,,ii  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #acgc  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,june #ae1     
#bjag,mr4 ,wicker 7for himself1 ,mr4    
,cochran1 and ,mr4 ,cassidy7 introduced 
the following bill2 which was read twice
 and referred to the ,committee on      
,commerce1 ,science1 and ,transportation
  ,a ,,bill  ,to designate the ,gulf of 
,mexico ,alliance as a ,regional        
,coordination ,partnership of the       
,national ,oceanic and ,atmospheric     
,administration1 and for other purposes4
  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be    
cited as the ,gulf ,states ,protection  
and ,restoration ,coordination ,act4    
#b4 ,findings2 sense of ,congress2      
purposes  7a7 ,findings ,congress finds 
the following3 7#a7 ,the ,gulf of       
,mexico is a valuable resource of       
national and international importance1  
continuously serving the people of the  
,united ,states and other countries as  
an important source of food1 economic   
productivity1 recreation1 beauty1 and   

enjoyment4  7#b7 ,over many years1 the  
resource productivity and water quality 
of the ,gulf of ,mexico and its         
watershed have been diminished by point 
and nonpoint source pollution1          
increasing population demands1 economic 
development1 and natural and man-made   
hazard events4  7#c7 ,the protection of 
the ,gulf of ,mexico regional ecosystem 
has been traditionally underserved and  
overlooked compared to other great water
 bodies of the ,united ,states1 even    
though the region accounts for #ag      
percent of ,united ,states gross        
domestic product and would rank as the  
#gth largest economy in the world4  7b7 
,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of 
,congress that the ,united ,states      
should seek to attain coordination of   
the protection and restoration efforts  
of the ,gulf of ,mexico in order to     
reduce duplication of efforts and       
maximize efficiencies through a         
collaborative regional effort by the    
,gulf of ,mexico ,alliance1 in          

consultation with ,federal agencies and 
,state and local authorities4  7c7      
,purposes ,the purposes of this ,act and
 the amendments made by this ,act are as
 follows3 7#a7 ,to expand and strengthen
 cooperative voluntary efforts to       
protect and restore the ,gulf of        
,mexico4  7#b7 ,to expand ,federal      
support for monitoring1 management1 and 
restoration activities in the ,gulf of  
,mexico and its watershed4  7#c7 ,to    
commit the ,united ,states to a         
comprehensive cooperative program to    
achieve improved water quality in1 and  
improvements in the productivity of     
living resources of1 the ,gulf of       
,mexico4  7#d7 ,to establish a ,gulf of 
,mexico ,alliance to coordinate ,federal
 and ,state authorities with other      
voluntary efforts for the collaborative 
management of the large marine          
ecosystem1 thereby reducing duplication 
of efforts and maximizing opportunities 
to leverage restoration support in the  
,gulf of ,mexico region4  #c4 ,gulf     

,states protection and restoration      
coordination ,the ,coastal ,zone        
,management ,act of #aigb 7#af ,u4,s4,c4
 #adea et seq47 is amended by adding at 
the end the following3  #cbj4 ,gulf     
,states protection and restoration      
coordination  7a7 ,definitions ,in this 
section3 7#a7 ,administrator ,the term  
,administrator means the ,administrator 
of the ,national ,oceanic and           
,atmospheric ,administration4  7#b7     
,alliance ,management ,team ,the term   
,alliance ,management ,team means the   
governing body of the ,gulf of ,mexico  
,alliance consisting of the designated  
voting members representing the         
,governors of ,alabama1 ,florida1       
,louisiana1 ,mississippi1 and ,florida4 
7#c7 ,gulf of ,mexico ,alliance ,the    
term ,gulf of ,mexico ,alliance means   
the formal collaborative organization of
 ,federal1 ,state1 local1 and private   
participants established by the #e ,gulf
 ,states in #bjjd as a nonregulatory1   
inclusive network of partners to provide

 a broad geographic focus on the primary
 environmental issues affecting the     
,gulf of ,mexico4  7#d7 ,gulf of ,mexico
 ecosystem ,the term ,gulf of ,mexico   
ecosystem means the ecosystem of the    
,gulf of ,mexico and its watershed4  7b7
 ,authorization of ,gulf of ,mexico     
,alliance  7#a7 ,designation as a       
,regional ,coordination ,partnership    
,the ,gulf of ,mexico ,alliance is      
designated as a ,regional ,coordination 
,partnership of the ,national ,oceanic  
and ,atmospheric ,administration4  7#b7 
,requirements ,the ,gulf of ,mexico     
,alliance shall be-- 7,a7 headed by a   
,director who1 by reason of management  
experience and technical expertise      
relating to the ,gulf of ,mexico1 is    
highly qualified to direct the          
development of plans and programs on a  
variety of ,gulf of ,mexico issues1 as  
determined by the ,alliance ,management 
,team2 and  7,b7 located in a ,state    
all1 or a portion of the coastline1     
border the ,gulf of ,mexico4  7#c7      

,functions ,the ,gulf of ,mexico        
,alliance shall--  7,a7 promote         
coordination of the actions of ,state   
agencies in the ,states that border the 
,gulf of ,mexico and other authorities  
with the actions of the appropriate     
officials of the ,federal agencies and  
,state and local authorities in the     
,gulf of ,mexico region in developing   
strategies--  7i7 to improve the water  
quality1 protect nonregulated living    
resources1 increase valuable habitats1  
and enhance coastal resilience in the   
,gulf of ,mexico ecosystem2 and  7ii7 to
 obtain the support of appropriate      
officials2  7,b7 in cooperation with    
appropriate ,federal1 ,state1 and local 
authorities1 develop and implement      
specific action plans to carry out the  
,gulf of ,mexico ,alliance regional     
protection and restoration coordination 
goals2  7,c7 coordinate and implement   
priority plans and projects1 and        
facilitate science1 research1 modeling1 
monitoring1 data collection1 and other  

activities that support the ,gulf of    
,mexico ,alliance's goals through the   
provision of grants under subsection    
7c72  7,d7 implement outreach programs  
for public information1 education1 and  
participation to foster stewardship of  
the resources of the ,gulf of ,mexico2  
7,e7 develop and make available1 through
 publications1 technical assistance1 and
 other appropriate means1 information   
pertaining to the environmental quality 
and living resources of the ,gulf of    
,mexico ecosystem2  7,f7 serve as the   
liaison with1 and provide information   
to1 the ,mexican members of the ,gulf of
 ,mexico ,states ,accord and ,mexican   
counterparts2 and  7,g7 focus the       
efforts and resources of the ,gulf of   
,mexico ,alliance on activities that    
will result in measurable improvements  
to water quality and living resources of
 the ,gulf of ,mexico ecosystem by      
coordinating protection and restoration 
programs to minimize duplication and    
maximize leveraging opportunities4  7c7 

,grants  7#a7 ,in general ,the ,gulf of 
,mexico ,alliance may provide grants to 
nonprofit organizations1 ,state and     
local governments1 colleges1            
universities1 interstate agencies1 and  
individuals to carry out this section   
for use in--  7,a7 monitoring the water 
quality and living resources of the     
,gulf of ,mexico ecosystem2  7,b7       
researching the effects of natural and  
human-induced environmental changes on  
the water quality and living resources  
of the ,gulf of ,mexico ecosystem2  7,c7
 developing and executing cooperative   
strategies that address the water       
quality1 coastal resilience1 and living 
resource needs in the ,gulf of ,mexico  
ecosystem2  7,d7 developing and         
implementing locally based protection   
and restoration programs or projects    
within a watershed that complement such 
strategies1 including the creation1     
restoration1 protection1 or enhancement 
of habitat associated with the ,gulf of 
,mexico ecosystem2 and  7,e7 eliminating

 or reducing nonpoint sources that      
discharge pollutants that contaminate   
the ,gulf of ,mexico ecosystem1         
including activities to eliminate       
leaking septic systems and construct    
connections to local sewage systems4    
7#b7 ,administrative costs              
,administrative costs in the form of    
salaries1 overhead1 or indirect costs   
for services provided and charged       
against programs or projects carried out
 using funds made available through a   
grant under this subsection shall not   
exceed #be percent of the amount of the 
grant4  7d7 ,reports  7#a7 ,annual      
report ,not later than ,december #cj1   
#bjag1 and annually thereafter1 the     
,director of the ,alliance shall submit 
to the ,administrator and make available
 to the public a report that describes--
  7,a7 each project and activity funded 
under this section during the previous  
fiscal year2  7,b7 the goals and        
objectives of those projects and        
activities2 and  7,c7 the net benefits  

of projects and activities funded under 
this section during previous fiscal     
years4  7#b7 ,assessment  7,a7 ,in      
general ,not later than ,april #cj1     
#bjbj1 and every #c years thereafter1   
the ,administrator1 in coordination with
 the ,alliance ,management ,team1 shall 
complete an assessment on the           
effectiveness of the ,gulf of ,mexico   
,alliance's ability to coordinate       
regional priorities and submit to       
,congress a comprehensive report on such
 assessment4  7,b7 ,requirements ,the   
assessment and report described in      
subparagraph 7,a7 shall-- 7i7 assess the
 overall status of coordinated          
restoration and protection efforts in   
the ,gulf of ,mexico ecosystem2  7ii7   
assess the effectiveness of the ,gulf of
 ,mexico ,alliance management strategies
 being implemented1 and the extent to   
which the priority needs of the region  
are being met through that              
implementation2 and  7iii7 make         
recommendations for the improved        

coordination among the regulatory and   
nonregulatory programs operating in the 
region1 including strengthening         
strategies being implemented or adopting
 improved strategies4  7e7 ,budget item 
,the ,administrator1 in the annual      
submission to ,congress of the budget of
 the ,national ,oceanic and ,atmospheric
 ,administration1 shall include a       
funding line item request for the ,gulf 
of ,mexico ,alliance as a separate      
budget line item4  7f7 ,limitation on   
regulatory authority ,nothing in this   
section establishes any new legal or    
regulatory authority of the ,national   
,oceanic and ,atmospheric               
,administration or of the ,gulf of      
,mexico ,alliance1 other than the       
authority to provide grants in          
accordance with this section4  7g7      
,authorization of appropriations ,there 
are authorized to be appropriated to    
carry out this section1 to remain       
available until expended--  7#a7        
#e1jjj1jjj for fiscal year #bjah2  7#b7 

#e1ajj1jjj for fiscal year #bjai2  7#c7 
#e1bjb1jjj for fiscal year #bjbj2  7#d7 
#e1cjf1jdj for fiscal year #bjba2  7#e7 
#e1dab1afj for fiscal year #bjbb2 and   
7#f7 #e1ebj1djd for fiscal year #bjbc4  
4