USE OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES; COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.

SEC. 302. USE OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES; COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS. Section 4(a) of the Ports and Waterways Safety Act of 1972 (33 U.S.C. 1223(a)) is amended by—(1)(A) striking “and” after the semicolon at the end of paragraph (4);(B) striking the period at the end of paragraph (5) and inserting “; and”; and(C) adding at the end the following:118 STAT. 1042 “(6) may prohibit the use on vessels of electronic or other devices that interfere with communication and navigation equipment, except that such authority shall not apply to electronic or other devices certified to transmit in the maritime services by the Federal Communications Commission and used within the frequency bands 157.1875–157.4375 MHz and 161.7875–162.0375 MHz.”; and(2) adding at the end the following:“(e) Cooperative Agreements.—(1) The Secretary may enter into cooperative agreements with public or private agencies, authorities, associations, institutions, corporations, organizations, or other persons to carry out the functions under subsection (a)(1).“(2) A nongovernmental entity may not under this subsection carry out an inherently governmental function.“(3) As used in this paragraph, the term ‘inherently governmental function’ means any activity that is so intimately related to the public interest as to mandate performance by an officer or employee of the Federal Government, including an activity that requires either the exercise of discretion in applying the authority of the Government or the use of judgment in making a decision for the Government.”.