46 USC 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.
Terms Used In 46 USC 13107
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- State: means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United States. See 1 USC 7
- vessel: includes every description of watercraft or other artificial contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means of transportation on water. See 1 USC 3
(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.