September 30, 2016. Under current law, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is preparing to manage the fishery during the next Dungeness crab season, which will begin near the start of fiscal year 2018.
Based on an analysis of information provided by NOAA, CBO estimates that NOAA will spend about $1 million a year beginning in 2018 to hire 10 to 15 employees to carry out administrative activities related to managing the fishery. Under the bill, CBO expects that the three states would manage the Dungeness crab fisheries largely at state expense. Therefore, we estimate that implementing the bill would reduce the need for discretionary appropriations by about $1 million a year over the 2018-2022 period.
Enacting S. 61 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO estimates that enacting the legislation would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
S. 61 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. Any costs incurred by the States of Washington, California, and Oregon to regulate their fisheries would be incurred voluntarily.
