S. 318 Text - Engrossed in Senate - 118th Congress (2023-2024)

To amend the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act to improve the administration of the Marine Debris Foundation, to amend the Marine Debris Act to improve the administration of the Marine Debris Program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. Short title.

This Act may be cited as the “Save Our Seas 2.0 Amendments Act”.

SEC. 2. Modifications to the Marine Debris Foundation.

(a) Definitions.—Section 2 of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act (33 U.S.C. 4201) is amended—

(1) in paragraph (7)(D), by striking “(as defined” and all that follows through “5304))”;

(2) by redesignating paragraph (11) as paragraph (13); and

(3) by inserting after paragraph (10) the following:

“(11) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘Tribal government’ means the recognized governing body of any Indian or Alaska Native Tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, community, component band, or component reservation, individually identified (including parenthetically) in the list published most recently as of the date of the enactment of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Amendments Act pursuant to section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131).

“(12) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘Tribal organization’ has the meaning given that term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).”.

(b) Status of Foundation.—Section 111(a) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 4211(a)) is amended, in the second sentence, by striking “organization” and inserting “corporation”.

(c) Purposes.—Section 111(b)(3) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 4211(b)(3)) is amended by inserting “Indian Tribes,” after “Tribal governments,”.

(d) Board of Directors.—

(1) APPOINTMENT, VACANCIES, AND REMOVAL.—Section 112(b) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 4212(b)) is amended—

(A) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding subparagraph (A)—

(i) by striking “and considering” and inserting “considering”;

(ii) by inserting “and with the approval of the Secretary of Commerce,” after “by the Board,”; and

(iii) by inserting “and such other criteria as the Under Secretary may establish” after “subsection (a)”;

(B) in paragraph (3)(A), by inserting “with the approval of the Secretary of Commerce” after “the Board”;

(i) by inserting “the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development,” after “Service,”; and

(ii) by inserting “and with the approval of the Secretary of Commerce” after “EPA Administrator”;

(D) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (5) as paragraphs (3) through (6), respectively; and

(E) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:

“(2) RECOMMENDATIONS OF BOARD REGARDING APPOINTMENTS.—For appointments made under paragraph (1) other than the initial appointments, the Board shall submit to the Under Secretary recommendations on candidates for appointment.”.

(2) GENERAL POWERS.—Section 112(g) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 4212(g)) is amended—

(A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking “officers and employees” and inserting “the initial officers and employees”; and

(B) in paragraph (2)(B)(i), by striking “its chief operating officer” and inserting “the chief executive officer of the Foundation”.

(3) CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER.—Section 112 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 4212) is amended by adding at the end the following:

“(h) Chief executive officer.—

“(1) APPOINTMENT; REMOVAL; REVIEW.—The Board shall appoint and may remove and review the performance of the chief executive officer of the Foundation.

“(2) POWERS.—The chief executive officer of the Foundation may appoint, remove, and review the performance of any officer or employee of the Foundation.”.

(e) Powers of Foundation.—Section 113(c)(1) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 4213(c)(1)) is amended, in the matter preceding subparagraph (A)—

(1) by inserting “nonprofit” before “corporation”; and

(2) by striking “acting as a trustee” and inserting “formed”.

(f) Principal office.—Section 113 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 4213) is amended by adding at the end the following:

“(g) Principal office.—The Board may locate the principal office of the Foundation outside the District of Columbia and is encouraged to locate that office in a coastal State.”.

(g) Best practices; rule of construction.—Section 113 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 4213), as amended by subsection (f), is further amended by adding at the end the following:

“(h) Best practices.—

“(1) IN GENERAL.—The Foundation shall develop and implement best practices for conducting outreach to Indian Tribes and Tribal governments.

“(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The best practices developed under paragraph (1) shall—

“(A) include a process to support technical assistance and capacity building to improve outcomes; and

“(B) promote an awareness of programs and grants available under this Act.

“(i) Rule of construction.—Nothing in this Act may be construed—

“(1) to satisfy any requirement for government-to-government consultation with Tribal governments; or

“(2) to affect or modify any treaty or other right of any Tribal government.”.

(h) Use of funds.—Section 118 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 4218) is amended—

(1) in subsection (a)—

(A) in paragraph (2), by striking “and State and local government agencies” and inserting “, State and local government agencies, regional organizations, Indian Tribes, and Tribal organizations”; and

(B) in paragraph (3)—

(i) in the paragraph heading, by striking “Prohibition” and inserting “Limitation”; and

(ii) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the following:

“(B) SALARIES.—The Foundation may use Federal funds described in subparagraph (A) to pay for salaries only during the 24-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Amendments Act. The Secretary shall not require reimbursement from the Foundation for any such Federal funds used to pay for such salaries.”; and

(2) in subsection (b)(2), by striking “and State and local government agencies” and inserting “, State and local government agencies, United States and international nongovernmental organizations, regional organizations, and foreign government entities”.

SEC. 3. Modifications to the Marine Debris Program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Section 3(d) of the Marine Debris Act (33 U.S.C. 1952(d)) is amended—

(1) in the subsection heading, by striking “and contracts” and inserting “contracts, and other agreements”;

(2) in paragraph (1), by striking “and contracts” and inserting “, contracts, and other agreements”;

(3) in paragraph (2)—

(A) in subparagraph (B)—

(i) by striking “part of the” and inserting “part of a”; and

(ii) by inserting “or (C)” after “subparagraph (A)”; and

(B) in subparagraph (C), in the matter preceding clause (i), by inserting “and except as provided in subparagraph (B)” after “subparagraph (A)”; and

(4) by adding at the end the following:

“(7) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.—With respect to any project carried out pursuant to a contract or other agreement entered into under paragraph (1) that is not a cooperative agreement or an agreement to provide financial assistance in the form of a grant, the Administrator may contribute on an in-kind basis the portion of the costs of the project that the Administrator determines represents the amount of benefit the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration derives from the project.”.