S. 396 would amend the Billfish Conservation Act of 2012 to prevent the transfer and sale of billfish caught and landed by U.S. vessels in Hawaii or the Pacific Insular Areas to the mainland United States. Under current law, billfish caught and landed in Hawaii or the Pacific Insular Areas by U.S. vessels can be sold locally or transported and sold in the mainland United States. The bill also would amend the Shark Conservation Act of 2010 to affirm that the Secretary of Commerce has the authority to regulate shark fishing under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
CBO estimates that implementing S. 396 would increase revenues from civil penalties resulting from violations of the prohibition on selling billfish to the mainland United States; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. However, based on information from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), CBO estimates that the increased revenues would not be significant in any year and over the 2018-2027 period. Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending.
CBO estimates that enacting the legislation would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
S. 396 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.
The prohibitions in S. 396 would impose a private-sector mandate, as defined by UMRA. Based on information from NOAA about the value of billfish landed in Hawaii and the Pacific Insular Areas, CBO estimates that the cost of the mandate would total a few million dollars or less and would fall well below the annual threshold established in UMRA for private-sector mandates ($156 million, adjusted annually for inflation).