H.R. 3831 would prohibit the feeding of sharks, except in narrow circumstances, within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the United States off the coast of Florida. State law already prohibits such activity within the waters that border the EEZ.
Under the bill, violators would be subject to civil and criminal penalties, which are recorded in the budget as revenues; criminal penalties are deposited in the Crime Victims Fund and later spent without further appropriation. CBO estimates that any increases in penalty collections or associated spending would be insignificant because of the small number of violations expected over the 2026‑2036 period.
H.R. 3831 would impose a private-sector mandate as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) by prohibiting the feeding of sharks within the EEZ off the coast of Florida. The cost of the mandate would include the forgone revenue associated with shark feeding activities in the EEZ, primarily from tourism. Based on estimates of shark tourism revenue in Florida, CBO estimates that the cost of the mandate would not exceed the annual private-sector threshold established in UMRA ($214 million in 2026, adjusted annually for inflation).
H.R. 3831 does not contain any intergovernmental mandates.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are David Rafferty (for federal effects) and Erich Dvorak (for mandates). The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
