Vitter, Cassidy file bills to extend offshore boundaries of Louisiana, other coastal states

Sen. David Vitter and Rep. Bill Cassidy have introduced companion bills in their respective houses that would grant Louisiana and several other Gulf and Atlantic states control over a greater area of offshore waters.

The Offshore Fairness Act would extend the offshore jurisdiction of states from Louisiana to Virginia to more than 10 miles. Along the Gulf Coast, Texas and the west coast of Florida enjoy state boundaries that extend nine miles into the sea, while Louisiana’s, Mississippi’s and Alabama’s control stops at three miles off their coasts.

“My bill is a simple matter of fairness for coastal states like Louisiana,” Vitter said. “The bill doesn’t only grant states’ rights to energy resources with additional property rights, it also gives them exclusive fishery management authority over reef fish within the new boundary.”

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