# Plain Language Summary of the MAST Act

The MAST Act (Marine Access and State Transparency Act) changes how the President can create national monuments, particularly in ocean areas. Right now, the President has broad power to declare new national monuments without needing approval from Congress or nearby states. This bill would require the President to get congressional approval before creating any national monument, and it adds extra requirements specifically for monuments in ocean waters.

For ocean monuments specifically, the bill creates a new approval process. Before the President could declare any area in U.S. ocean waters (within 200 nautical miles of the coast) as a national monument, the President would have to submit the proposal to governors of all states and territories within 200 miles of that area. Those state legislatures would then have to approve the proposal before it could move forward. This gives coastal states a veto power over ocean monuments that they don't currently have. The final monument declaration would also have to match the original proposal—the President couldn't expand or change it significantly after getting approval.

Additionally, the bill requires that any restrictions on how people can use national monuments—such as bans on fishing, boating, or other activities—must go through a public review period and get congressional approval before taking effect. Currently, the Interior Department and Commerce Department can impose these restrictions more quickly. This means that if a monument is created, people would have time to weigh in before new rules limiting their access are put in place.

The practical effect of this bill would be to make it much harder and slower to create new national monuments, especially in ocean areas, by giving Congress and coastal states significant control over the process. Supporters argue this protects state interests and public access, while critics worry it could prevent protection of important natural and marine resources.

MAST Act

Young, Don

Marine Access and State Transparency or the MAST Act This bill requires the President, before a national monument may be designated on public land, to obtain congressional approval and certify compliance with environmental review requirements. The bill bars the President from declaring any area of the exclusive economic zone to be a national monument unless <ul> <li>such a declaration is specifically authorized by statute,</li> <li>the President has submitted a proposal to make the declaration to the governor of each state or territory located within 200 nautical miles of that area,</li> <li>each governor submits to the President a notice that the legislature of that state or territory has approved the proposal, and</li> <li>the declaration is substantially the same as the proposal.</li> </ul> The bill prohibits the Department of the Interior or the Department of Commerce, with respect to any area of the exclusive economic zone that is designated as a national monument, from implementing any restrictions on the public use of such a national monument until the expiration of an appropriate review period providing for public input and congressional approval.