As ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on June 21, 2012
S. 1201 would authorize the appropriation of $29 million over the 2013-2016 period for the Department of the Interior (DOI) to fund projects to conserve fish habitats. The legislation also would establish a National Fish Habitat Board and authorize the appropriation of $6 million over the same period to establish a National Fish Habitat Conservation Office, cover certain planning and administrative expenses, and provide technical and scientific assistance to the board, Fish Habitat Partnerships (FHPs), and conservation project participants.
CBO estimates that implementing S. 1201 would cost $32 million over the 2013-2017 period and $3 million after 2017, assuming appropriation of the specified amounts. Because the legislation would authorize DOI to accept and use gifts and donations, enacting the bill could have a negligible impact on offsetting receipts and associated direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that the net effect on direct spending would be minimal in each year. Enacting the bill would not affect revenues.
S. 1201 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
