Sponsors (8)
The bill strengthens coastal and meteorological data sharing and provides predictable near-term funding while trading off long-term funding flexibility, potential administrative burdens, and some legal and transparency uncertainties.
Residents, coastal communities, and emergency managers will get better and more timely weather forecasts, storm warnings, and coastal monitoring because the bill clarifies authority and expands data sharing among coastal and meteorological observers.
Existing regional coastal observing systems and their state/local partners gain predictable, stable funding through a statutory $56M per year authorization (FY2026–2030) and a guaranteed minimum 7.5% share for systems in operation as of Jan 1, 2025, improving short-term budgeting and operations.
Federal agencies, NOAA leadership, and partner organizations will have clearer statutory terminology and assignment of responsibilities (renaming 'Council' to 'Committee' and aligning definitions), reducing some legal ambiguity in contracts, grants, and program implementation.
Taxpayers and coastal programs may face reduced long-term capacity because the bill caps authorizations at $56M per year, guarantees fixed minimum shares (7.5%) to existing systems, and exempts supplemental disaster relief from that minimum — collectively limiting total funding growth, flexibility, and guaranteed disaster support.
Federal, state, and local agencies (and partners) will incur short-term administrative costs and confusion from renaming the governing body (Council→Committee) and updating statutes, agreements, and internal procedures.
Agencies, grantees, and data producers could face increased compliance and reporting burdens (new data‑sharing requirements and systematic post-storm evaluations), raising workload and possibly requiring more staff or contractor resources funded by taxpayers.
Based on analysis of 7 sections of legislative text.
Renames the coordinating body to "Committee," adds meteorological and regional observations, requires post-storm evaluations, and authorizes $56M/yr (FY2026–2030) with 7.5% minimum regional allocations.
Introduced June 18, 2025 by Roger F. Wicker · Last progress June 18, 2025
Makes technical and program changes to the federal coastal and ocean observing system: renames the coordinating body from "Council" to "Committee," explicitly adds meteorological observations and regional assets to the System’s purposes, requires post-storm evaluations in annual reports, and authorizes $56,000,000 per year for FY2026–2030. It also requires the Commerce Secretary to allocate at least 7.5% of those authorized funds to each regional coastal observing system that existed on January 1, 2025.