Sponsors (6)
The bill trades away a textual ambiguity to give clearer authority to state and federal fisheries managers, but that same change—and any unspecified inserted language—could broaden regulatory reach and impose economic uncertainty and compliance costs on states and local operators.
State governments would have clearer/broader authority over shark‑feeding restrictions if the term is changed to 'the States', making multi‑state applicability explicit.
Clarifying a singular/plural reference reduces ambiguity and could improve fisheries management decisionmaking by the Secretary of Commerce and federal fisheries managers.
Unspecified inserted text could create new federal restrictions or exceptions, producing legal uncertainty and potential economic impacts for local operators, tour operators, and rural communities that run shark‑feeding activities.
Changing 'the State' to 'the States' could expand regulatory reach and impose additional compliance burdens on multiple state authorities and businesses involved in shark‑feeding activities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Replaces a singular "the State" with "the States" in the federal shark-feeding prohibition and appends unspecified new text, potentially altering scope or exceptions.
Amends the federal prohibition on shark feeding by changing a wording from a singular reference to a plural reference in the existing statute and appends additional, unspecified text to that statutory provision; it also designates an official short title. The change to a plural form plus the inserted (but not provided) language may broaden or otherwise alter the geographic scope, application, or exceptions of the current shark-feeding rule, but the exact effect is unclear because the new inserted text is not included.
Introduced June 6, 2025 by Daniel A. Webster · Last progress June 3, 2026