PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Jun 11, 2021
Regional Ocean Partnership Act of 2021
This bill allows the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to designate and support Regional Ocean Partnerships between coastal states that share a common ocean or coastal area.
Specifically, NOAA may designate a partnership as a Regional Ocean Partnership if it (1) is established to coordinate the interstate management of coastal resources; (2) focuses on the environmental issues affecting the ocean and coastal areas of the coastal states participating in the partnership; (3) complements existing state coastal and ocean management efforts on an interstate scale, focusing on shared regional priorities; (4) does not have a regulatory function; and (5) is not duplicative of an existing Regional Ocean Partnership.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
The bill designates the following entities as Regional Ocean Partnerships:
the Gulf of Mexico Alliance,
the Northeast Regional Ocean Council,
the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean, and
the West Coast Ocean Alliance.
Each partnership must maintain mechanisms for consultation and engagement with the federal government, tribal governments, and nongovernmental entities, such as academic organizations.
A partnership may use provided federal funds to award grants and enter into contracts for certain purposes, including to monitor the water quality and living resources of multistate ocean and coastal ecosystems.
People & committees
Rep. Crist, Charlie [D-FL-13] · D–FL
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Committee Hearings Held.
Referred to the Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife.
Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: May 7, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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