|
COZ Legislation Introduced in 110th Congress!
In July 2007, "The New Jersey/New York Clean Ocean Zone"
bill -- H.R. 2854 -- was introduced into the U.S. House of
Representatives, 110th Congress. The prime sponsor of the bill is US
Representative Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-D-6). To date,
cosponsors include US Reps. Chris Smith (NJ-R-4) and Donald
Payne (NJ-D-10). The bill has been referred to the House Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Oceans.
Clean Ocean Action will be scheduling a shore
tour with elected officials to gather support for the COZ
bill.
The legislation was developed by the Clean Ocean Zone Legislative Committee. This committee included groups from NY and NJ that represented various interests including: recreational and commercial fishing, diving, surfing, and environmental, as well as legal counsel. This citizen's bill is a natural outgrowth of the years of work to improve and protect the waters off the NJ/NY waters. The task was challenging, however, the committee believes that the final draft specifically reflects the 10 points contained in the Clean Ocean Zone concept.
A briefing paper that provides more details about these points is
available.
A similar bill was introduced in the previous US Congress on July 24,
2006, but not acted upon. The bill number during this Congress was
H.R. 5872. The champions of H.R. 5872 were US Representative Jim Saxton (NJ-R-3)
and US Representative Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-D-6). To original co-sponsors
were Reps. Robert Andrews (NJ-D-1), Frank
LoBiondo (NJ-R-2), Chris Smith (NJ-R-4), Steven Rothman (NJ-D-9), Donald
Payne (NJ-D-10), Rush Holt (NJ-D012), Tim Bishop (NY-D-1), and
Major Owens (NY-D-11).
Take Action to Support the COZ Legislation
As the COZ legislation moves ahead, citizens can contact their US Senators and Representatives
and urge them to support the COZ bill. To contact your Senators or Representatives online, go to www.senate.gov
and www.house.gov, look up the name,
and use the online contact form to write a message.
Or, contact Clean Ocean Action for contact information for your
Senators or Representatives. If your elected official has not
co-sponsored the COZ bill, ask them to do so. If your elected
official is a co-sponsor of the COZ bill, thank them for their support.
Follow the "Migration" of the COZ Legislation: The “Fish-o-Meter”
As the campaign for the Clean Ocean Zone (COZ) moves forward, citizens can chart the “migration” of the COZ bill on its journey through the legislative process to become a federal law. Using the
“fish-o-meters,” which are fish charts which will be filled-in as steps are completed, citizens can learn about the legislative process in United States Congress.
|
