What This Bill Does
This bill changes how the government adds species to, removes species from, and reviews the endangered species list. It requires officials to start the process of removing a species from the list if recovery goals have been met or if the species no longer needs protection. It also lets officials remove a species if they find the original listing was based on inaccurate, fraudulent, or misleading scientific information.
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Who It Affects
The Department of the Interior (the agency that oversees endangered species), species currently on the endangered and threatened species lists, people who submit petitions about species listings, and anyone involved in recovery planning for endangered species.
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Key Provisions
• The Secretary must start the removal process if a species has met its recovery plan goals or has recovered enough that it no longer needs protection under the law. (Sec. 2(a))
• The Secretary must remove a species from the list if the Department of the Interior has scientific or commercial information showing the species has recovered or that recovery goals have been met. (Sec. 2(a))
• Within 90 days of receiving information suggesting a species was listed based on inaccurate, fraudulent, or misleading scientific data, the Secretary must determine whether the listing would have happened without that bad information. (Sec. 2(b))
• The Secretary must remove a species from the list if they find the listing was based on inaccurate, fraudulent, or misleading information. (Sec. 2(b))
• During five-year reviews of species listings, officials must consider recovery plan criteria, or if those don't exist, the original factors used to list the species as endangered or threatened. (Sec. 3)
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What Changes
If a species recovers, the government can now remove it from the endangered species list more directly. If officials find that a species was listed based on bad scientific data, they can remove it from the list. The process for reviewing species every five years expands to include consideration of recovery plan goals and criteria for determining if listing decisions were made in error.
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Important Definitions
None defined in the bill text.
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I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 99
To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to provide for improved
precision in the listing, delisting, and downlisting of endangered species
and potentially endangered species.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 9, 2023
Mr. BIGGS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Natural Resources
A BILL
To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to provide
for improved precision in the listing, delisting, and
downlisting of endangered species and potentially endan-
gered species.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Less Imprecision in
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Species Treatment Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘LIST Act of
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2023’’.
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•HR 99 IH
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT TO INITIATE DELISTING.
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(a) REQUIREMENT IN CASE OF RECOVERY.—Section
2
4(b) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C.
3
1533(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
4
‘‘(9)(A) The Secretary shall initiate the proce-
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dures in accordance with subsection (a)(1) to remove
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a species from a list published under subsection (c)
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if—
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‘‘(i) the goals of a recovery plan for the
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species developed under subsection (f) have
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been met; or
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‘‘(ii) the goals for recovery of the species
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have not been developed under subsection (f),
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and the Secretary determines that the species
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has recovered sufficiently to no longer require
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the protection of the Act.
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‘‘(B) Notwithstanding the requirement of sub-
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section (c)(2) that each determination under sub-
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paragraph (B) of that subsection shall be made in
19
accordance with the provisions of subsections (a)
20
and (b), the Secretary shall remove a species from
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any list published under subsection (c) if the De-
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partment of the Interior has produced or received
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substantial scientific or commercial information
24
demonstrating that the species is recovered or that
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•HR 99 IH
recovery goals set for the species under subsection
1
(f) have been met.
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‘‘(C) In the case of a species removed under
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subparagraph (A) from a list published under sub-
4
section (c), the publication and notice under sub-
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section (b)(5) shall consist solely of a notice of such
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removal.’’.
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(b) REQUIREMENT
IN
CASE
ERRONEOUSLY
OR
8
WRONGFULLY LISTED.—Section 4(b)(3) of the Endan-
9
gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533(a)), as amend-
10
ed by subsection (a), is further amended by adding at the
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end the following:
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‘‘(H)(i) Not later than 90 days after the
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date the Department of the Interior receives or
14
produces under this subsection information de-
15
scribed in clause (ii) regarding a species in-
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cluded in a list under subsection (c), the Sec-
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retary shall to the maximum extent practicable
18
find whether the inclusion of such species in
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such list was less than likely to have occurred
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in the absence of the scientific or commercial
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information referred to in clause (ii).
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‘‘(ii) Information referred to in clause (i) is
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any information demonstrating that the listing
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was determined on the basis of scientific or
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•HR 99 IH
commercial information available to, or received
1
or produced by, the Department under para-
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graphs (1) and (3) of subsection (b) that at the
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time the scientific or commercial information
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was available to or received or produced by the
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Department it was—
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‘‘(I) inaccurate beyond scientifically
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reasonable margins of error;
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‘‘(II) fraudulent; or
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‘‘(III) misrepresentative.
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‘‘(iii) Notwithstanding the requirement
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under subsection (c)(2)(B) that each determina-
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tion under subparagraph (B) shall be made in
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accordance with the provisions of subsections
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(a) and (b), the Secretary shall—
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‘‘(I) remove from any list published
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under subsection (c) any species for which
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a positive finding is made under clause (i);
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and
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‘‘(II) promptly publish in the Federal
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Register notice of such finding that in-
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cludes such information as was received or
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produced by the Department under such
23
clause.
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•HR 99 IH
‘‘(iv) Any positive finding by the Secretary
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under clause (i) shall not be subject to judicial
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review.
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‘‘(v) Any negative finding by the Secretary
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under clause (i) shall be subject to judicial re-
5
view.
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‘‘(vi) In the case of a species removed
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under clause (iii) from a list, the publication
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and notice under subsection (b)(5) shall consist
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solely of a notice of such removal.
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‘‘(vii) If the Secretary finds that a person
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submitted a petition that is the subject of a
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positive finding under clause (i) knowing that it
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contained scientific or commercial information
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described in clause (ii), then during the 10-year
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period beginning on the date of the finding
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under this clause the person shall not be consid-
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ered an interested person for purposes of sub-
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paragraph (A) with respect to any petition sub-
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mitted by the person after the date the person
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submitted such scientific or commercial infor-
21
mation.’’.
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•HR 99 IH
SEC. 3. EXPANDED CONSIDERATION DURING FIVE-YEAR
1
REVIEW.
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Section 4(c) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973
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(16 U.S.C. 1533(c)) is amended by adding at the end the
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following:
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‘‘(3) Each determination under paragraph
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(2)(B) shall consider one of the following:
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‘‘(A) Except as provided in subparagraph
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(B) of this paragraph, the criteria required
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under subsection (f)(1)(B) in the recovery plan
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for the species.
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‘‘(B) If the objective, measurable criteria
12
under subsection (f)(1)(B)(ii) are not estab-
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lished, the factors for the determination that a
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species is an endangered species or a threatened
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species set forth in subsections (a)(1) and
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(b)(1).
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‘‘(C) A finding of error in the determina-
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tion that the species is an endangered species,
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a threatened species, or extinct.
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‘‘(D) A determination that the species is
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no longer an endangered species or threatened
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species or in danger of extinction, based on an
23
analysis of the factors that are the basis for
24
listing in subsections (a)(1) and (b)(1).’’.
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Æ
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