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119-s-3791119th Congress
Regional Ocean Partnerships Reauthorization Act
Sponsored By: Senator Wicker, Roger F. [R-MS]
In Committee
Summary
Reauthorizes funding for Regional Ocean Partnerships and updates how they operate. It would reset multi-year funding, change reporting rules to make reviews recurring, add enforcement language to the program's scope, and bar partnerships from using grant money to write regulatory proposals or compliance programs.
Show full summary
- Regional Ocean Partnerships would get roughly $10.6 million per year in FY2028–2031, about $43.2 million total across those four years. This establishes the program's funding schedule through 2031.
- Reporting and oversight would shift from a single study to an ongoing cadence by changing "the report" to "each report" and by setting a first-report deadline not later than 5 years after enactment.
- Scope and limits would change: "enforcement" is added after "regulatory," geographic references are adjusted, capitalization of "coastal State" is standardized, and grants may not be used to develop regulatory proposals, model regulations, or compliance programs.
*If enacted, the bill would authorize about $43.2 million in appropriations for FY2028–2031, increasing federal outlays over that period.*
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 2 mixed.
Grants set for regional ocean groups
This bill would set annual grant amounts for Regional Ocean Partnerships for FY2028–FY2031: $10.63 million (FY2028), $10.74 million (FY2029), $10.86 million (FY2030), and $10.98 million (FY2031). This bill would also move the program period to cover fiscal years 2026 through 2031 instead of the earlier range. These changes would take effect upon enactment.
Limits on ocean partnerships' regulatory work
This bill would add the word "enforcement" next to "regulatory" in the program language, expanding the topics the partnerships consider. At the same time, this bill would bar Regional Ocean Partnerships (including Regional Coastal and Regional Great Lakes Partnerships) from using authorized funds to develop any regulatory proposal, model regulation, or compliance program. These changes would take effect upon enactment.
Technical wording and geography edits
This bill would make several textual edits to the program language. It would change one geographic reference from "Mexico" to "America," remove the name "Vermont" from a listed paragraph, and strike the words "natural and human-induced" from a subsection. These are wording and scope edits and would take effect upon enactment.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Wicker, Roger F. [R-MS]
MS • R
Cosponsors
Sen. Blunt Rochester, Lisa [D-DE]
DE • D
Sponsored 2/5/2026
Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT]
CT • D
Sponsored 2/5/2026
Sen. Britt, Katie Boyd [R-AL]
AL • R
Sponsored 2/5/2026
Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE]
DE • D
Sponsored 2/5/2026
Sen. Kennedy, John [R-LA]
LA • R
Sponsored 2/5/2026
Sen. Collins, Susan M. [R-ME]
ME • R
Sponsored 2/5/2026
Sen. Hassan, Margaret Wood [D-NH]
NH • D
Sponsored 2/5/2026
Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA]
MA • D
Sponsored 2/5/2026
Sen. Cassidy, Bill [R-LA]
LA • R
Sponsored 2/9/2026
Sen. Hyde-Smith, Cindy [R-MS]
MS • R
Sponsored 2/24/2026
Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT]
CT • D
Sponsored 3/2/2026
Sen. Alsobrooks, Angela D. [D-MD]
MD • D
Sponsored 4/13/2026
Sen. Cantwell, Maria [D-WA]
WA • D
Sponsored 4/21/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov