H.R. 2610: Asset Forfeiture Fund Reform and Distribution Act of 2011

112th Congress · introduced 2011-07-21 · Public Lands and Natural Resources · Latest: Committee Hearings Held.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2011-07-21 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Frank, Barney [D-MA-4] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Committee Hearings Held. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Asset Forfeiture Fund Reform and Distribution Act of 2011

Plain summary

Asset Forfeiture Fund Reform and Distribution Act of 2011 - Amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to require the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) or the Secretary of the Treasury, after September 30, 2011, to use each of the sums received as fines, penalties, and forfeitures of property for violations of any provisions of such Act, or of any other fishery resource law enforced by the Secretary, to make a payment to: (1) the state in which the violation occurred, (2) the state in which the vessel involved in the violation is homeported if the violation did not occur in a state, or (3) the state most directly affected by a violation neither occurring in a state nor involving a vessel. (Current law authorizes using such sums for certain civil and criminal enforcement costs.) Directs states to use such amounts for specified research and monitoring activities. Sets forth transitional rules authorizing the Secretary to use such amounts received before October 1, 2011, to reimburse appropriate legal fees and costs, up to $200,000 per person, to specified persons the Secretary directed to receive a remittance of at least a portion of a fisheries enforcement penalty. Prohibits the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from assigning specified rulemaking or adjudication proceedings to an individual who has served as an NOAA administrative law judge for at least a five-year period if such proceeding pertains to the same fishery management region to which the majority of such proceedings that the individual presided over within the period pertained.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Asset Forfeiture Fund Reform and Distribution Act of 2011

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Frank, Barney [D-MA-4] · 12 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), William R. Keating (D-MA), Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA), Joe Courtney (D-CT), Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), James P. McGovern (D-MA)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Rulemaking: The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-112hr2610.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/112/hr>

Record fed-us-cong112-hr2610 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong112 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong112