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Fisheries Fee Fairness Act of 2011

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Official summary

Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Jun 29, 2011

Fisheries Fee Fairness Act of 2011 - Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce, using sums received as fines, penalties, and forfeitures of property for violations of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act or other fishery resource laws enforced by the Secretary, to reimburse certain legal fees and costs to a person applying for reimbursement that: (1) the Secretary directed to be remitted a fisheries enforcement penalty in the Secretarial Decision Memorandum issued by the Secretary on May 17, 2011, entitled Decisions regarding Certain NOAA Fisheries Enforcement Cases Based on Special Master Swartwood's Report and Recommendations; or (2) received a Notice of Violation and Assessment for a fisheries enforcement penalty issued on or after March 17, 1994, that was settled or otherwise resolved prior to February 3, 2010, paid a civil penalty, submitted a complaint seeking remittance prior to May 7, 2011, and was directed by the Secretary to receive at least a portion of such remittance.

Directs the Secretary to make a final determination on whether to provide a reimbursement within 90 days after receiving such an application.

Prohibits providing more than $200,000 to such a person for appropriate legal fees and costs.

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Who introduced it

Sen. Kerry, John F. [D-MA] · D–MA

Committees

  • Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
1 cosponsorship records, including any withdrawals

Actions

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  1. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

  2. Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S4234-4235)

  3. Introduced in Senate

Bill text & related measures

Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.

Related bills identified by Congress.gov

Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.

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