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H.R. 2706, Billfish Conservation Act of 2011 1 (September 7, 2012)

handle is hein.congrec/cbo10879 and id is 1 raw text is: CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE
COST ESTIMATE
September 7, 2012
H.R. 2706
Bilifish Conservation Act of 2011
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on August1, 2012
H.R. 2706 would prohibit individuals from selling or possessing billfish (marlin and other
species) or billfish products in nearly all states and some territories of the United States.
Based on information provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA), CBO estimates that implementing the bill would have no significant impact on
the federal budget. Enacting the legislation could increase revenues (from civil and
criminal penalties) and associated direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures
apply. However, CBO estimates that such increases would be negligible and would offset
each other in most years.
CBO expects that the bill would have a minimal impact on NOAA's fishery management
activities. Under current law, any billfish caught in the Atlantic Ocean must be released.
In addition, billfish are rarely found in the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of the
continental United States. Hawaii and the Pacific Insular Area would be exempt from
complying with the bill as long as billfish and billfish products from those areas are sold
there.
H.R. 2706 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates
Reform Act (UMRA).
H.R. 2706 contains a private-sector mandate, as defined in UMRA, by prohibiting the
sale or possession of billfish or products containing billfish. The cost of the mandate
would be the net income forgone as a result of the prohibition. Based on information
from industry experts, CBO estimates that the loss of income may amount to tens of
millions of dollars annually. Consequently, the cost of the mandate would fall below the
annual threshold established in UMRA for private-sector mandates ($146 million in
2012, adjusted annually for inflation).
The CJBO staff contacts for this estimate are Jeff Lalave (for federal costs) and Amy Petz
(for the private-sector impact). The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

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