Congressman Comer Reintroduces MARINA Act

Congressman James Comer (R-Ky.) reintroduced the Maintaining Access to Recreational Industry and Necessary Adjustments (MARINA) Act, legislation designed to provide greater transparency, predictability and stability in fee structures for Kentucky’s marina owners. According to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) study, tourism-dependent communities in Kentucky’s 1st Congressional District have seen the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) levy inconsistent, unexpected and exorbitant fees on small business owners, particularly local marina operators.
 
The MARINA Act recognizes the role locally owned marinas have in fulfilling the Corps’ congressionally mandated mission of enhancing recreational opportunities by creating a standardized framework for calculating administrative fees and capping the amount of sales on items with a low profit margin that can be used to determine a marina operator’s annual rent to the Corps. The legislation establishes that sales of food, beverages, fuel, boats, motors and boat lifts must be capped at 1% for calculating rental payments and ensures marina owners maintain control over their payroll. In addition, the bill defines when administrative fees may be charged, ensures they are for non-routine Corps District functions, and extends initial lease terms to 50 years and renewals to 25 years.

In February 2021, Congressman Comer highlighted the Corps’ lack of transparency and requested documents from the Corps regarding their process for calculating administrative fees across all Corps Districts to determine whether marina businesses were fully informed and not unfairly charged.

In May 2022, Congressman Comer emphasized that questions remain about the Corps’ fee policies by requesting the Government Accountability Office (GAO) conduct a study examining these administrative fee practices to ensure all fees are being calculated fairly.

In March 2024, Congressman Comer held an Oversight Committee field hearing in Jamestown, Kentucky, to examine concerns over information obtained by the committee detailing the Corps levying inconsistent, confusing, unexpected and exorbitant fees against marina business owners.