BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT:
Title
Recommended Positions on Federal Legislation: H.R. 548 (Calvert) - Federally Integrated Species Health (FISH) Act; H.R. 357 (Garamendi) - Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area Act; S. 40 (Barrasso) - Bureau of Reclamation Transparency Act; and Other Legislation That May Require Urgent Consideration for a Position by the Board.
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
A. Adopt a position of "Support" on H.R. 548 (Calvert) - Federally Integrated Species Health (FISH) Act;
B. Adopt a position of "Support" on H.R. 357 (Garamendi) - Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area Act; and
C. Adopt a position of "Support and Amend" on S. 40 (Barrasso) - Bureau of Reclamation Transparency Act.
Body
SUMMARY:
A. H.R. 548 (Calvert) - Federally Integrated Species Health (FISH) Act
Recommendation: Support
Priority Recommendation: 2
This bill would amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) to vest within the Department of the Interior the responsibilities under the ESA of managing anadromous and catadromous species of fish - those that spawn in fresh or estuarine waters and migrate to ocean waters, and those that spawn in ocean waters and migrate to fresh or estuarine waters, respectively - rather than within the Department of Commerce, where that authority currently resides. Effectively, this bill would transfer personnel and ESA regulatory authority of these species from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), part of the Department of Commerce, to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), which is in the Department of the Interior. The Department of Commerce would still pay for those personnel, but they would be housed within USFWS.
Status:
The bill was introduced on January 15, 2019, and was referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources. The co-sponsors of the bill are Representatives LaMalfa (R-CA-1), Simpson (R-ID-2), Costa (D-CA-16), McMorris Rodgers (R-WA-5), and McClintock (R-C...
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