S. 1344 — Introduced in Senate

II 113th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1344 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES July 23, 2013 Mr. Begich introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To promote research, monitoring, and observation of the Arctic and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Arctic Research, Monitoring, and Observing Act of 2013. 2. Arctic Research Commission (a) Duties of the Arctic Research Commission Section 104(a) of the Arctic Research and Policy Act of 1984 (15 U.S.C. 4103(a)) is amended— (1) in paragraph (2), by striking assist in establishing and inserting establish; (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (10) as paragraphs (4) through (11), respectively; and (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following: (3) award— (A) grants to Federal, State, local, or tribal governments and academic and private organizations to conduct research on or related to the Arctic, including to the marine environment of the Arctic Ocean, its adjacent seas or associated lesser bodies of water; and (B) such grants on the basis of merit in accordance with the national Arctic research program plan; . (b) Administration of the Commission Section 106 of the Arctic Research and Policy Act of 1984 (15 U.S.C. 4105) is amended— (1) in paragraph (4), by striking and at the end; (2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and; and (3) by adding at the end the following: (6) enter into agreements with appropriate agencies or organizations to administer grants made pursuant to this title for Arctic research including reimbursement from funds of the Commission to administer such grants. . (c) Conflicts of interest; Arctic Research Commission Section 103 of the Arctic Research and Policy Act of 1984 (15 U.S.C. 4102) is amended by adding at the end the following: (e) Conflict of interest The Commission shall adopt conflict of interest and recusal provisions that apply to any decision by the Commission and to all members of the Commission as if each member of the Commission is an affected individual within the meaning of section 302(j) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(j)), except that in addition to the disclosure requirements of paragraph (2) of such section 302(j), each member of the Commission shall disclose any financial interest or relationship in an organization or with an individual that is applying for funding from the Commission held by the member of the Commission, including an interest as an officer, director, trustee, partner, employee, contractor, agent, or other representative. . 3. North Pacific Research Board Subsection (e) of section 401 of the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 (43 U.S.C. 1474d(e)) is amended by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the following: (5) The Board may adopt such rules of procedure and establish such committees as it deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this title, including the conduct of administrative duties between meetings. (6) All decisions of the Board shall be by majority vote of the full board in regular session. (7) The Board shall adopt conflict of interest and recusal provisions that apply to any decision by the Board and to all members of the Board as if each member of the Board is an affected individual within the meaning of section 302(j) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(j)), except that in addition to the disclosure requirements of paragraph (2) of such section 302(j), each member of the Board shall disclose any financial interest or relationship in an organization or with an individual that is applying for funding from the Board, including an interest as an officer, director, trustee, partner, employee, contractor, agent, or other representative. (8) The Secretary of Commerce may accept funds from a source other than the Government of the United States to be used by the Board to carry out the Board’s functions. .