2017 -- S 0785

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LC002083

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2017

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- DEPARTMENT OF

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT--MARINE FISHERIES

     Introduced By: Senators Sosnowski, and Coyne

     Date Introduced: April 25, 2017

     Referred To: Senate Environment & Agriculture

     (Environmental Management)

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 42-17.1-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-17.1 entitled

"Department of Environmental Management" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     42-17.1-4. Divisions within department.

     Within the department of environmental management there are established the following

divisions:

     (1) A division of parks and recreation that shall carry out those functions of the

department relating to the operation and maintenance of parks and recreation areas and the

establishment and maintenance of such additional recreation areas as may from time to time be

acquired and such other functions and duties as may from time to time be assigned by the

director;

     (2) A division of fish and wildlife management that shall carry out those functions of the

department relating to the administration and management of hunting, and freshwater fishing, and

shell fisheries; the preservation of wetlands, marsh lands, and wildlife; and such other related

functions and duties as may from time to time be assigned by the director;

     (3) A division of agriculture that shall carry out those functions of the department relating

to agriculture, and such other functions and duties as may from time to time be assigned by the

director, including, but not limited to, plant industry, farm viability, marketing and promotion,

farmland ecology and protection, plant and animal health and quarantine, pesticides, mosquito

abatement, pest survey and response, food policy and security, and, in collaboration with the

department of health, public health as it relates to farm production and direct marketing of farm

products, and those agreed upon through memorandum of agreement with the department of

health or other state agencies. The department of health shall continue to act as the lead agency

for all public health issues in the state pursuant to chapter 1 of title 23. Nothing herein contained

shall limit the department of health's statutory authority, nor shall any provision herein be

construed as a limitation upon the statutory authority of the department of health granted to the

department under title 23 of the general laws, nor shall any provision herein be construed to limit

the authority of the department of environmental management to enter into memoranda of

agreement with any governmental agency. The chief of the division of agriculture shall report

directly to the director.

     (4) A division of coastal resources that shall carry out those functions of the department

relating to harbors and harbor lines, pilotage, flood control, shore development, construction of

port facilities, and the registration of boats and such other functions and duties as may, from time

to time, be assigned by the director, except that the division shall not be responsible for the

functions of inspection of dams and reservoirs, approving plans for construction or improvement

of dams, reservoirs, and other structures in non-tidal waters, and the operation of stream-gauging

stations in cooperation with the United States Geological Survey, and provided, further, that the

division and its staff shall be responsible through the director of environmental management, to

the coastal resources management council, and the chief and the staff of the division shall serve

as staff to the council;

     (5) A division of planning and development that shall carry out those functions of the

department relating to planning, programming, acquisition of land, engineering studies, and such

other studies, as the director may direct, and that shall work with the board of governors for

higher education and the board of regents for elementary and secondary education, with

educational institutions at all levels, and with the public in the dissemination of information and

education relating to natural resources, and shall perform the publication and public relations

functions of the department, the functions of inspection of dams and reservoirs, approving plans

for construction or improvement of dams, reservoirs, and other structures in non-tidal waters, and

the operation of stream-gauging stations in cooperation with the United States Geological Survey;

     (6) A division of enforcement that shall enforce all of the laws and regulations of the

department and the coastal resources management council, that shall cooperate with the other

enforcement agencies of the state and its municipalities, and that shall administer all of the

policing, enforcing, licensing, registration, and inspection functions of the department and such

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other functions and duties as may, from time to time, be assigned by the director;

     (7) A division of forest environment that shall carry out those functions of the department

relating to the administration of forests and natural areas, including programs for utilization,

conservation, forest fire protection, and improvements of these areas; assisting other agencies and

local governments in urban programs relating to trees, forests, green belts, and environment and

such other functions and duties as may, from time to time, be assigned by the director; and

     (8) (i) A division of boating safety that shall carry out those functions of the department

relating to the development and administration of a coordinated, safe boating program in

accordance with the Model Safe Boating Act of 1971 as approved by the National Association of

State Boating Law Administrators.

     (ii) Administration of the division of boating safety shall be the responsibility of the state

boating law administrator whose duties shall include:

     (A) The enforcement of all laws relating to the act; and

     (B) The powers vested in the state boating law administrator and boating safety

enforcement officer shall include the enforcement of laws, rules and regulations relating to

"Regulation of Boats," chapter 22 of title 46 and shall also include the power to:

     (I) Execute all warrants and search warrants for the violation of laws, rules, and

regulations relating to the act.

     (II) Serve subpoenas issued for the trial of all offenses hereunder.

     (III) To carry firearms or other weapons, concealed or otherwise, in the course of, and in

performance of, their duties under this chapter.

     (IV) To arrest without warrant and on view any person found violating any law, rule, or

regulation relating to the act; take that person before a court having jurisdiction for trial; detain

that person in custody at the expense of the state until arraignment; and to make and execute

complaints within any district to the justice or clerk of the court against any person for any of the

offenses enumerated under the act committed within the district.

     (V) Boating safety enforcement officers shall not be required to give surety for costs

upon any complaint made by him or her.

     (iii) The development and administration of a coordinated, safe boating program.

     (iv) The establishment and enforcement of such rules and regulations as are deemed

necessary to achieve the purposes of the Model Safe Boating Act as approved by the state boating

law administrators.

     (v) The state boating law administrator shall serve as the liaison to the United States

Coast Guard.

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     (9) A division of marine fisheries management that shall carry out those functions of the

department relating to the administration, management, and harvest of marine animal and plant

species found in Rhode Island marine waters, including, but not limited to: stock assessments of

marine species; harvest of marine species regulated under a regional of federal fisheries

management plan; the review of aquaculture applications before the CRMC; a commercial fishing

licensing program; fixing seasons, bag limits, size limits, possession limits, and methods of taking

on any marine plant and animal species, and such other related functions and duties as may be

assigned by the director.

     SECTION 2. Section 20-1-21 of the General Laws in Chapter 20-1 entitled "General

Provisions" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     20-1-21. General powers.

     (a) The following fees shall be established and paid to the department of environmental

management for issuance of the following special permits:

     Ferret Permit $10.00

     Scientific Collector's Permit $25.00

     (b) Any fees collected under authority of this section shall be deposited into restricted

receipt accounts established by this title, as appropriate to the type of special permit issued, and

shall be used only for the authorized purposes of the restricted receipt accounts. The accounts

include, but are not limited to: fishing license account, hunting license account, wildlife fund.

     (c) The division divisions of fish and wildlife and marine fisheries shall be authorized to

establish fees for reference, educational and souvenir-type materials provided upon request to

interested parties. Those materials include, but are not limited to: surveys, guides, maps, posters,

reference and educational booklets and materials, and articles of clothing. No fee shall be

required for any materials describing or implementing any licensing or regulatory authority of the

division divisions. Any fees collected under authority of this section shall be deposited as general

revenues.

     SECTION 3. Sections 20-2-44 and 20-2-45 of the General Laws in Chapter 20-2 entitled

"Licensing" are hereby amended to read as follows:

     20-2-44. Shellfish transplant program.

     In addition to any appropriation made pursuant to § 20-2-28.2, the general assembly shall

appropriate from the general fund to the division of fish and wildlife marine fisheries, the amount

it deems necessary for the purpose of maintaining a shellfish transplant program for the fiscal

year ending June 30, 2000, and thereafter, the division of fish and wildlife marine fisheries shall

develop a sustainable shellfish management plan.

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     20-2-45. Narragansett Bay Oyster Restoration Act.

     (a) Findings of fact. The general assembly hereby finds and declares the following:

     (1) Oyster fishery has historically been important to Rhode Island for economic and

ecosystem benefits;

     (2) The Rhode Island oyster fishery has been in deep decline and is a fraction of its

historical levels due to disease;

     (3) The development of indigenous disease-resistant oyster brood stock will assist in the

restoration of the oyster population in Narragansett Bay;

     (4) The plantings of indigenous disease-resistant oyster shellfish seed stock will increase

the Narragansett Bay's oyster population and annual harvest; and

     (5) An increase in oyster population will have a positive impact on the state's economy

and the overall health of Narragansett Bay and its ecosystem.

     (b) Authority to solicit federal funds for oyster restoration. The general assembly hereby

vests in the director of the department of environmental management, acting through the division

of agriculture marine fisheries, authority and responsibility to solicit annual federal funding,

including but not limited to, funding from the United States departments of interior, agriculture

and commerce for purposes of developing, restoring, and maintaining both the oyster population

and oyster habitats in and around Narragansett Bay.

     (c) Program to achieve oyster restoration in Narragansett Bay. The director of the

department of environmental management shall work in conjunction with the aquaculture

coordinator located in the coastal resources management council to develop programs that

address the declining oyster population in Narragansett Bay and which programs shall further

promote the development, restoration and maintenance of the oyster population and oyster

habitats in and around Narragansett Bay, as set forth in this section.

     SECTION 4. Section 20-3-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 20-3 entitled "Marine

Fisheries Council" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     20-3-1. Council created -- Membership -- Compensation.

     There is hereby created a marine fisheries council. The council shall be composed of the

director of the department of environmental management or the director's designee, who shall

serve as chairperson and eight (8) private citizen members. The private citizen members shall be

chosen from among those with skill, knowledge, and experience in the commercial fishing

industry, the sport fishing industry, and in the conservation and management of fisheries

resources and shall be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate. Three

(3) of the private citizen members shall be representatives of the commercial fishing industry;

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three (3) shall be representatives of the sport fishing industry; and the remaining two (2) shall

have skill, knowledge, and experience in the conservation and management of fisheries resources

and/or marine biology. The chairperson of the coastal resources management council and the

chiefs of the divisions of enforcement and fish and wildlife marine fisheries in the department of

environmental management shall serve in an advisory capacity to the council. Members of the

council shall serve for a term of four (4) years and may not succeed themselves more than once

after January 1, 2002. Initial appointments to the council shall be appointed as follows: three (3)

members for a term of two (2) years, three (3) members for a term of three (3) years, and two (2)

members for a term of four (4) years. All members of the council shall serve without

compensation and shall be reimbursed for their necessary expenses incurred in travel and in the

performance of their duties.

     SECTION 5. Section 20-9-3 of the General Laws in Chapter 20-9 entitled "Cooperation

in Federal Projects" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     20-9-3. Assent to fish restoration and management projects.

     The state of Rhode Island assents to the provisions of the act of congress, entitled "An

Act to Provide that the United States Shall Aid the States in Fish Restoration and Management

Projects, and for Other Purposes", 16 U.S.C. § 777 et seq., and the division of fish and wildlife

and/or marine fisheries, with the approval of the director of environmental management, is hereby

authorized, empowered, and directed to perform any acts as may be necessary to the conduct and

establishment of fish restoration and management projects, as defined in that act of congress, in

compliance with that act and with rules and regulations promulgated by the secretary of the

interior under that act, and no funds accruing to the state from license fees or interest from license

fee accounts paid by fishers shall be diverted for any other purpose than the administration of the

division of fish and wildlife and/or marine fisheries of the department of environmental

management.

     SECTION 6. Section 20-10-1.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 20-10 entitled

"Aquaculture" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     20-10-1.1. Creation of the Biosecurity Board.

     There shall be a biosecurity board within the coastal resources management council,

(hereinafter referred to as "CRMC"), which shall meet, at minimum, on a quarterly basis and shall

be composed of seven (7) members to be designated by the executive director of the CRMC, or

his or her designee, with council approval. The council shall select a chair from among the board

members, one of whom shall be the executive director of the CRMC or his or her designee, one of

whom shall be the state veterinarian or an individual certified in veterinary medicine, with a

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specialty in aquatic diseases, or by the American Fisheries Society, one of whom shall be a

certified medical doctor or a person with a Ph.D. in public health, one of whom shall be a

representative of the division of fish and wildlife marine fisheries, one of whom shall be a

representative of the marine fisheries council, one of whom shall be a representative from the

aquaculture industry and one of whom shall be a faculty member of the University of Rhode

Island, Department of Fisheries, Animals and Veterinary Science.

     SECTION 7. Sections 20-38-3 and 20-38-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 20-38

entitled "The Rhode Island Seafood Marketing Collaborative of 2011" are hereby amended to

read as follows:

     20-38-3. Definitions.

     When used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

     (1) "Collaborative" means the Rhode Island seafood marketing collaborative established

under § 20-38-4;

     (2) "Rhode Island's local fishermen and aquaculturists" means commercial fishermen and

aquaculturists licensed in the state of Rhode Island.

     (3) "State agencies" means state entities responsible for the implementation of Rhode

Island's fishery management and economic development, including, but not be limited to:

     (i) The department of environmental management, which shall include:

     (A) The division of agriculture and

     (B) The division of fish and wildlife marine fisheries;

     (ii) The commerce corporation;

     (iii) The coastal resources management council;

     (iv) The department of health;

     (v) The department of administration.

     (4) "Aquaculture" means the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans,

mollusks, and aquatic plants.

     (5) "Sustainable food system" means one in which resources (including natural resources,

such as soil and water, as well as human resources, such as labor) are used at, or below, their rate

of recovery.

     (6) "Seafood dealers" means any person engaged in purchasing, raising, propagating,

breeding, or acquiring or possessing live fish or fish eggs to be sold or furnished to others for the

purpose of resale licensed in the State of Rhode Island.

     (7) [Deleted by P.L. 2015, ch. 100, § 1 and P.L. 2015, ch. 111, § 1].

     20-38-4. Collaborative established.

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     (a) There is hereby created a collaborative known as "The Rhode Island seafood

marketing collaborative" consisting of nineteen (19) members as follows:

     (1) The director of the department of environmental management, or his or her designee,

who shall serve as chairperson;

     (2) The executive director of the commerce corporation, or his or her designee;

     (3) The chief of the division of fish and wildlife marine fisheries of the department of

environmental management, or his or her designee;

     (4) The director of the department of health, or his or her designee;

     (5) The chief of the division of agriculture of the department of environmental

management, or his or her designee;

     (6) The executive director of the coastal resources management council, or his or her

designee;

     (7) The director of administration, or his or her designee;

     (8) The dean of the university of Rhode Island college of environment and life sciences,

or his or her designee;

     (9) The director of the Rhode Island sea grant program, or his or her designee; and

     (10) Ten (10) additional members, each of whom shall be appointed by the director of the

department of environmental management, in accordance with the following categories:

     (i) Two (2) Rhode Island-based dealers/wholesalers/processors who purchase and sell

finfish, shellfish, and/or crustaceans;

     (ii) Two (2) commercial aquaculturists;

     (iii) A Rhode Island-based retailer of seafood products associated with a restaurant or

restaurant organization;

     (iv) A Rhode Island-based retailer of seafood products associated with an independent or

franchised store;

     (v) Two (2) commercial fishermen licensed to harvest and/or land in Rhode Island;

     (vi) A member of an independent organization or association representing the Rhode

Island hospitality industry;

     (vii) An economist with expertise in seafood marketing.

     (b) Forthwith upon the passage of this chapter, the members of the collaborative shall

meet at the call of the chairperson and organize. Thereafter, the collaborative shall meet at the call

of the chairperson or three (3) members of the collaborative.

     (c) All departments and agencies of the state shall furnish such advice and information,

documentation, and otherwise to the collaborative and its agents as is deemed necessary or

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desirable by the collaborative to facilitate the purposes of this chapter.

     (d) The members of the collaborative shall receive no compensation for their services.

     SECTION 8. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- DEPARTMENT OF

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT--MARINE FISHERIES

***

     This act would create a division of marine fisheries management within the department of

environmental management to manage saltwater fish and plant harvesting and would amend the

appropriate chapters of title 20 to reflect the change.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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