Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB1897 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	I
2	2	119THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION H. R. 1897
5	5	To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to optimize conservation
6	6	through resource prioritization, incentivize wildlife conservation on private
7	7	lands, provide for greater incentives to recover listed species, create
8	8	greater transparency and accountability in recovering listed species,
9	9	streamline the permitting process, eliminate barriers to conservation,
10	10	and restore congressional intent.
11	11	IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
12	12	MARCH6, 2025
13	13	Mr. W
14	14	ESTERMAN(for himself, Ms. HAGEMAN, Mr. STAUBER, Mr. TIFFANY,
15	15	Mr. G
16	16	OSAR, Mr. HURDof Colorado, Mr. NEWHOUSE, Mr. BENTZ, Mr.
17	17	F
18	18	ULCHER, Mr. BEGICH, Mr. EZELL, Mr. AMODEIof Nevada, Mr. HUNT,
19	19	Ms. M
20	20	ALOY, Mr. BIGGSof Arizona, and Mr. LAMALFA) introduced the
21	21	following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
22	22	A BILL
23	23	To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to optimize
24	24	conservation through resource prioritization, incentivize
25	25	wildlife conservation on private lands, provide for greater
26	26	incentives to recover listed species, create greater trans-
27	27	parency and accountability in recovering listed species,
28	28	streamline the permitting process, eliminate barriers to
29	29	conservation, and restore congressional intent.
30	30	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
31	31	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
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34	34	•HR 1897 IH
35	35	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1
36	36	(a) S
37	37	HORTTITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 2
38	38	‘‘ESA Amendments Act of 2025’’. 3
39	39	(b) T
40	40	ABLE OFCONTENTS.—The table of contents for 4
41	41	this Act is as follows: 5
42	42	Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
43	43	Sec. 2. Endangered Species Act of 1973 definitions.
44	44	Sec. 3. Authorization of appropriations.
45	45	Sec. 4. Rule of construction.
46	46	TITLE I—OPTIMIZING CONSERVATION THROUGH RESOURCE
47	47	PRIORITIZATION
48	48	Sec. 101. Prioritization of listing petitions, reviews, and determinations.
49	49	TITLE II—INCENTIVIZING WILDLIFE CONSERVATION ON PRIVATE
50	50	LANDS
51	51	Sec. 201. Candidate conservation agreements with assurances.
52	52	Sec. 202. Conservation plans.
53	53	Sec. 203. NEPA exemption for incidental take permits.
54	54	TITLE III—PROVIDING FOR GREATER INCENTIVES TO RECOVER
55	55	LISTED SPECIES
56	56	Sec. 301. Protective regulations under Endangered Species Act of 1973.
57	57	Sec. 302. 5-year review determinations.
58	58	Sec. 303. Judicial review during monitoring period.
59	59	Sec. 304. Codification of regulation.
60	60	Sec. 305. Designation of critical habitat.
61	61	TITLE IV—CREATING GREATER TRANSPARENCY AND
62	62	ACCOUNTABILITY IN RECOVERING LISTED SPECIES
63	63	Sec. 401. Requirement to publish basis for listings and critical habitat designa-
64	64	tions on Internet.
65	65	Sec. 402. Decisional transparency and use of State, Tribal, and local informa-
66	66	tion.
67	67	Sec. 403. Disclosure of expenditures under Endangered Species Act of 1973.
68	68	Sec. 404. Award of litigation costs to prevailing parties in accordance with ex-
69	69	isting law.
70	70	Sec. 405. Analysis of impacts and benefits of determination of endangered or
71	71	threatened status.
72	72	TITLE V—STREAMLINING PERMITTING PROCESS
73	73	Sec. 501. Limitation on reasonable and prudent measures.
74	74	Sec. 502. Successive consultations.
75	75	Sec. 503. Requirement to consider reasonably certain effects.
76	76	Sec. 504. Clarifying jeopardy.
77	77	TITLE VI — ELIMINATING BARRIERS TO CONSERVATION
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80	80	•HR 1897 IH
81	81	Sec. 601. Permits for CITES-listed species.
82	82	Sec. 602. Utilize Convention standard for permits applicable to non-native spe-
83	83	cies.
84	84	TITLE VII—RESTORING CONGRESSIONAL INTENT
85	85	Sec. 701. Limiting agency regulations.
86	86	SEC. 2. ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT OF 1973 DEFINITIONS.
87	87	1
88	88	(a) F
89	89	ORESEEABLEFUTURE.—The final rule titled 2
90	90	‘‘Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Regu-3
91	91	lations for Listing Species and Designating Critical Habi-4
92	92	tat’’ (84 Fed. Reg. 45020; published August 27, 2019) 5
93	93	shall have the force and effect of law with respect to the 6
94	94	use of the term ‘‘foreseeable future’’. 7
95	95	(b) C
96	96	OMMERCIALACTIVITY.—Section 3(2) Endan-8
97	97	gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1532(2)) is amend-9
98	98	ed by inserting ‘‘or public display or education aimed at 10
99	99	the preservation or conservation of a species’’ after ‘‘orga-11
100	100	nizations’’. 12
101	101	(c) C
102	102	ONSERVE; CONSERVING; CONSERVATION.—Sec-13
103	103	tion 3(3) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 14
104	104	U.S.C. 1532(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘and transplan-15
105	105	tation, and, in the extraordinary case where population 16
106	106	pressures within a given ecosystem cannot be otherwise 17
107	107	relieved, may include’’ and inserting ‘‘transplantation, 18
108	108	and, at the discretion of the Secretary,’’. 19
109	109	(d) H
110	110	ABITAT.—Section 3(5) of the Endangered Spe-20
111	111	cies Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1532(5)) is amended by add-21
112	112	ing at the end the following: 22
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115	115	•HR 1897 IH
116	116	‘‘(D)(i) For the purpose of designating critical 1
117	117	habitat for a threatened species or an endangered 2
118	118	species under this Act, the term ‘habitat’— 3
119	119	‘‘(I) means the abiotic and biotic setting 4
120	120	that currently or periodically contains the re-5
121	121	sources and conditions necessary to support 1 6
122	122	or more life processes of the threatened species 7
123	123	or endangered species; and 8
124	124	‘‘(II) does not include an area visited by 9
125	125	only vagrant individual members of the threat-10
126	126	ened species or endangered species. 11
127	127	‘‘(ii) If the setting described in clause (i)(I) 12
128	128	does not support all of the life processes of the rel-13
129	129	evant threatened species or endangered species, the 14
130	130	threatened species or endangered species must be 15
131	131	able to access, from the setting, other areas nec-16
132	132	essary to support its remaining life processes.’’. 17
133	133	(e) B
134	134	ESTSCIENTIFIC AND COMMERCIAL DATA 18
135	135	A
136	136	VAILABLE.— 19
137	137	(1) I
138	138	N GENERAL.—Section 3 of the Endangered 20
139	139	Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1532) is amended— 21
140	140	(A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 22
141	141	through (10) as paragraphs (3) through (11), 23
142	142	respectively; and 24
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145	145	•HR 1897 IH
146	146	(B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 1
147	147	following: 2
148	148	(2) C
149	149	ONFORMING AMENDMENT .—Section 7(n) 3
150	150	of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 4
151	151	1536(n)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 3(13)’’ 5
152	152	and inserting ‘‘section 3(14)’’. 6
153	153	‘‘(2) The term ‘best scientific and commercial data 7
154	154	available’ includes data submitted to the Secretary by a 8
155	155	State, Tribal, or local government.’’. 9
156	156	(f) E
157	157	NVIRONMENTAL BASELINE.—Section 7 of the 10
158	158	Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536) is 11
159	159	amended by adding at the end the following: 12
160	160	‘‘(q) E
161	161	NVIRONMENTAL BASELINE.—For the purpose 13
162	162	of carrying out a consultation under this section with re-14
163	163	spect to a threatened species or an endangered species, 15
164	164	the term ‘environmental baseline’— 16
165	165	‘‘(1) means the condition of the species or the 17
166	166	critical habitat of the species in the action area, 18
167	167	without the consequences to the species or the crit-19
168	168	ical habitat of the species caused by the proposed ac-20
169	169	tion; and 21
170	170	‘‘(2) includes— 22
171	171	‘‘(A) the past and present effects of all 23
172	172	Federal, State, and private actions and other 24
173	173	human activities in the action area; 25
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176	176	•HR 1897 IH
177	177	‘‘(B) the anticipated effects of each pro-1
178	178	posed Federal project within the action area for 2
179	179	which a consultation under this section has 3
180	180	been completed; 4
181	181	‘‘(C) the effects of State and private ac-5
182	182	tions that are contemporaneous with the con-6
183	183	sultation in process; and 7
184	184	‘‘(D) existing structures and facilities and 8
185	185	the past, present, and future effects on the spe-9
186	186	cies or the critical habitat of the species from 10
187	187	the physical existence of such structures and fa-11
188	188	cilities.’’. 12
189	189	SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 13
190	190	(a) I
191	191	NGENERAL.—Section 15 of the Endangered 14
192	192	Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1542) is amended— 15
193	193	(1) in subsection (a)— 16
194	194	(A) by striking ‘‘subsection (b), (c), and 17
195	195	(d)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsections (b) and (c)’’; 18
196	196	(B) in paragraph (1)— 19
197	197	(i) by striking ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘fiscal year 20
198	198	1991,’’; and 21
199	199	(ii) by inserting ‘‘, and $302,025,000 22
200	200	for each of fiscal years 2026 through 23
201	201	2031’’ after ‘‘fiscal year 1992’’; 24
202	202	(C) in paragraph (2)— 25
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205	205	•HR 1897 IH
206	206	(i) by striking ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘fiscal 1
207	207	years 1989 and 1990,’’; and 2
208	208	(ii) by inserting ‘‘, and $116,630,000 3
209	209	for each of fiscal years 2026 through 4
210	210	2031’’ after ‘‘fiscal years 1991 and 1992’’; 5
211	211	and 6
212	212	(D) in paragraph (3)— 7
213	213	(i) by striking ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘fiscal 8
214	214	years 1989 and 1990,’’; and 9
215	215	(ii) by inserting ‘‘and $2,600,000 for 10
216	216	each of fiscal years 2026 through 2031’’ 11
217	217	after ‘‘fiscal years 1991 and 1992,’’; 12
218	218	(2) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘and 13
219	219	$600,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 14
220	220	2031’’ after ‘‘1992’’; and 15
221	221	(3) in subsection (c)— 16
222	222	(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘fiscal years 17
223	223	1988, 1989, and 1990,’’; and 18
224	224	(B) by inserting ‘‘and $9,900,000 for each 19
225	225	of fiscal years 2026 through 2031,’’ after ‘‘fis-20
226	226	cal years 1991 and 1992,’’. 21
227	227	(b) T
228	228	ECHNICALAMENDMENT.—Section 15(b) of the 22
229	229	Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1542(b)) is 23
230	230	amended by striking ‘‘sections 7 (e), (g), and (h)’’ and 24
231	231	inserting ‘‘subsections (e), (g), and (h) of section 7’’. 25
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234	234	•HR 1897 IH
235	235	SEC. 4. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 1
236	236	Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this 2
237	237	Act may be construed to enlarge or diminish the authority, 3
238	238	jurisdiction, or responsibility of a State (as that term is 4
239	239	defined in section 3 of the Endangered Species Act of 5
240	240	1973 (16 U.S.C. 1532)) to manage, control, or regulate 6
241	241	fish and wildlife on lands and waters, including Federal 7
242	242	lands and waters, within the State. 8
243	243	TITLE I—OPTIMIZING CON-9
244	244	SERVATION THROUGH RE-10
245	245	SOURCE PRIORITIZATION 11
246	246	SEC. 101. PRIORITIZATION OF LISTING PETITIONS, RE-12
247	247	VIEWS, AND DETERMINATIONS. 13
248	248	(a) I
249	249	NGENERAL.—Section 4 of the Endangered Spe-14
250	250	cies Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533) is amended by adding 15
251	251	at the end the following: 16
252	252	‘‘(j) N
253	253	ATIONALLISTINGWORKPLAN.— 17
254	254	‘‘(1) I
255	255	N GENERAL.—Not later than the date de-18
256	256	scribed in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall submit 19
257	257	to Congress a national listing work plan that estab-20
258	258	lishes, for each covered species, a schedule for the 21
259	259	completion during the 5-fiscal year period beginning 22
260	260	on October 1 of the first fiscal year after the date 23
261	261	of the submission of the work plan of— 24
262	262	‘‘(A) findings as described in subsection 25
263	263	(b)(3)(B) for each such covered species; 26
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266	266	•HR 1897 IH
267	267	‘‘(B) proposed and final determinations re-1
268	268	garding listing each such covered species under 2
269	269	this section; and 3
270	270	‘‘(C) proposed and final critical habitat 4
271	271	designations under subsection (a)(3) relating to 5
272	272	each such covered species. 6
273	273	‘‘(2) S
274	274	UBMISSION TO CONGRESS .— 7
275	275	‘‘(A) I
276	276	N GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 8
277	277	submit to Congress— 9
278	278	‘‘(i) together with the budget request 10
279	279	of the Secretary for the first fiscal year 11
280	280	that begins not less than 365 days after 12
281	281	the date of the enactment of this sub-13
282	282	section, the initial work plan required 14
283	283	under paragraph (1); and 15
284	284	‘‘(ii) together with the budget request 16
285	285	of the Secretary for each fiscal year there-17
286	286	after, an updated work plan under para-18
287	287	graph (1). 19
288	288	‘‘(B) A
289	289	DDITIONAL INCLUSIONS.—The Sec-20
290	290	retary shall include with each budget request 21
291	291	referred to in subparagraph (A) a description of 22
292	292	the amounts to be requested to carry out the 23
293	293	work plan for the fiscal year covered by the 24
294	294	budget request, including any amounts re-25
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297	297	•HR 1897 IH
298	298	quested to address emergency listings if the 1
299	299	Secretary identifies any emergency posing a sig-2
300	300	nificant risk to the well-being of any species of 3
301	301	fish or wildlife or plant. 4
302	302	‘‘(3) P
303	303	RIORITY.— 5
304	304	‘‘(A) I
305	305	N GENERAL.—In developing a work 6
306	306	plan under this subsection, the Secretary shall 7
307	307	assign to each species included in the work plan 8
308	308	a priority classification of Priority 1 through 9
309	309	Priority 5, such that, as determined by the Sec-10
310	310	retary, the following apply: 11
311	311	‘‘(i) Priority 1 represents species of 12
312	312	the highest priority, to be designated as 13
313	313	critically imperiled and in need of imme-14
314	314	diate action. 15
315	315	‘‘(ii) Priority 2 represents species with 16
316	316	respect to which the best scientific and 17
317	317	commercial data available support a clear 18
318	318	decision regarding the status of the spe-19
319	319	cies. 20
320	320	‘‘(iii) Priority 3 represents species 21
321	321	with respect to which studies regarding the 22
322	322	status of the species are being carried 23
323	323	out— 24
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326	326	•HR 1897 IH
327	327	‘‘(I) to answer key questions that 1
328	328	may influence the findings of a peti-2
329	329	tion to list the species submitted 3
330	330	under subsection (b)(3); and 4
331	331	‘‘(II) to resolve any uncertainty 5
332	332	regarding the status of the species 6
333	333	within a reasonable timeframe. 7
334	334	‘‘(iv) Priority 4 represents species for 8
335	335	which proactive conservation efforts likely 9
336	336	to reduce threats to the species are being 10
337	337	developed or carried out, within a reason-11
338	338	able timeframe and in an organized man-12
339	339	ner, by Federal agencies, States, land-13
340	340	owners, or other stakeholders. 14
341	341	‘‘(v) Priority 5 represents species— 15
342	342	‘‘(I) for which there exists little 16
343	343	information regarding— 17
344	344	‘‘(aa) threats to the species; 18
345	345	or 19
346	346	‘‘(bb) the status of the spe-20
347	347	cies; or 21
348	348	‘‘(II) that would receive limited 22
349	349	conservation benefit in the foreseeable 23
350	350	future by listing the species as a 24
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353	353	•HR 1897 IH
354	354	threatened species or endangered spe-1
355	355	cies under this section. 2
356	356	‘‘(B) U
357	357	SE OF METHODOLOGY .—The Sec-3
358	358	retary shall establish and assign priority classi-4
359	359	fications under subparagraph (A) in accordance 5
360	360	with the notice of the Director of the United 6
361	361	States Fish and Wildlife Service titled ‘Method-7
362	362	ology for Prioritizing Status Reviews and Ac-8
363	363	companying 12-Month Findings on Petitions 9
364	364	for Listing Under the Endangered Species Act’ 10
365	365	(81 Fed. Reg. 49248; published July 27, 2016). 11
366	366	‘‘(C) E
367	367	XTENSIONS FOR CERTAIN PRIORITY 12
368	368	CLASSIFICATIONS.— 13
369	369	‘‘(i) P
370	370	RIORITY 3.—With respect to a 14
371	371	species classified as Priority 3 under sub-15
372	372	paragraph (A)(iii), if the Secretary deter-16
373	373	mines that additional time would allow for 17
374	374	more complete data collection or the com-18
375	375	pletion of studies relating to the species, 19
376	376	the Secretary may retain the species under 20
377	377	the work plan for a period of not more 21
378	378	than 5 years after the deadline under para-22
379	379	graph (4). 23
380	380	‘‘(ii) P
381	381	RIORITY 4.—With respect to a 24
382	382	species classified as Priority 4 under sub-25
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385	385	•HR 1897 IH
386	386	paragraph (A)(iv), if the Secretary deter-1
387	387	mines that existing conservation efforts 2
388	388	continue to meet the conservation needs of 3
389	389	the species, the Secretary may retain the 4
390	390	species under the work plan for a period of 5
391	391	not more than 5 years after the deadline 6
392	392	under paragraph (4). 7
393	393	‘‘(iii) P
394	394	RIORITY 5.—With respect to a 8
395	395	species classified as Priority 5 under sub-9
396	396	paragraph (A)(v), the Secretary may retain 10
397	397	the species under the work plan for a pe-11
398	398	riod of not more than 5 years after the 12
399	399	deadline under paragraph (4). 13
400	400	‘‘(D) R
401	401	EVISION OF PRIORITY CLASSIFICA -14
402	402	TION.—The Secretary may revise, in accordance 15
403	403	with subparagraph (A), the assignment to a pri-16
404	404	ority classification of a species included in a 17
405	405	work plan at any time during the fiscal years 18
406	406	to which the work plan applies. 19
407	407	‘‘(E) E
408	408	FFECT OF PRIORITY CLASSIFICA -20
409	409	TION.—The assignment of a priority classifica-21
410	410	tion to a species included in a work plan is not 22
411	411	a final agency action. 23
412	412	‘‘(4) D
413	413	EADLINE.—The Secretary shall act on 24
414	414	any petition to add a species to a list published 25
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417	417	•HR 1897 IH
418	418	under subsection (c) submitted under subsection 1
419	419	(b)(3) not later than the last day of the fiscal year 2
420	420	specified for that petition in the most recent work 3
421	421	plan. 4
422	422	‘‘(5) R
423	423	EGULATIONS.—The Secretary may issue 5
424	424	such regulations as the Secretary determines appro-6
425	425	priate to carry out this subsection. 7
426	426	‘‘(6) E
427	427	FFECT OF SUBSECTION .—Nothing in this 8
428	428	subsection may be construed to preclude or other-9
429	429	wise affect the emergency listing authority of the 10
430	430	Secretary under subsection (b)(7). 11
431	431	‘‘(7) D
432	432	EFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 12
433	433	‘‘(A) C
434	434	OVERED SPECIES.—The term ‘cov-13
435	435	ered species’ means a species that is not in-14
436	436	cluded on a list published under subsection 15
437	437	(c)— 16
438	438	‘‘(i) for which a petition to add the 17
439	439	species to such a list has been submitted 18
440	440	under subsection (b)(3); or 19
441	441	‘‘(ii) that is otherwise under consider-20
442	442	ation by the Secretary for addition to such 21
443	443	a list. 22
444	444	‘‘(B) W
445	445	ORK PLAN.—The term ‘work plan’ 23
446	446	means the national listing work plan submitted 24
447	447	by the Secretary under paragraph (1).’’. 25
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450	450	•HR 1897 IH
451	451	(b) CONFORMINGAMENDMENTS.—Section 4(b)(3) of 1
452	452	the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 2
453	453	1533(b)(3)) is amended— 3
454	454	(1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘Within 4
455	455	12 months’’ and inserting ‘‘In accordance with the 5
456	456	national listing work plan submitted under sub-6
457	457	section (j),’’; and 7
458	458	(2) in subparagraph (C), to read as follows: 8
459	459	‘‘(C) Any negative finding described in subpara-9
460	460	graph (A) and any finding described in subpara-10
461	461	graph (B)(i)(I) shall be subject to judicial review.’’. 11
462	462	TITLE II—INCENTIVIZING WILD-12
463	463	LIFE CONSERVATION ON PRI-13
464	464	VATE LANDS 14
465	465	SEC. 201. CANDIDATE CONSERVATION AGREEMENTS WITH 15
466	466	ASSURANCES. 16
467	467	(a) L
468	468	ISTINGDETERMINATIONS.—Section 4(b)(1) of 17
469	469	the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 18
470	470	1533(b)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the fol-19
471	471	lowing: 20
472	472	‘‘(C) In making a determination under sub-21
473	473	section (a)(1) with respect to a species, the Sec-22
474	474	retary shall take into account and document the ef-23
475	475	fect of any net conservation benefit (as that term is 24
476	476	defined in subsection (k) of section 10) of any Can-25
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479	479	•HR 1897 IH
480	480	didate Conservation Agreement with Assurances or 1
481	481	any programmatic Candidate Conservation Agree-2
482	482	ment with Assurances (as those terms are defined in 3
483	483	that subsection) relating to such species.’’. 4
484	484	(b) C
485	485	ANDIDATECONSERVATIONAGREEMENTSWITH 5
486	486	A
487	487	SSURANCES.—Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act 6
488	488	of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1539) is amended by adding at the 7
489	489	end the following: 8
490	490	‘‘(k) C
491	491	ANDIDATE CONSERVATION AGREEMENTS 9
492	492	W
493	493	ITHASSURANCES.— 10
494	494	‘‘(1) P
495	495	ROPOSED AGREEMENT .—A covered party 11
496	496	may submit a proposed Agreement to the Secretary. 12
497	497	‘‘(2) A
498	498	PPROVAL.—Not later than 120 days 13
499	499	after the date of the receipt of a proposed Agree-14
500	500	ment under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall ap-15
501	501	prove the proposed Agreement if the Secretary de-16
502	502	termines that the proposed Agreement— 17
503	503	‘‘(A) sets forth specific management activi-18
504	504	ties that the covered party will undertake to 19
505	505	conserve the covered species; 20
506	506	‘‘(B) provides a positive estimate of the net 21
507	507	conservation benefit of such management activi-22
508	508	ties to the covered species; 23
509	509	‘‘(C) describes, to the maximum extent 24
510	510	practicable, the existing population levels of the 25
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513	513	•HR 1897 IH
514	514	covered species or the existing quality of habi-1
515	515	tat; 2
516	516	‘‘(D) includes a monitoring plan to be car-3
517	517	ried out by the parties to the Agreement; and 4
518	518	‘‘(E) provides assurances to the covered 5
519	519	party that no additional conservation measures 6
520	520	will be required and additional land, water, or 7
521	521	resource use restrictions will not be imposed on 8
522	522	the covered party if the covered species becomes 9
523	523	listed after the effective date of such Agree-10
524	524	ment. 11
525	525	‘‘(3) D
526	526	ENIAL.—Not later than 120 days after 12
527	527	the date of the receipt of a proposed Agreement 13
528	528	under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 14
529	529	‘‘(A) deny the proposed Agreement if the 15
530	530	Secretary determines that the proposed Agree-16
531	531	ment does not meet the requirements described 17
532	532	in paragraph (2); and 18
533	533	‘‘(B) provide the submitting covered party 19
534	534	a written explanation for such determination 20
535	535	and the adjustments required for the Secretary 21
536	536	to approve such proposed Agreement. 22
537	537	‘‘(4) P
538	538	ROGRAMMATIC CANDIDATE CONSERVA -23
539	539	TION AGREEMENT WITH ASSURANCES .— 24
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542	542	•HR 1897 IH
543	543	‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 1
544	544	enter into a Candidate Conservation Agreement 2
545	545	with Assurances with a covered party that au-3
546	546	thorizes such covered party— 4
547	547	‘‘(i) to administer such Candidate 5
548	548	Conservation Agreement with Assurances; 6
549	549	‘‘(ii) to hold any permit issued under 7
550	550	this section with regard to such Candidate 8
551	551	Conservation Agreement with Assurances; 9
552	552	‘‘(iii) to enroll other covered parties 10
553	553	within the area covered by such Candidate 11
554	554	Conservation Agreement with Assurances 12
555	555	in such Candidate Conservation Agreement 13
556	556	with Assurances; and 14
557	557	‘‘(iv) to convey any permit authoriza-15
558	558	tion held by such covered party under 16
559	559	clause (ii) to each covered party enrolled 17
560	560	under clause (iii). 18
561	561	‘‘(B) P
562	562	UBLICATION.—Upon receipt of a 19
563	563	proposed programmatic Candidate Conservation 20
564	564	Agreement with Assurances under paragraph 21
565	565	(1) and before approving or denying such a pro-22
566	566	posed programmatic Candidate Conservation 23
567	567	Agreement with Assurances under paragraph 24
568	568	(2) or (3), respectively, the Secretary shall— 25
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571	571	•HR 1897 IH
572	572	‘‘(i) not later than 30 days after the 1
573	573	date of such receipt, publish the proposed 2
574	574	programmatic Candidate Conservation 3
575	575	Agreement with Assurances in the Federal 4
576	576	Register for public comment for a period 5
577	577	of not less than 60 days; 6
578	578	‘‘(ii) review any comments received 7
579	579	under clause (i); and 8
580	580	‘‘(iii) after the close of the public com-9
581	581	ment period for the proposed pro-10
582	582	grammatic Candidate Conservation Agree-11
583	583	ment with Assurances, publish in the Fed-12
584	584	eral Register— 13
585	585	‘‘(I) any comments received 14
586	586	under clause (i); and 15
587	587	‘‘(II) the approval or denial of 16
588	588	the proposed programmatic Candidate 17
589	589	Conservation Agreement with Assur-18
590	590	ances under paragraph (2) or (3), re-19
591	591	spectively. 20
592	592	‘‘(5) I
593	593	NCIDENTAL TAKE AUTHORIZATION .—If a 21
594	594	covered species is listed under section 4, the Sec-22
595	595	retary shall issue a permit to the relevant covered 23
596	596	party under this section allowing incidental take of 24
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599	599	•HR 1897 IH
600	600	and modification to the habitat of such covered spe-1
601	601	cies consistent with the Agreement. 2
602	602	‘‘(6) T
603	603	ECHNICAL ASSISTANCE .—The Secretary 3
604	604	shall, upon request, provide a covered party with 4
605	605	technical assistance in developing a proposed Agree-5
606	606	ment. 6
607	607	‘‘(7) A
608	608	PPLICABILITY TO FEDERAL LAND .—An 7
609	609	Agreement may apply to a covered party that con-8
610	610	ducts activities on land administered by any Federal 9
611	611	agency pursuant to a permit or lease issued to the 10
612	612	covered party by that Federal agency. 11
613	613	‘‘(8) E
614	614	XEMPTION FROM CONSULTATION RE -12
615	615	QUIREMENT.—An Agreement approved under this 13
616	616	subsection shall be deemed to have been granted an 14
617	617	exemption under section 7(h) for the purposes of 15
618	618	that section. 16
619	619	‘‘(9) E
620	620	XEMPTION FROM DISCLOSURE .—Infor-17
621	621	mation submitted by a private party to the Secretary 18
622	622	under this subsection shall be exempt from disclo-19
623	623	sure under section 552(b)(3)(B) of title 5, United 20
624	624	States Code. 21
625	625	‘‘(10) D
626	626	EFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 22
627	627	‘‘(A) A
628	628	GREEMENT.—The term ‘Agreement’ 23
629	629	means— 24
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632	632	•HR 1897 IH
633	633	‘‘(i) a Candidate Conservation Agree-1
634	634	ment with Assurances; or 2
635	635	‘‘(ii) a programmatic Candidate Con-3
636	636	servation Agreement with Assurances. 4
637	637	‘‘(B) C
638	638	ANDIDATE CONSERVATION AGREE -5
639	639	MENT WITH ASSURANCES .—The term ‘Can-6
640	640	didate Conservation Agreement with Assur-7
641	641	ances’ means any voluntary agreement, includ-8
642	642	ing a conservation benefit agreement, between 9
643	643	the Secretary and a covered party in which— 10
644	644	‘‘(i) the covered party commits to im-11
645	645	plementing mutually agreed upon conserva-12
646	646	tion measures for a candidate species; and 13
647	647	‘‘(ii) the Secretary provides assur-14
648	648	ances that, if such candidate species is list-15
649	649	ed pursuant to section 4— 16
650	650	‘‘(I) the covered party shall incur 17
651	651	no additional obligations beyond ac-18
652	652	tions agreed to in the agreement with 19
653	653	respect to conservation activities re-20
654	654	quired under this Act; and 21
655	655	‘‘(II) no additional land, water, 22
656	656	or resource use restrictions shall be 23
657	657	imposed on the covered party beyond 24
658	658	those included in the agreement. 25
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661	661	•HR 1897 IH
662	662	‘‘(C) CANDIDATE SPECIES .—The term 1
663	663	‘candidate species’ means a species— 2
664	664	‘‘(i) designated by the Secretary as a 3
665	665	candidate species under this Act; or 4
666	666	‘‘(ii) proposed to be listed pursuant to 5
667	667	section 4. 6
668	668	‘‘(D) C
669	669	OVERED PARTY.—The term ‘covered 7
670	670	party’ means a— 8
671	671	‘‘(i) party that conducts activities on 9
672	672	land administered by a Federal agency 10
673	673	pursuant to a permit or lease issued to the 11
674	674	party; 12
675	675	‘‘(ii) private property owner; 13
676	676	‘‘(iii) county; 14
677	677	‘‘(iv) State or State agency; or 15
678	678	‘‘(v) Tribal government. 16
679	679	‘‘(E) C
680	680	OVERED SPECIES.—The term ‘cov-17
681	681	ered species’ means, with respect to an Agree-18
682	682	ment, the species that is the subject of such 19
683	683	Agreement. 20
684	684	‘‘(F) N
685	685	ET CONSERVATION BENEFIT .—The 21
686	686	term ‘net conservation benefit’ means the net 22
687	687	effect of an Agreement, determined by com-23
688	688	paring the existing situation of the candidate 24
689	689	species without the Agreement in effect and a 25
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692	692	•HR 1897 IH
693	693	situation in which the Agreement is in effect, 1
694	694	on a candidate species, including— 2
695	695	‘‘(i) the net effect on threats to such 3
696	696	species; 4
697	697	‘‘(ii) the net effect on the number of 5
698	698	individuals of such species; or 6
699	699	‘‘(iii) the net effect on the habitat of 7
700	700	such species. 8
701	701	‘‘(G) P
702	702	ROGRAMMATIC CANDIDATE CON -9
703	703	SERVATION AGREEMENT WITH ASSURANCES .— 10
704	704	The term ‘programmatic Candidate Conserva-11
705	705	tion Agreement with Assurances’ means a Can-12
706	706	didate Conservation Agreement with Assurances 13
707	707	described in paragraph (4)(A).’’. 14
708	708	SEC. 202. CONSERVATION PLANS. 15
709	709	(a) I
710	710	NGENERAL.—Section 10(a)(2) of the Endan-16
711	711	gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1539(a)(2)) is 17
712	712	amended— 18
713	713	(1) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘, and 19
714	714	shall include the terms and conditions of the related 20
715	715	conservation plan, which shall be legally binding on 21
716	716	all parties thereto’’ after ‘‘being complied with’’; and 22
717	717	(2) by adding at the end the following: 23
718	718	‘‘(D) Each Federal agency shall, as appli-24
719	719	cable and to the maximum extent practicable, 25
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722	722	•HR 1897 IH
723	723	adopt the mitigation measures contained in a 1
724	724	permit issued under subparagraph (B) in any 2
725	725	authorization issued by such Federal agency 3
726	726	with respect to the action that is the subject of 4
727	727	such permit. 5
728	728	‘‘(E) With respect to an action that is the 6
729	729	subject of a permit issued under subparagraph 7
730	730	(B), the Secretary shall not seek any additional 8
731	731	mitigation measures through any other Federal 9
732	732	or State or local process.’’. 10
733	733	(b) E
734	734	XEMPTIONFROMCONSULTATION REQUIRE-11
735	735	MENT.—Section 10(a) of the Endangered Species Act of 12
736	736	1973 (16 U.S.C. 1539(a)) is amended by adding at the 13
737	737	end the following: 14
738	738	‘‘(3) A permit issued by the Secretary under this sub-15
739	739	section shall be deemed to have been granted an exemption 16
740	740	under section 7(h) for the purposes of that section.’’. 17
741	741	SEC. 203. NEPA EXEMPTION FOR INCIDENTAL TAKE PER-18
742	742	MITS. 19
743	743	Section 10(a) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 20
744	744	(16 U.S.C. 1539(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 21
745	745	following: 22
746	746	‘‘(4) The issuance of a permit under paragraph (2) 23
747	747	shall not be considered a major Federal action under sec-24
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750	750	•HR 1897 IH
751	751	tion 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act 1
752	752	of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)).’’. 2
753	753	TITLE III—PROVIDING FOR 3
754	754	GREATER INCENTIVES TO RE-4
755	755	COVER LISTED SPECIES 5
756	756	SEC. 301. PROTECTIVE REGULATIONS UNDER ENDAN-6
757	757	GERED SPECIES ACT OF 1973. 7
758	758	Section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 8
759	759	U.S.C. 1533) is amended— 9
760	760	(1) in subsection (d), to read as follows: 10
761	761	‘‘(d) P
762	762	ROTECTIVEREGULATIONS.— 11
763	763	‘‘(1) I
764	764	N GENERAL.—Whenever any species is 12
765	765	listed as a threatened species pursuant to subsection 13
766	766	(c), the Secretary shall issue such regulations as are 14
767	767	necessary and advisable to provide for the conserva-15
768	768	tion of that species. 16
769	769	‘‘(2) R
770	770	ECOVERY GOALS.— 17
771	771	‘‘(A) I
772	772	N GENERAL.—If the Secretary issues 18
773	773	a regulation under paragraph (1) that prohibits 19
774	774	an act described in section 9(a), the Secretary 20
775	775	shall, with respect to the species that is the 21
776	776	subject of such regulation— 22
777	777	‘‘(i) establish objective, incremental 23
778	778	recovery goals; 24
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781	781	•HR 1897 IH
782	782	‘‘(ii) provide for the stringency of 1
783	783	such regulation to decrease as such recov-2
784	784	ery goals are met; and 3
785	785	‘‘(iii) provide for State management 4
786	786	within such State, if such State is willing 5
787	787	to take on such management, beginning on 6
788	788	the date on which the Secretary determines 7
789	789	that each such recovery goal is met and, if 8
790	790	each such recovery goal remains met, con-9
791	791	tinuing until such species is removed from 10
792	792	the list of threatened species published 11
793	793	pursuant to subsection (c). 12
794	794	‘‘(B) S
795	795	TATUS REVIEW.—On the date on 13
796	796	which the Secretary determines that each recov-14
797	797	ery goal established under subparagraph (A)(i) 15
798	798	for a species is met, the Secretary shall begin 16
799	799	a review of the species and subsequently deter-17
800	800	mine, on the basis of such review, whether the 18
801	801	species should be removed from the lists pub-19
802	802	lished pursuant to subsection (c)(1). 20
803	803	‘‘(3) C
804	804	OOPERATIVE AGREEMENT .—A regulation 21
805	805	issued under paragraph (1) that prohibits an act de-22
806	806	scribed in section 9(a) with respect to a resident 23
807	807	species shall apply with respect to a State that has 24
808	808	entered into a cooperative agreement with the Sec-25
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811	811	•HR 1897 IH
812	812	retary pursuant to section 6(c) only to the extent 1
813	813	that such regulation is adopted by such State. 2
814	814	‘‘(4) S
815	815	TATE RECOVERY STRATEGY .— 3
816	816	‘‘(A) I
817	817	N GENERAL.—A State may develop 4
818	818	a recovery strategy for a threatened species or 5
819	819	a candidate species and submit to the Secretary 6
820	820	a petition for the Secretary to use such recovery 7
821	821	strategy as the basis for any regulation issued 8
822	822	under paragraph (1) with respect to such spe-9
823	823	cies within such State. 10
824	824	‘‘(B) A
825	825	PPROVAL OR DENIAL OF PETI -11
826	826	TION.—Not later than 120 days after the date 12
827	827	on which the Secretary receives a petition sub-13
828	828	mitted under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 14
829	829	shall— 15
830	830	‘‘(i) approve such petition if the Sec-16
831	831	retary determines the recovery strategy is 17
832	832	reasonably certain to be implemented by 18
833	833	the petitioning State and to be effective in 19
834	834	conserving the species that is the subject 20
835	835	of such recovery strategy; or 21
836	836	‘‘(ii) deny such petition if the require-22
837	837	ments described in clause (i) are not met. 23
838	838	‘‘(C) P
839	839	UBLICATION.—Not later than 30 24
840	840	days after the date on which the Secretary ap-25
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843	843	•HR 1897 IH
844	844	proves or denies a petition under subparagraph 1
845	845	(B), the Secretary shall publish such approval 2
846	846	or denial in the Federal Register. 3
847	847	‘‘(D) D
848	848	ENIAL OF PETITION.— 4
849	849	‘‘(i) W
850	850	RITTEN EXPLANATION .—If the 5
851	851	Secretary denies a petition under subpara-6
852	852	graph (B), the Secretary shall include in 7
853	853	such denial a written explanation for such 8
854	854	denial, including a description of the 9
855	855	changes to such petition that are necessary 10
856	856	for the Secretary to approve such petition. 11
857	857	‘‘(ii) R
858	858	ESUBMISSION OF DENIED PETI -12
859	859	TION.—A State may resubmit a petition 13
860	860	that is denied under subparagraph (B). 14
861	861	‘‘(E) U
862	862	SE IN PROTECTIVE REGULA -15
863	863	TIONS.—If the Secretary approves a petition 16
864	864	under subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall— 17
865	865	‘‘(i) issue a regulation under para-18
866	866	graph (1) that adopts the recovery strategy 19
867	867	as such regulation with respect to the spe-20
868	868	cies that is the subject of such recovery 21
869	869	strategy within the petitioning State; and 22
870	870	‘‘(ii) establish objective criteria to 23
871	871	evaluate the effectiveness of such recovery 24
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874	874	•HR 1897 IH
875	875	strategy in conserving such species within 1
876	876	such State. 2
877	877	‘‘(F) R
878	878	EVISION.—If a recovery strategy 3
879	879	that is adopted as a regulation issued under 4
880	880	paragraph (1) is determined by the Secretary to 5
881	881	be ineffective in conserving the species that is 6
882	882	the subject of such recovery strategy in accord-7
883	883	ance with the objective criteria established 8
884	884	under subparagraph (E)(ii) for such recovery 9
885	885	strategy, the Secretary shall revise such regula-10
886	886	tion and reissue such regulation in accordance 11
887	887	with paragraph (1).’’; and 12
888	888	(2) in subsection (f)(1)(B)— 13
889	889	(A) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 14
890	890	end; 15
891	891	(B) in clause (iii), by striking the period at 16
892	892	the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 17
893	893	(C) by adding at the end the following: 18
894	894	‘‘(iv) with respect to an endangered spe-19
895	895	cies, objective, incremental recovery goals in ac-20
896	896	cordance with subsection (d)(2)(A) for use 21
897	897	under that subsection if such endangered spe-22
898	898	cies is changed in status from an endangered 23
899	899	species to a threatened species under subsection 24
900	900	(c)(2)(B)(ii).’’. 25
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904	904	SEC. 302. 5-YEAR REVIEW DETERMINATIONS. 1
905	905	Section 4(c) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 2
906	906	(16 U.S.C. 1533(c)) is amended by adding at the end the 3
907	907	following: 4
908	908	‘‘(3) Not later than 30 days after the date on which 5
909	909	the Secretary makes a determination under paragraph 6
910	910	(2)(B), the Secretary shall initiate a rulemaking to carry 7
911	911	out such determination.’’. 8
912	912	SEC. 303. JUDICIAL REVIEW DURING MONITORING PERIOD. 9
913	913	Section 4(g) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 10
914	914	(16 U.S.C. 1533(g)) is amended by adding at the end the 11
915	915	following: 12
916	916	‘‘(3) The removal of a species from a list published 13
917	917	under subsection (c)(1) is not subject to judicial review 14
918	918	during the period established under paragraph (1) with 15
919	919	respect to the species.’’. 16
920	920	SEC. 304. CODIFICATION OF REGULATION. 17
921	921	The final rule titled ‘‘Endangered and Threatened 18
922	922	Wildlife and Plants; Regulations for Prohibitions to 19
923	923	Threatened Wildlife and Plants’’ (84 Fed. Reg. 44753; 20
924	924	published August 27, 2019) shall have the force and effect 21
925	925	of law. 22
926	926	SEC. 305. DESIGNATION OF CRITICAL HABITAT. 23
927	927	(a) P
928	928	RIVATELYOWNED ORCONTROLLEDLAND.— 24
929	929	Section 4(a)(3) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 25
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932	932	•HR 1897 IH
933	933	(16 U.S.C. 1533(a)(3)) is amended by adding at the end 1
934	934	the following: 2
935	935	‘‘(C) The Secretary may not designate as critical 3
936	936	habitat under subparagraph (A) any privately owned or 4
937	937	controlled land or other geographical area that is subject 5
938	938	to a land management plan that— 6
939	939	‘‘(i) the Secretary determines is similar in na-7
940	940	ture to an integrated natural resources management 8
941	941	plan described in section 101 of the Sikes Act (16 9
942	942	U.S.C. 670a); 10
943	943	‘‘(ii)(I) is prepared in cooperation with the Sec-11
944	944	retary and the head of each applicable State fish 12
945	945	and wildlife agency of each State in which such land 13
946	946	or other geographical area is located; or 14
947	947	‘‘(II) is submitted to the Secretary in a manner 15
948	948	that is similar to the manner in which an applicant 16
949	949	submits a conservation plan to the Secretary under 17
950	950	section 10(a)(2)(A); 18
951	951	‘‘(iii) includes an activity or a limitation on an 19
952	952	activity that the Secretary determines will likely con-20
953	953	serve the species concerned; 21
954	954	‘‘(iv) the Secretary determines will result in— 22
955	955	‘‘(I) an increase in the population of the 23
956	956	species concerned above the population of such 24
957	957	species on the date that such species is listed as 25
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960	960	•HR 1897 IH
961	961	a threatened species or an endangered species; 1
962	962	or 2
963	963	‘‘(II) maintaining the same population of 3
964	964	such species on the land or other geographical 4
965	965	area as the population that would likely occur 5
966	966	if such land or other geographical area is des-6
967	967	ignated as critical habitat; and 7
968	968	‘‘(v) to the maximum extent practicable, will 8
969	969	minimize and mitigate the impacts of any activity 9
970	970	that will likely result in an incidental taking of the 10
971	971	species concerned.’’. 11
972	972	(b) D
973	973	ESIGNATION CONSIDERATIONS.—Section 12
974	974	4(b)(2) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 13
975	975	1533(b)(2)) is amended in the first sentence by inserting 14
976	976	‘‘the impact on existing efforts of private landowners to 15
977	977	conserve the species,’’ after ‘‘impact on national secu-16
978	978	rity,’’. 17
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981	981	•HR 1897 IH
982	982	TITLE IV—CREATING GREATER 1
983	983	TRANSPARENCY AND AC-2
984	984	COUNTABILITY IN RECOV-3
985	985	ERING LISTED SPECIES 4
986	986	SEC. 401. REQUIREMENT TO PUBLISH BASIS FOR LISTINGS 5
987	987	AND CRITICAL HABITAT DESIGNATIONS ON 6
988	988	INTERNET. 7
989	989	Section 4(b) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 8
990	990	(16 U.S.C. 1533(b)) is amended by adding at the end the 9
991	991	following: 10
992	992	‘‘(9) The Secretary shall make publicly available on 11
993	993	the Internet the best scientific and commercial data avail-12
994	994	able that are used as the basis for each regulation, includ-13
995	995	ing each proposed regulation, promulgated under para-14
996	996	graphs (1) and (3) of subsection (a), except that— 15
997	997	‘‘(A) at the request of a Governor, State agen-16
998	998	cy, or legislature of a State, the Secretary may not 17
999	999	make such data available under this paragraph if 18
1000	1000	such entity determines that public disclosure of such 19
1001	1001	data is prohibited by a law or regulation of such 20
1002	1002	State, including any law or regulation requiring the 21
1003	1003	protection of personal information; and 22
1004	1004	‘‘(B) not later than 30 days after the date of 23
1005	1005	the enactment of this paragraph, the Secretary shall 24
1006	1006	execute an agreement with the Secretary of Defense 25
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1009	1009	•HR 1897 IH
1010	1010	that prevents the disclosure under this paragraph of 1
1011	1011	classified information pertaining to Department of 2
1012	1012	Defense personnel, facilities, lands, or waters.’’. 3
1013	1013	SEC. 402. DECISIONAL TRANSPARENCY AND USE OF STATE, 4
1014	1014	TRIBAL, AND LOCAL INFORMATION. 5
1015	1015	Section 6(a) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 6
1016	1016	(16 U.S.C. 1535(a)) is amended— 7
1017	1017	(1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before the first sentence; 8
1018	1018	and 9
1019	1019	(2) by striking ‘‘Such cooperation shall include’’ 10
1020	1020	and inserting the following: 11
1021	1021	‘‘(2) Such cooperation shall include— 12
1022	1022	‘‘(A) before making a determination under 13
1023	1023	section 4(a), providing to States affected by 14
1024	1024	such determination all data that is the basis of 15
1025	1025	the determination; and 16
1026	1026	‘‘(B)’’. 17
1027	1027	SEC. 403. DISCLOSURE OF EXPENDITURES UNDER ENDAN-18
1028	1028	GERED SPECIES ACT OF 1973. 19
1029	1029	(a) R
1030	1030	EQUIREMENTTODISCLOSE.—Section 13 of the 20
1031	1031	Endangered Species Act of 1973 (87 Stat. 902) is amend-21
1032	1032	ed to read as follows: 22
1033	1033	‘‘SEC. 13. DISCLOSURE OF EXPENDITURES. 23
1034	1034	‘‘(a) R
1035	1035	EQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of the Interior, 24
1036	1036	in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, shall— 25
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1039	1039	•HR 1897 IH
1040	1040	‘‘(1) not later than 90 days after the end of 1
1041	1041	each fiscal year, submit to the Committee on Nat-2
1042	1042	ural Resources of the House of Representatives and 3
1043	1043	the Committee on Environment and Public Works of 4
1044	1044	the Senate an annual report detailing Federal Gov-5
1045	1045	ernment expenditures for covered suits during the 6
1046	1046	preceding fiscal year (including the information de-7
1047	1047	scribed in subsection (b)); and 8
1048	1048	‘‘(2) make publicly available through the Inter-9
1049	1049	net a searchable database, updated monthly, of the 10
1050	1050	information described in subsection (b). 11
1051	1051	‘‘(b) I
1052	1052	NCLUDEDINFORMATION.—The report shall in-12
1053	1053	clude— 13
1054	1054	‘‘(1) the case name and number of each covered 14
1055	1055	suit, and, with respect to each such covered suit, a 15
1056	1056	hyperlink to each settlement decision, final decision, 16
1057	1057	consent decree, stipulation of dismissal, release, in-17
1058	1058	terim decision, motion to dismiss, partial motion for 18
1059	1059	summary judgement, or related final document; 19
1060	1060	‘‘(2) a description of each claim or cause of ac-20
1061	1061	tion in each covered suit; 21
1062	1062	‘‘(3) the name of each covered agency the ac-22
1063	1063	tions of which give rise to any claim in a covered 23
1064	1064	suit and each plaintiff in such suit; 24
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1067	1067	•HR 1897 IH
1068	1068	‘‘(4) funds expended by each covered agency 1
1069	1069	(disaggregated by agency account) to receive and re-2
1070	1070	spond to notices referred to in section 11(g)(2) or to 3
1071	1071	prepare for litigation of, litigate, negotiate a settle-4
1072	1072	ment agreement or consent decree in, or provide ma-5
1073	1073	terial, technical, or other assistance in relation to, a 6
1074	1074	covered suit; 7
1075	1075	‘‘(5) the number of full-time equivalent employ-8
1076	1076	ees that participated in the activities described in 9
1077	1077	paragraph (4); 10
1078	1078	‘‘(6) any information required to be published 11
1079	1079	under section 1304 of title 31, United States Code, 12
1080	1080	with respect to a covered suit; and 13
1081	1081	‘‘(7) attorneys fees and other expenses 14
1082	1082	(disaggregated by agency account) awarded in cov-15
1083	1083	ered suits, including any consent decrees or settle-16
1084	1084	ment agreements (regardless of whether a decree or 17
1085	1085	settlement agreement is sealed or otherwise subject 18
1086	1086	to nondisclosure provisions), including the basis for 19
1087	1087	such awards. 20
1088	1088	‘‘(c) R
1089	1089	EQUIREMENT TOPROVIDEINFORMATION.— 21
1090	1090	The head of each covered agency shall provide to the Sec-22
1091	1091	retary in a timely manner all information requested by the 23
1092	1092	Secretary to comply with the requirements of this section. 24
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1095	1095	•HR 1897 IH
1096	1096	‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON DISCLOSURE.—Notwith-1
1097	1097	standing any other provision of this section, this section 2
1098	1098	shall not affect any restriction in a consent decree or set-3
1099	1099	tlement agreement on the disclosure of information that 4
1100	1100	is not described in subsection (b). 5
1101	1101	‘‘(e) D
1102	1102	EFINITIONS.—In this section: 6
1103	1103	‘‘(1) C
1104	1104	OVERED AGENCY .—The term ‘covered 7
1105	1105	agency’ means any agency of the— 8
1106	1106	‘‘(A) Department of the Interior; 9
1107	1107	‘‘(B) Forest Service; 10
1108	1108	‘‘(C) Environmental Protection Agency; 11
1109	1109	‘‘(D) National Marine Fisheries Service; 12
1110	1110	‘‘(E) Bonneville Power Administration; 13
1111	1111	‘‘(F) Western Area Power Administration; 14
1112	1112	‘‘(G) Southwestern Power Administration; 15
1113	1113	or 16
1114	1114	‘‘(H) Southeastern Power Administration. 17
1115	1115	‘‘(2) C
1116	1116	OVERED SUIT.—The term ‘covered suit’ 18
1117	1117	means— 19
1118	1118	‘‘(A) any civil action containing any claim 20
1119	1119	arising under this Act against the Federal Gov-21
1120	1120	ernment and based on the action of a covered 22
1121	1121	agency; and 23
1122	1122	‘‘(B) any administrative proceeding under 24
1123	1123	which the United States awards fees and other 25
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1126	1126	•HR 1897 IH
1127	1127	expenses to a third party under section 504 of 1
1128	1128	title 5, United States Code.’’. 2
1129	1129	(b) C
1130	1130	LERICALAMENDMENT.—The table of contents 3
1131	1131	in the first section of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 4
1132	1132	(16 U.S.C. 1531 note) is amended by striking the item 5
1133	1133	relating to section 13 and inserting the following: 6
1134	1134	‘‘Sec. 13. Disclosure of expenditures.’’.
1135	1135	SEC. 404. AWARD OF LITIGATION COSTS TO PREVAILING
1136	1136	7
1137	1137	PARTIES IN ACCORDANCE WITH EXISTING 8
1138	1138	LAW. 9
1139	1139	Section 11(g)(4) of the Endangered Species Act of 10
1140	1140	1973 (16 U.S.C. 1540(g)(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘to 11
1141	1141	any party, whenever the court determines such award is 12
1142	1142	appropriate’’ and inserting ‘‘in accordance with section 13
1143	1143	2412 of title 28, United States Code and section 504 of 14
1144	1144	title 5, United States Code’’. 15
1145	1145	SEC. 405. ANALYSIS OF IMPACTS AND BENEFITS OF DETER-16
1146	1146	MINATION OF ENDANGERED OR THREAT-17
1147	1147	ENED STATUS. 18
1148	1148	Section 4(a) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 19
1149	1149	(16 U.S.C. 1533(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 20
1150	1150	following: 21
1151	1151	‘‘(4)(A) The Secretary shall, concurrently with deter-22
1152	1152	mining under paragraph (1) whether a species is a threat-23
1153	1153	ened species or an endangered species, prepare an analysis 24
1154	1154	with respect to such determination of— 25
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1157	1157	•HR 1897 IH
1158	1158	‘‘(i) the economic effect; 1
1159	1159	‘‘(ii) the effects on national security; 2
1160	1160	‘‘(iii) the effects on human health and safety; 3
1161	1161	and 4
1162	1162	‘‘(iv) any other relevant effect. 5
1163	1163	‘‘(B) Nothing in this paragraph shall delay a deter-6
1164	1164	mination made by the Secretary under paragraph (1) or 7
1165	1165	change the criteria used by the Secretary to make such 8
1166	1166	a determination.’’. 9
1167	1167	TITLE V—STREAMLINING 10
1168	1168	PERMITTING PROCESS 11
1169	1169	SEC. 501. LIMITATION ON REASONABLE AND PRUDENT 12
1170	1170	MEASURES. 13
1171	1171	Section 7(b)(4) of the Endangered Species Act of 14
1172	1172	1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536(b)(4)) is amended— 15
1173	1173	(1) by inserting ‘‘and that do not propose, rec-16
1174	1174	ommend, or require the Federal agency or the appli-17
1175	1175	cant concerned, if any, to mitigate or offset such im-18
1176	1176	pact’’ after ‘‘minimize such impact’’; and 19
1177	1177	(2) by inserting ‘‘which measures may be issued 20
1178	1178	after the written statement,’’ after ‘‘such taking,’’. 21
1179	1179	SEC. 502. SUCCESSIVE CONSULTATIONS. 22
1180	1180	Section 7(b) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 23
1181	1181	(16 U.S.C. 1536(b)) is amended by adding at the end the 24
1182	1182	following: 25
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1185	1185	•HR 1897 IH
1186	1186	‘‘(5)(A) With respect to an ongoing Federal agency 1
1187	1187	action for which the applicable Federal agency has adopt-2
1188	1188	ed a reasonable and prudent alternative or a reasonable 3
1189	1189	and prudent measure to comply with subsection (a)(2), in 4
1190	1190	any subsequent consultation for the Federal agency action 5
1191	1191	that occurs 10 years or more after the date on which the 6
1192	1192	initial consultation for the Federal agency action was com-7
1193	1193	pleted, the Secretary shall— 8
1194	1194	‘‘(i) project the likelihood of and timeline for 9
1195	1195	the recovery of the threatened species and endan-10
1196	1196	gered species affected by the Federal agency action; 11
1197	1197	and 12
1198	1198	‘‘(ii) determine whether continuing to imple-13
1199	1199	ment the reasonable and prudent alternative or a 14
1200	1200	reasonable and prudent measure will materially in-15
1201	1201	crease the likelihood of and reduce the time for re-16
1202	1202	covery of the threatened species and endangered spe-17
1203	1203	cies. 18
1204	1204	‘‘(B) If the Secretary finds under subparagraph 19
1205	1205	(A)(ii) that continued implementation of the modification 20
1206	1206	will not materially improve the likelihood of and shorten 21
1207	1207	the time to the recovery of the species, the Federal agency 22
1208	1208	shall discontinue implementation of the modification not-23
1209	1209	withstanding subsection (a)(2).’’. 24
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1212	1212	•HR 1897 IH
1213	1213	SEC. 503. REQUIREMENT TO CONSIDER REASONABLY CER-1
1214	1214	TAIN EFFECTS. 2
1215	1215	Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act of 3
1216	1216	1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536(a)) is amended by inserting ‘‘A 4
1217	1217	consultation carried out pursuant to this paragraph shall 5
1218	1218	consider the effects that are reasonably certain to be 6
1219	1219	caused by the action without a substantive presumption 7
1220	1220	in favor of the species’’ after ‘‘commercial data available.’’. 8
1221	1221	SEC. 504. CLARIFYING JEOPARDY. 9
1222	1222	Section 7(a) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 10
1223	1223	(16 U.S.C. 1536(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 11
1224	1224	following: 12
1225	1225	‘‘(5) For the purposes of a consultation carried out 13
1226	1226	pursuant to paragraph (2) or a conference carried out 14
1227	1227	under paragraph (4), the Secretary may only determine 15
1228	1228	that the action that is the subject of such consultation 16
1229	1229	or conference is likely to jeopardize the continued exist-17
1230	1230	ence of an applicable species or result in the destruction 18
1231	1231	or adverse modification of habitat of such a species which 19
1232	1232	is determined by the Secretary, after consultation as ap-20
1233	1233	propriate with affected States, to be critical if the Sec-21
1234	1234	retary determines, based on the best scientific and com-22
1235	1235	mercial data available, that the effects that are reasonably 23
1236	1236	certain to be caused by the action are likely to result in 24
1237	1237	the action itself causing such jeopardy.’’. 25
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1240	1240	•HR 1897 IH
1241	1241	TITLE VI—ELIMINATING 1
1242	1242	BARRIERS TO CONSERVATION 2
1243	1243	SEC. 601. PERMITS FOR CITES-LISTED SPECIES. 3
1244	1244	Section 9(c)(2) of Endangered Species Act of 1973 4
1245	1245	(16 U.S.C. 1538(c)(2)) is amended to read as follows: 5
1246	1246	‘‘(2) An export from or import into the United 6
1247	1247	States of fish or wildlife listed as a threatened spe-7
1248	1248	cies or an endangered species pursuant to section 4 8
1249	1249	is lawful under this Act and not subject to permit 9
1250	1250	requirements or other regulations issued by the Sec-10
1251	1251	retary with respect to exportation and importation 11
1252	1252	pursuant to this Act if— 12
1253	1253	‘‘(A) such fish or wildlife is a species that 13
1254	1254	is not native to the United States; and 14
1255	1255	‘‘(B) with respect to the export or import, 15
1256	1256	each applicable requirement— 16
1257	1257	‘‘(i) of the Convention is satisfied; and 17
1258	1258	‘‘(ii) of subsections (d), (e), and (f) is 18
1259	1259	satisfied.’’. 19
1260	1260	SEC. 602. UTILIZE CONVENTION STANDARD FOR PERMITS 20
1261	1261	APPLICABLE TO NON-NATIVE SPECIES. 21
1262	1262	Section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act 22
1263	1263	of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1539(a)(1)(A)) is amended to read 23
1264	1264	as follows: 24
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1267	1267	•HR 1897 IH
1268	1268	‘‘(A)(i) with respect to a species that is native 1
1269	1269	to the United States, any act otherwise prohibited by 2
1270	1270	section 9 for scientific purposes or to enhance the 3
1271	1271	propagation or survival of the affected species, in-4
1272	1272	cluding acts necessary for the establishment and 5
1273	1273	maintenance of experimental populations pursuant 6
1274	1274	to subsection (j); and 7
1275	1275	‘‘(ii) with respect to a species that is not native 8
1276	1276	to the United States, any act otherwise prohibited by 9
1277	1277	section 9 that the Secretary determines is not detri-10
1278	1278	mental to the survival of the affected species, includ-11
1279	1279	ing— 12
1280	1280	‘‘(I) to export or re-import, deliver, receive, 13
1281	1281	carry, transport, or ship in interstate or foreign 14
1282	1282	commerce in the course of a commercial activ-15
1283	1283	ity; 16
1284	1284	‘‘(II) to buy or sell or offer for sale in 17
1285	1285	interstate or foreign commerce; and 18
1286	1286	‘‘(III) acts necessary for the establishment 19
1287	1287	and maintenance of experimental populations 20
1288	1288	pursuant to subsection (j); or’’. 21
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1291	1291	•HR 1897 IH
1292	1292	TITLE VII—RESTORING 1
1293	1293	CONGRESSIONAL INTENT 2
1294	1294	SEC. 701. LIMITING AGENCY REGULATIONS. 3
1295	1295	Section 11(f) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 4
1296	1296	(16 U.S.C. 1540(f)) is amended— 5
1297	1297	(1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary,’’ and inserting 6
1298	1298	the following: 7
1299	1299	‘‘(1) I
1300	1300	N GENERAL.—The Secretary,’’; 8
1301	1301	(2) in paragraph (1), as so designated, by strik-9
1302	1302	ing ‘‘to enforce this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘to enforce 10
1303	1303	this section and section 8A’’; and 11
1304	1304	(3) by adding at the end the following: 12
1305	1305	‘‘(2) R
1306	1306	ULE OF CONSTRUCTION .—This sub-13
1307	1307	section may not be construed to be an independent 14
1308	1308	source of authority to promulgate regulations to en-15
1309	1309	force the provisions of this Act other than those in-16
1310	1310	cluded in this section and section 8A.’’. 17
1311	1311	Æ
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