Bill > S1078

This bill establishes the Mississippi River Basin Fishery Commission (MRBFC), a collaborative body within the Department of the Interior designed to improve the management of fishery resources in the Mississippi River Basin, which spans 41 percent of the continental United States and involves 31 states and two Canadian provinces. The commission will be composed of voting delegates from state fishery agencies, federal agencies, and Native American tribes, with the primary goals of overseeing fishery management across six sub-basins, developing strategies to control invasive species (particularly invasive carps), and promoting the long-term biological and economic sustainability of interjurisdictional fisheries. The bill creates a grant program to fund competitive and formula-based grants for fishery conservation projects, with priority given to entities providing matching funds, and authorizes appropriations of up to $1 million for initial setup costs and $30-50 million annually for operations from 2027 to 2036. Importantly, the commission's authority is explicitly nonbinding, meaning it cannot override state laws or supersede existing regulatory frameworks, but instead aims to facilitate cooperative management and strategic planning. The commission will be required to submit annual reports to Congress and will strive to make decisions by consensus while operating under a governance structure established by its member entities.

Agriculture and Natural Resources

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1078/all-info