MRRRI Act

Mississippi River Restoration and Resilience Initiative Act or the MRRRI Act

This bill establishes the Mississippi River Restoration and Resilience Initiative to protect and restore the Mississippi River Corridor.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must establish the initiative and the Mississippi River National Program Office to carry out the initiative. The office must (1) coordinate agency actions to protect and restore the Mississippi River Corridor; (2) develop, implement, and update the initiative, actionable goals, and an action plan required by the bill; (3) make updates and information available on a public website; and (4) submit annual reports to Congress.

Additionally, the bill outlines the focus areas that each project carried out under the initiative must address, such as improving water quality and protecting wildlife habitat. The office may make grants to certain nonfederal entities to carry out eligible projects.

The bill directs the EPA to include the initiative as a separate budget line item in its annual budget submission.

Next, the bill directs the Department of the Interior to coordinate with the office to establish four Mississippi River Corridor research centers within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). These research centers must, among other duties, conduct scientific research on the focus areas of the initiative.

The bill also directs the USGS to host a science forum to share current science and identify data gaps related to the ecological health of the Mississippi River Corridor. The USGS must, within two years of the forum, develop a science plan for the initiative.

Bill 117 HR 4202, also known as the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, is a piece of legislation introduced in the US Congress. The main goal of this bill is to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level and address the racial disparities in marijuana enforcement.

The MORE Act would remove marijuana from the list of controlled substances, effectively legalizing it at the federal level. This would allow states to regulate marijuana as they see fit, similar to how alcohol is regulated. The bill also includes provisions to expunge prior marijuana convictions and provide resources for communities that have been disproportionately affected by the war on drugs.

Additionally, the MORE Act would impose a federal tax on marijuana products, with the revenue generated going towards programs such as job training, legal aid, and substance abuse treatment for communities impacted by the war on drugs. The bill also includes measures to ensure that individuals with prior marijuana convictions are not discriminated against in areas such as housing, employment, and education. Overall, the MORE Act aims to address the social and racial injustices caused by the criminalization of marijuana and provide resources to communities that have been disproportionately affected. The bill has garnered support from a wide range of advocates, including civil rights organizations, criminal justice reform groups, and marijuana legalization advocates.