HR7248-119

What This Bill Does

The MARINA Act rewrites rental, fee, term, and labor conditions for covered marina concessions on Corps of Engineers water resource projects. For rent under the Revised Graduated Rental System, the Army Secretary acting through the Chief of Engineers must exclude combined covered receipts from gross receipts and apply a rate of no more than 1 percent to those receipts. Covered receipts include the operator's and contractors' marina business receipts from prepared food, beverages, fuel, boats, and expensive boat-related items such as motors and lifts. The Corps must create a standardized administrative fee schedule for all districts, with fees up to $50,000 only for major land-disturbance or 100-acre-plus expansion reviews needing high-level coordination, up to $5,000 for moderate non-land-disturbance reviews, and up to $1,000 for other activities. The Corps cannot assess administrative fees for standard lease renewal, lease-term extension, or transfers or sales to a non-marina entity. The fee schedule must be posted on a Corps website. Flood Control Act lease periods must be at least 50 years for initial leases and first renewals after enactment, and at least 25 years for later renewals. Except where Service Contract Act section 6703 requires otherwise, the Corps may not require marina operators to pay employees more than the federal minimum wage as a lease condition. Final rules must take effect within one year, and existing leases may be modified only as necessary to implement the Act.

Who Benefits and How

Covered marina operators, marina concessionaires, boat dealers operating at Corps projects, fuel sellers at marinas, boat-lift sellers, recreational boaters, and long-term marina investors benefit from lower or capped rent treatment for covered receipts, standardized administrative fees, longer lease terms, public fee schedules, and limits on wage conditions. The changes can make Corps marina leases more predictable and financeable.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Army Corps real estate staff, Corps district offices, State reviewing agencies, Tribal governments consulted on major marina activities, marina employees, federal taxpayers, and competing concessionaires face rulemaking, fee-schedule, lease-modification, review, wage-policy, and oversight burdens. Marina workers may lose higher wage conditions that Corps leases otherwise might have required above the federal minimum wage.

Key Provisions

• Limits covered marina rent calculations by excluding covered receipts from gross receipts and capping their rate at 1 percent.
• Requires a Corps-wide standardized administrative fee schedule for covered marina leases.
• Caps major-review fees at $50,000, moderate-review fees at $5,000, and other fees at $1,000.
• Bars administrative fees for standard renewals, term extensions, and transfers or sales to non-marina entities.
• Requires at least 50-year initial or first-renewal lease terms and at least 25-year subsequent renewals.
• Limits Corps lease wage conditions to federal minimum wage unless Service Contract Act law requires more.
• Requires final rules within one year and public posting of the fee schedule.