Senate committee substitute replaces the 1st edition in its entirety with the following and makes conforming changes to the act's titles.

Section 1.

Establishes the Shrimp Trawl Transition Program (Program) within the Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) Division of Marine Fisheries (Division) to provide annual transition payments to eligible holders of commercial fishing licenses with verifiable landings of shrimp between January 1, 2023, and June 30, 2025, who: (1) held a standard commercial fishing license or a retired standard commercial fishing license at any time between January 1, 2023, and June 30, 2025, and (2) the person reported on trip tickets submitted to the Division the sale of brown, pink, or white shrimp caught with a trawl net between those same dates. Funds the Program from the NC Commercial Fishing Resource Fund and the NC Marine Resources Fund. Specifies that standard commercial fishing license holders and retired standard commercial fishing license holders harvesting shrimp using legal commercial gear within the described area or using any gear outside of that area may be eligible for the Program if they otherwise meet the criteria above. Provides for verification of eligibility. Sets calculation for annual transition payments (the value of the eligible described tickets plus $180) and for annual payments for the described license holders that hold one more than one license (value of the eligible described tickets associated with the license with the highest reported shrimp landings plus $180). Provides for pro rata payments if there is not enough funding to pay all applicants in full. Sets the deadline for DEQ to gather applicant trip ticket information by no later than December 1, 2025. Directs DEQ to submit an annual report on the Program to the specified NCGA committee and division starting October 1, 2025, and annually thereafter until all funds are expired or the Program expires. Specifies that if House Bill 442, 2025 Regular Session, becomes law, then this section is effective when it becomes law, and expires October 1, 2028.

Section 2.

Increases the fees for standard commercial fishing licenses (SCFL) under GS 113-168.2 as follows: (1) from $400 to $580 for State residents and (2) from a minimum of $400 to a minimum of $2,000 for nonresidents. Increases the fees for a retired SCFL from $200 to $290 for State residents and from $260 to $475 for nonresidents in GS 113-168.3. Increases the annual fees for commercial fishing vessel registrations under GS 113-168.6 starting at $1.80 (was, $1.25) per foot for a vessel not over 18 feet in length increasing up to $11 per foot (was $7.50) per foot for a vessel over 50 feet in length. Increases shellfish licenses from $50 to $75 per year for State residents in GS 113-169.2. Increases the application fee for new fish dealers from $100 to $150 in addition to the specified license fees in GS 113-169.3. Increases the fee for a land or sell license for a vessel not primarily situated in the State from $400 to $600 under GS 113-169.5.

Increases the fees for recreational commercial gear licenses (RCGL) from $70 to $100 for State residents and from $500 to $900 for nonresidents under GS 113-173. Increases the fees for coastal recreational fishing licenses (CRFL) issued under GS 113-174.2 ranging from $15 to $28 for annual residential CRFLs and from $10 to $25 for ten-day nonresidential CRFLs. Increases the resident fees for a Blanket For-Hire Captain’s CRFL/ Blanket For-Hire Vessel CRFL from $250 to $350 for a vessel carrying six passengers or less and from $350 to $500 for a vessel with more than six passengers under GS 113-174.3. Increases nonresident fees for those licenses from $312.50 to $575 for vessels carrying six passengers or less and from $437.50 to $800 for vessels carrying six or more passengers.  Increases the fees for a non-blanket for-hire vessel license from $25 to $36 for resident operators and from $37.50 to $70 for nonresidents under GS 113-174.5.  Increases the fee for a block of 10-day CRFLs from $150 to $215.  Increases the fees for the annual resident: (1) Unified Sportsman/Coastal Recreational Fishing License from $65 to $91 and (2) Unified Inland/Coastal Recreational Fishing License from $40 to $58.

Authorizes the North Carolina Commercial Fishing Resource Fund, and the North Carolina Marine Resources Fund, to be used to provide Program payments to eligible applicants, as described in Section 1, above. Specifies that if House Bill 442, 2025 Regular Session, becomes law, then this section is effective when it becomes law, and expires June 30, 2028.

Section 3.

Contains a severability clause. Effective when the act becomes law, except as otherwise provided.