American Fisheries Management and Marine Life Enhancement Act
Latest action. Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 323.
American Fisheries Management and Marine Life Enhancement Act - (Sec. 3) Amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (the Act) to revise contents of fishery management plans to include a mechanism for specifying the total allowable catch limit for each fishery that is based on the best scientific information available and that does not exceed acceptable biological catch levels recommended by a Regional Fishery Management Council. Requires each Council to additionally to: (1) adopt a total allowable catch limit or other annual harvest effort control limit for a fishery that, after considering the recommendation of the scientific and statistical committee of the Council, does not exceed the committee's recommendation for the acceptable biological catch; and (2) develop multi-year research priorities for fisheries, fisheries interactions, habitats, and other research areas that are necessary for fishery management. Requires the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) to develop guidelines for the Councils to use in determining what is the best scientific information available.
Revises requirements with respect to scientific and statistical committees to require such committees to provide its Council ongoing scientific advice for fishery management decisions, including recommendations for acceptable biological catch and for the maximum sustainable yield for fisheries, and reports on stock status and health, bycatch, habitat status, socio-economic impacts of management measures, and sustainability of fishing practices. Requires committee members to be federal employees, state employees, academicians, or independent experts with strong scientific or technical credentials.
Revises discretionary provisions with respect to fishery management plans to authorize Councils to create a cooperative research program, including the use of commercial fishing, charter fishing, or recreational fishing vessels for the gathering of data on stock abundance, composition, distribution, or other relevant information important for fishery management plan implementation.
Requires the Secretary to ensure that: (1) fishing vessels participating in cooperative research activities do not lose allocated fishing privileges (such as days at sea) based on such activities, unless such loss is part of the cooperative research plan; and (2) catch history of a vessel during such research activities at a time when it is sacrificing fishing time in an open season accrues to the vessel, unless loss of such accrual is part of the cooperative research plan.
The summary continues for 35 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to House with amendment(s)" stage on July 17, 2006. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on July 17, 2006: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 323.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 109th Congress (2005-06), 482 of the 10,701 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.5 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
RICHARD POMBO (R-CA) introduced it on March 28, 2006, and 7 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 28, 2006, 7471 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 7360 days ago, on July 17, 2006.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 109th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2007 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers