This bill reauthorizes the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 2009 through fiscal year 2030, updates terminology from "Council" to "Committee," and clarifies operational requirements and funding levels.
Mike Ezell
Representative
MS-4
This bill reauthorizes the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 2009 through fiscal year 2030, authorizing $56 million annually for FY 2026-2030. It makes administrative updates by replacing "Council" with "Committee" throughout the Act and clarifies the system's scope to include operational oceanography measurements. Furthermore, it mandates that federal agencies develop rules to ensure data sharing between regional offices and federally funded projects with local coastal observing systems.
Ocean Observation System Reauthorized Through 2030, Securing $56M Annually for Coastal Data
This section of the legislation is all about keeping the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System (ICOOS) running smoothly and funded through 2030. Essentially, it reauthorizes the existing Act, confirming its importance for monitoring our oceans and coasts, and sets aside a solid chunk of cash: $56,000,000 annually for fiscal years 2026 through 2030. If you rely on weather forecasts, safe shipping lanes, or fishery data, this is the funding that keeps that information flowing.
The Name Game: Council to Committee
For those who like to track government bureaucracy, there’s a bit of administrative housekeeping here. Throughout the existing law, the bill swaps out the word “Council” for “Committee.” Specifically, the "National Ocean Research Leadership Council" is officially being renamed the "Ocean Policy Committee." While this sounds like typical government paper-shuffling, these name changes (found in Sections 12303 and 12304) signal a more formal structural shift for the group that manages the entire observation system.
Expanding the Scope and Mandating Data Sharing
Beyond the funding, the most practical changes involve clarifying the system’s mission and improving coordination. The bill explicitly adds the word "ocean" wherever the word "weather" appears in Section 12304, making it crystal clear that ocean observations are just as central as weather data to this system. It also formally adds "conduct operational oceanography measurements" to the system’s core purposes, confirming the focus on real-time, practical data collection.
Crucially, the bill introduces a new requirement under Section 12304(c). It mandates that the Interagency Ocean Observation Committee develop rules to ensure federal agencies and their funded projects coordinate and share data with the regional coastal observing systems. Think of it this way: right now, a federal research ship might collect great data, but it might not be immediately integrated with the local system used by fishermen or coastal managers. This provision requires the big federal players to play nice and share their sandbox tools with the local and regional systems, ensuring everyone—from the scientist in a lab to the small business running a whale-watching tour—gets the most complete picture of what’s happening offshore. This move toward mandatory data integration should make the entire system more efficient and the data more robust for everyone who uses it.