This trust fund was composed of two accounts—the Sport Fish Restoration Account and the Boat Safety Account. This report details the sources of funding for the trust fund, and summarizes how various programs and activities receive funding. Trust Fund Income

The Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund receives income from five sources ( Figure 1 ). (2) The account receives, from the Highway Trust Fund, the annual tax receipts attributable to small engine fuel used for outdoor power equipment (26 U.S.C. (3) The account receives the annual receipts from a manufacturers' excise tax on sport fishing equipment (26 U.S.C. (5) This account receives interest on funds invested prior to disbursal (26 U.S.C. (2) A boating safety program, administered by the U.S. Coast Guard's Office of Boating Safety, is funded by 18.5% of annual receipts from the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund; the current authorization for this allocation extends through June 30, 2012. For FY2012, a total of about $110.4 million is estimated to be available to this program. 102-587 ) authorizes a competitive grant program for states to construct pump-out and dump stations to dispose of vessel sewage from recreational boaters. (6) The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program Improvement Act of 2000 ( P.L. 106-408 ) authorized a Multi-State Conservation Grant Program. §777m(e) provides $200,000 annually to four Interstate Fishery Commissions as well as $400,000 annually to the Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council. Legislative Issues

Some of the proposals under discussion for reauthorizing federal surface transportation programs include an increase (possibly more than doubling) of the 18.4 cents per gallon federal fuel tax to better fund highway infrastructure programs through the Highway Trust Fund. The 112 th Congress may decide whether the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund would receive substantial benefits (possibly exceeding an additional $350 million annually) from an increase in the federal fuel tax. A corollary set of questions focuses on whether, and if so how, the various programs supported by the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund might be modified to expend increased receipts, should a federal fuel tax increase be enacted
Fund allocations under the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Safety Trust Fund are scheduled to expire on June 30, 2012, since the 112 th Congress has not yet enacted any comprehensive transportation and highway reauthorization legislation.
An Aquatic Resources Trust Fund, with two accounts—a Sport Fish Restoration Account and a Boat Safety Account—was created in 1984 and subsequently amended to support a variety of programs administered by three federal agencies, including wetlands management, recreational vessel docking and sewage disposal infrastructure, and aquatic resource education. In 2005, the Boat Safety Account was terminated and remaining programs were consolidated into a renamed Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund. This report details sources of funding for this trust fund and summarizes the various programs and activities receiving funding.
The five sources of income to the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund are (1) the portion of federal fuel taxes attributable to motorboat fuel from the Highway Trust Fund; (2) annual tax receipts attributable to small engine fuel used for outdoor power equipment from the Highway Trust Fund; (3) annual receipts from a manufacturers' excise tax on sport fishing equipment; (4) annual receipts from import duties on fishing tackle and on yachts and pleasure craft; and (5) interest on funds invested prior to disbursal. Total FY2012 income from these five sources is estimated to be about $760 million.
The eight efforts funded from the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund are (1) three coastal wetlands conservation and restoration programs; (2) recreational boating safety; (3) construction of sewage pump-out and dump stations for recreational vessel sewage disposal; (4) construction of docking facilities for large transient recreational vessels; (5) national aquatic resource outreach and communications; (6) multi-state conservation grants; (7) interstate fishery commissions and the Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council; and (8) state grants for sport fish restoration projects.
Some proposals under discussion by Congress for reauthorizing federal surface transportation programs include an increase (possibly more than doubling) of the 18.4 cents-per-gallon federal fuel tax to better fund highway infrastructure programs through the Highway Trust Fund. (Authorization of appropriations for federal surface transportation programs would have terminated at the end of FY2009, but has received several short-term extensions, most recently by provisions in P.L. 112-102, which extended the authorizations through June 30, 2012.) The 112th Congress may decide whether the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund receives substantial benefits (possibly exceeding an additional $350 million annually) if the federal fuel tax is increased. A corollary set of questions focuses on whether, and if so how, the various programs supported by the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund might be modified to expend increased receipts, should a federal fuel tax increase be enacted.