Coastal Communities Ocean Acidification Act of 2025

Summary

Makes targeted changes to the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act to broaden who is defined as a stakeholder, add and clarify definitions (including Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations), increase Indigenous representation on the advisory board, require Tribal consultation and a Tribal engagement policy, expand mechanisms for stakeholder input, and make technical and punctuation edits throughout the statute. It also directs NOAA to prioritize underserved populations when collaborating with non‑Federal partners and allows broader, but optional, collaboration with Native Hawaiian and Tribal organizations.

• Adds explicit statutory definitions for Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations and other terms to clarify who is covered.
• Requires the Advisory Board to use ongoing mechanisms to solicit input from a broader set of stakeholders, including Indigenous knowledge groups and community acidification networks.
• Increases Indigenous representation on the Advisory Board by adding two Tribal/Native Hawaiian seats and adjusts other membership numbers.
• Directs the Advisory Board to create a Tribal engagement and coordination policy within one year and to consult Tribes in developing it.
• Expands who NOAA must consult and allows NOAA to collaborate with Native Hawaiian organizations and Tribal consortia (permissive), while requiring collaboration with Indian Tribes.
• Changes some program wording to be less prescriptive (e.g., replacing "maximize" with "take into consideration").
• Requires NOAA to prioritize underserved populations and entities when allocating collaboration resources.
• Makes numerous technical, punctuation, and cross‑reference fixes without adding new duties, deadlines, or funding.