USC Chapter 131

USC Chapter 131
in effect

46 U.S.C. § 13101 Definitions

In this chapter: (1) Eligible State.—The term “eligible State” means a State that has a State recreational boating safety program accepted by the Secretary. (2) State Recreational Boating Safety Program.—The term “State recreational boating safety program” means education, assistance, and enforcement activities conducted for maritime casualty prevention, reduction, and reporting for recreational boating.

46 U.S.C. § 13102 State recreational boating safety programs

(a) To encourage greater State participation and uniformity in boating safety efforts, and particularly to permit the States to assume the greater share of boating safety education, assistance, and enforcement activities, the Secretary shall carry out a national recreational boating safety program. Under this program, the Secretary shall make contracts with, and allocate and distribute amounts to, eligible States to assist them in developing, carrying out, and financing State recreational boating safety programs. (b) The Secretary shall establish guidelines and standards for the program. In doing so, the Secretary—(1) shall consider, among other things, factors affecting recreational boating safety by contributing to overcrowding and congestion of waterways, such as the increasing number of recreational vessels operating on those waterways and their geographic distribution, the availability and geographic distribution of recreational boating facilities in and among applying States, and State marine casualty and fatality statistics for recreational vessels; (2) shall consult with the Secretary of the Interior to minimize duplication with the purposes and expenditures of chapter 2003 of title 54, United States Code,11 So in original. The words “United States Code,” probably should not appear. the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act of 1950 (16 U.S.C. 777–777k), and with the guidelines developed under those Acts; and (3) shall maintain environmental standards consistent with the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451–1464) and other laws and policies of the United States intended to safeguard the ecological and esthetic quality of the waters and wetlands of the United States. (c) A State whose recreational boating safety program has been approved by the Secretary is eligible for allocation and distribution of amounts under this chapter to assist that State in developing, carrying out, and financing its program. Matching amounts shall be allocated and distributed among eligible States by the Secretary as provided by section 13104 of this title.

46 U.S.C. § 13103 Program acceptance

(a) The Secretary shall make a contract with, and allocate and distribute amounts from the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund established by section 9504 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 9504) to, a State that has an approved State recreational boating safety program, if the State demonstrates to the Secretary’s satisfaction that—(1) the program submitted by that State is consistent with this chapter and chapters 61 and 123 of this title; (2) amounts distributed will be used to develop and carry out a State recreational boating safety program containing the minimum requirements of subsection (c) of this section; (3) sufficient State matching amounts are available from general State revenue, undocumented vessel numbering and license fees, State marine fuels taxes, or from a fund constituted from the proceeds of those taxes and established to finance a State recreational boating safety program; and (4) the program submitted by that State designates a State lead authority or agency that will carry out or coordinate carrying out the State recreational boating safety program supported by financial assistance of the United States Government in that State, including the requirement that the designated State authority or agency submit required reports that are necessary and reasonable to carry out properly and efficiently the program and that are in the form prescribed by the Secretary. (b) Amounts of the Government (except amounts from sources referred to in subsection (a)(3) of this section) may not be used to provide a State’s share of the costs of the program described under this section. State matching amounts committed to a program under this chapter may not be used to constitute the State’s share of matching amounts required by another program of the Government. (c) The Secretary shall approve a State recreational boating safety program, and the program is eligible to receive amounts authorized to be expended under section 13107 of this title, if the program includes—(1) a vessel numbering system approved or carried out by the Secretary under chapter 123 of this title; (2) a cooperative boating safety assistance program with the Coast Guard in that State; (3) sufficient patrol and other activity to ensure adequate enforcement of applicable State boating safety laws and regulations; (4) an adequate State boating safety education program, that includes the dissemination of information concerning the hazards of operating a vessel when under the influence of alcohol or drugs; and (5) a system, approved by the Secretary, for reporting marine casualties required under section 6102 of this title. (d) The Secretary’s approval under this section is a contractual obligation of the Government for the payment of a proportionate share of the cost of carrying out the program.

46 U.S.C. § 13104 Allocations

(a) The Secretary shall allocate amounts available for allocation and distribution under this chapter for State recreational boating safety programs as follows:(1) One-third shall be allocated equally each fiscal year among eligible States. (2) One-third shall be allocated among eligible States that maintain a State vessel numbering system approved under chapter 123 of this title and a marine casualty reporting system approved under this chapter so that the amount allocated each fiscal year to each eligible State will be in the same ratio as the number of vessels numbered in that State bears to the number of vessels numbered in all eligible States. (3) One-third shall be allocated so that the amount allocated each fiscal year to each eligible State will be in the same ratio as the amount of State amounts expended by the State for the State recreational boating safety program during the prior fiscal year bears to the total State amounts expended during that fiscal year by all eligible States for State recreational boating safety programs. (b) The amount received by a State under this section in a fiscal year may be not more than one-half of the total cost incurred by that State in developing, carrying out, and financing that State’s recreational boating safety program in that fiscal year. (c) The Secretary may allocate not more than 5 percent of the amounts available for allocation and distribution in a fiscal year for national boating safety activities of national nonprofit public service organizations.

46 U.S.C. § 13105 Availability of allocations

(a)(1) Amounts allocated to a State shall be available for obligation by that State for a period of 3 years after the date of allocation. (2) Amounts allocated to a State that are not obligated at the end of the 3-year period referred to in paragraph (1) shall be withdrawn and allocated by the Secretary in addition to any other amounts available for allocation in the fiscal year in which they are withdrawn or the following fiscal year. (b) Amounts available to the Secretary for State recreational boating safety programs for a fiscal year that have not been allocated at the end of the fiscal year shall be allocated among States in the next fiscal year in addition to amounts otherwise available for allocation to States for that next fiscal year.

46 U.S.C. § 13106 Computation decisions about State amounts expended

(a) Consistent with regulations prescribed by the Secretary, the computation by a State of amounts expended for the State recreational boating safety program shall include—(1) the acquisition, maintenance, and operating costs of land, facilities, equipment, and supplies; (2) personnel salaries and reimbursable expenses; (3) the costs of training personnel; (4) public boat safety education; (5) the costs of carrying out the program; and (6) other expenses that the Secretary considers appropriate. (b) The Secretary shall decide an issue arising out of the computation made under subsection (a) of this section.

46 U.S.C. § 13107 Authorization of appropriations

(a) Subject to subsection (c), the Secretary shall expend in each fiscal year for State recreational boating safety programs, under contracts with States under this chapter, an amount equal to the amount transferred to the Secretary under subsections (a)(2) and (f) of section 4 of the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 777c(a)(2) and (f)). The amount shall be allocated as provided under section 13104 of this title and shall be available for State recreational boating safety programs as provided under the guidelines established under subsection (b) of this section. Amounts authorized to be expended for State recreational boating safety programs shall remain available until expended and are deemed to have been expended only if an amount equal to the total amounts authorized to be expended under this section for the fiscal year in question and all prior fiscal years have been obligated. Amounts previously obligated but released by payment of a final voucher or modification of a program acceptance shall be credited to the balance of unobligated amounts and are immediately available for expenditure. (b) The Secretary shall establish guidelines prescribing the purposes for which amounts available under this chapter for State recreational boating safety programs may be used. Those purposes shall include—(1) providing facilities, equipment, and supplies for boating safety education and law enforcement, including purchase, operation, maintenance, and repair; (2) training personnel in skills related to boating safety and to the enforcement of boating safety laws and regulations; (3) providing public boating safety education, including educational programs and lectures, to the boating community and the public school system; (4) acquiring, constructing, or repairing public access sites used primarily by recreational boaters; (5) conducting boating safety inspections and marine casualty investigations; (6) establishing and maintaining emergency or search and rescue facilities, and providing emergency or search and rescue assistance; (7) establishing and maintaining waterway markers and other appropriate aids to navigation; and (8) providing State recreational vessel numbering and titling programs. (c)(1)(A) The Secretary may use amounts made available each fiscal year under section 4(b)(2) of the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 777c(b)(2)) for payment of expenses of the Coast Guard for investigations, personnel, and activities directly related to—(i) administering State recreational boating safety programs under this chapter; or (ii) coordinating or carrying out the national recreational boating safety program under this title. (B) Of the amounts used by the Secretary each fiscal year under subparagraph (A)—(i) not less than $2,100,000 is available to ensure compliance with chapter 43 of this title; and (ii) not more than $1,500,000 is available to conduct by grant or contract a survey of levels of recreational boating participation and related matters in the United States. (2) On or after October 1, 2024, no funds available to the Secretary under this subsection may be used to replace funding provided through general appropriations, nor for any purposes except those purposes authorized by this section. (3) Amounts made available by this subsection shall remain available during the 2 succeeding fiscal years. Any amount that is unexpended or unobligated at the end of the 3-year period during which it is available shall be withdrawn by the Secretary and allocated to the States in addition to any other amounts available for allocation in the fiscal year in which they are withdrawn or the following fiscal year. (4) The Secretary shall publish annually in the Federal Register a detailed accounting of the projects, programs, and activities funded under this subsection.

46 U.S.C. § 13108 Computing amounts allocated to States and State records requirements

(a) Amounts allocated and distributed under section 13104 of this title shall be computed and paid to the States as follows:(1) During the second quarter of a fiscal year and on the basis of computations made under section 13106 of this title and submitted by the States for the preceding fiscal year, the Secretary shall determine the percentage of the amounts available to which each eligible State is entitled for the next fiscal year. (2) Notice of the percentage and of the dollar amount, if it can be determined, for each State shall be provided to the States at the earliest practicable time. (3) If the Secretary determines that an amount made available to a State for a prior fiscal year is greater or less than the amount that should have been made available to the State for the prior fiscal year, because of later or more accurate State expenditure information, the amount for the current fiscal year may be increased or decreased by the appropriate amount. (b) The Secretary shall schedule the payment of amounts, consistent with the program purposes and applicable regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, to minimize the time elapsing between the transfer of amounts from the Treasury and the subsequent disbursement of the amounts by a State. (c) The Secretary shall notify a State authority or agency that further payments will be made to the State only when the program complies with the prescribed standards or a failure to comply substantially with standards is corrected if the Secretary, after reasonable notice to the designated State authority or agency, finds that—(1) the State recreational boating safety program submitted by the State and accepted by the Secretary has been so changed that it no longer complies with this chapter or standards prescribed by regulations; or (2) in carrying out the State recreational boating safety program, there has been a failure to comply substantially with the standards prescribed by regulations. (d) The Secretary shall provide for the accounting, budgeting, and other fiscal procedures that are necessary and reasonable to carry out this section properly and efficiently. Records related to amounts allocated under this chapter shall be made available to the Secretary and the Comptroller General to conduct audits.

46 U.S.C. § 13109 Consultation, cooperation, and regulation

(a) In carrying out responsibilities under this chapter, the Secretary may consult with State and local governments, public and private agencies, organizations and committees, private industry, and other persons having an interest in boating safety. (b) The Secretary may advise, assist, and cooperate with the States and other interested public and private agencies in planning, developing, and carrying out boating safety programs. Acting under section 141 11 See References in Text note below. of title 14, the Secretary shall ensure the fullest cooperation between the State and United States Government authorities in promoting boating safety by making agreements and other arrangements with States when possible. Subject to chapter 23 1 of title 14, the Secretary may make available, on request of a State, the services of members of the Coast Guard Auxiliary to assist the State in promoting boating safety on State waters. (c) The Secretary may prescribe regulations to carry out this chapter.

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