As ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on May 29, 2014
H.R. 4742 would amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) and authorize the appropriation of $1.6 billion through 2018 to carry out that act. The bill also would direct the Secretary of Commerce, upon an affirmative vote in a referendum, to amend the terms for repayment of an advance made in 2003 to buy back fishing permits in the Pacific Coast fishery for groundfish. Finally, the legislation would set a new limit on fees that are assessed on members of the affected fishery to repay the advance.
CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 4742 would cost $1.5 billion over the 2015-2019 period and $72 million after 2019, assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts. CBO estimates that implementing the bill would increase direct spending by $7 million over the 2015-2024 period; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. Enacting the bill would not affect revenues.
H.R. 4742 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.