Coast Guard Authorization Act of 1989

Coast Guard Authorization Act of 1989 - Title I: Authorizations - Authorizes appropriations for the Coast Guard for FY 1990 and 1991 for: (1) operation and maintenance; (2) acquisition, construction, rebuilding, and improvement for aids to navigation, shore and offshore facilities, vessels, and aircraft; (3) research, development, test, and evaluation; (4) retirement pay and benefits; and (5) alteration or removal of bridges that are obstructions to navigation.

Authorizes the end strength for active-duty personnel of the Coast Guard for FY 1990 and 1991.

Specifies the authorized average military training student load for the Coast Guard for FY 1990 and 1991.

Amends the Inland Navigational Rules Act of 1980 (INRA) to rename the Rules of the Road Advisory Committee as the Navigation Safety Advisory Council. Amends the INRA and other Federal law to extend the termination of the Council and the Towing Safety Advisory Committee to September 30, 1995.

Amends Federal law to prohibit the Secretary from considering the political affiliation of individuals considered for appointment to the Commercial Fishing Industry Vessel Advisory Committee.

Title II: Programs - Makes technical amendments to the Act To Prevent Pollution from ships and to provisions of law relating to military whistleblowers.

Amends Federal law providing for continuity of grade for Coast Guard vice admirals when reappointed to another position as vice admiral to include reappointment of a vice admiral as an admiral.

Amends Federal law relating to appointment of Coast Guard personnel to require appointment to the grade of lieutenant (junior grade) or lieutenant to be made by the President without the advice and consent of the Senate.

Directs the Secretary to furnish the board that recommends continuation of captains on active duty with the number of officers that may be so recommended, which number must be no less than 50 percent (currently 75 percent) of the number considered.

Authorizes the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating, in certain circumstances, to adjust the date of appointment of Coast Guard Reserve officers.

Applies provisions relating to Coast Guard retention boards and removal from an active status to provide a flow of promotion to Reserve officers who have 18 years or more of service for retirement.

Authorizes the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to carry out a pilot program to establish and maintain a junior reserve officers training program, to be known as the Claude Pepper, Junior Reserve Officers Training Program, in Dade County, Florida, as part of the Maritime and Science Technology Academy established by the public school system in that county. Allows the Secretary to authorize the Academy to employ as administrators and instructors for the pilot program retired Coast Guard and Coast Guard Reserve commissioned, warrant, and petty officers. Provides for the amount of pay for each such employee and requires the Secretary to pay to the Academy one half of such amount.

Prohibits, notwithstanding any other law, any officer or employee of the United States from contracting for procurement of performance of any function being performed by Coast Guard personnel as of January 1, 1989, before: (1) the Secretary of Transportation has performed a study under a specified Office of Management and Budget circular with respect to that procurement; (2) the Secretary has performed a study to determine the impact of that procurement on the multimission capabilities of the Coast Guard; and (3) copies of the studies are submitted to specified committees of the Congress.

Requires contracts awarded by the Coast Guard for construction or services in States with an unemployment rate higher than the national average to include a provision requiring the contractor to employ local residents. Empowers the Secretary of Transportation, in certain circumstances, to waive such requirement.

Directs the Secretary of Transportation to: (1) report to the Congress on the options available to control the infestation of U.S. waters, including the Great Lakes, by exotic species from ballast water; and (2) report to the Congress on the costs incurred by the Coast Guard in providing security at Kennebunkport, Maine, and seek reimbursement of those security costs from the Secretary of the Treasury.

Directs the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to establish a vessel traffic service in the New York Harbor area and on the Lower Mississippi River in New Orleans.

Directs the Secretary of Transportation to submit to the Congress: (1) a report on the needs for outfitting existing Coast Guard aircraft with surveillance and reconnaissance equipment to assist in law enforcement, and the cost of that equipment; and (2) a plan for closing existing gaps in radar coverage along the U.S. coastline on the Gulf of Mexico and the southeastern U.S. coastline on the Atlantic Ocean.

Amends Federal law relating to vessels and seamen to define "numbered vessel" to mean a vessel for which a number has been issued under provisions governing numbering of undocumented vessels.

Directs the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of the Treasury to develop a procedure for constructive seizure of vessels engaged solely in coastwise trade which are suspected of being used for violations of law involving controlled substances.

Amends Federal law relating to a report to the Congress to specify that information in the report on user fees collected by the Coast Guard is to include user fees collected under any law.

Directs the Secretary of Transportation to: (1) amend specified Federal regulations, governing the board for the correction of military records, to ensure that an application for correction is processed expeditiously and that final action is taken within ten months; and (2) appoint and maintain a permanent staff, and a panel of civilian officers or employees to serve as members of the board, which are adequate to ensure such processing and final action.

Directs the Secretary of Transportation or the Commandant of the Coast Guard, before acquiring a vessel for use by the Coast Guard, to review the inventory of vessels acquired by the Secretary or the Secretary of Commerce under default on federally insured ship mortgages to determine whether any of those vessels are suitable for the Coast Guard.

Amends Federal law relating to merchant seamen protection and relief to: (1) remove provisions authorizing the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to prescribe regulations; and (2) require an individual in charge of a documented vessel to report to the Secretary a complaint of a sexual offense prohibited under provisions of Federal criminal law relating to sexual abuse. Provides for civil monetary penalties for failing to make such a report.

Directs the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to convey the Block Island Southeast Lighthouse to the Block Island Southeast Lighthouse Foundation of the town of New Shoreham, Rhode Island. Provides for continued U.S. operation and maintenance of navigation aids in the lighthouse.

Prohibits the Secretary of Transportation from transferring the Coast Guard cutter ACUSHNET from Gulfport, Mississippi, until two Coast Guard patrol boats are based permanently in Gulfport.

Deems the Coast Guard to be an instrumentality within the Department of Defense for certain purposes relating to housing.

Prohibits the reduction of 1990 or 1991 expenditures for Coast Guard services other than drug law enforcement unless Congress is notified in accordance with this Act. Provides that this provision shall not be construed to reduce the Coast Guard's ability to interdiction opportunities.

Provides for the operation of the Boston Light Station on a permanent basis.

Sets forth a Coast Guard environmental compliance and restoration program which shall include identifying and cleaning up hazardous substances and pollutants. Establishes the Coast Guard Environmental Compliance and Restoration Account.

Title III: Sets forth various technical amendments relating to documentation and licensing of vessels on the Great Lakes, vessel identification systems, commercial instruments and maritime liens, an extension of the exemption of certain fishing industries for inspection requirements, and the issuance of certificates of documentation for coastwise operation to several vessels.