Recovering America’s Wildlife Act of 2019

IB Union Calendar No. 568 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 3742 [Report No. 116–685, Part I] To amend the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to make supple- mental funds available for management of fish and wildlife species of greatest conservation need as determined by State fish and wildlife agen- cies, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 12, 2019 Mrs. DINGELL (for herself, Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. VELA, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. CRIST, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. AMODEI, Mr. ROUZER, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. SCHA- KOWSKY, Ms. ESHOO, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, Mr. HILL of Arkansas, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. SCHRADER, Ms. DEAN, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. KILMER, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. AUS- TIN SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. COLE, Mr. GAETZ, Mr. VEASEY, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. UPTON, Mr. PAPPAS, Mrs. AXNE, Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. SOTO, Mr. COURTNEY, Mrs. RADEWAGEN, Mr. MAST, Mr. CUELLAR, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. COOPER, Mr. BLU- MENAUER, Mr. MARSHALL, Mr. RUTHERFORD, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. BUDD, Mr. LUJA´N, Mr. STIVERS, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. COHEN, Mr. RUSH, Mr. FLEISCHMANN, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. GRI- JALVA, Ms. NORTON, Miss GONZA´LEZ-COLO´N of Puerto Rico, Mr. LONG, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, and Ms. TLAIB) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi- sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned DECEMBER 24, 2020 Additional sponsors: Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. HIMES, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. RYAN, Mr. TURNER, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. AGUILAR, Ms. SLOTKIN, Mr. BERGMAN, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. RICHMOND, Mr. LUCAS, Ms. VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:12 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H3742.RH H3742 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3742 RH JUDY CHU of California, Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana, Mr. CUNNINGHAM, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. STANTON, Mr. KIND, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mrs. TRAHAN, Ms. SHALALA, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. MCHENRY, Ms. SCHRIER, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. VAN DREW, Mr. CICILLINE, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. MORELLE, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. HARDER of California, Mr. CASTEN of Illinois, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. KUSTOFF of Tennessee, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Mr. GOLDEN, Mr. LIPINSKI, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Ms. STEVENS, Mr. WITTMAN, Mr. OLSON, Mr. TONKO, Mr. DOGGETT, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. HUIZENGA, Mr. O’HALLERAN, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. WALBERG, Mrs. BUSTOS, Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. CRAIG, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsyl- vania, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. SMUCKER, Ms. WILD, Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. CARTER of Georgia, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. KENDRA S. HORN of Oklahoma, Mr. GALLEGO, Ms. MOORE, Mr. KEL- LER, Mr. GONZALEZ of Ohio, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Mr. LAMB, Mr. HECK, Mr. POCAN, Mr. HORSFORD, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania, Mr. WELCH, Mrs. DEMINGS, Mrs. RODGERS of Washington, Mr. GOODEN, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. PHILLIPS, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. GONZALEZ of Texas, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. EVANS, Mr. SABLAN, Mr. HURD of Texas, Mr. COX of California, Mr. NEAL, Mr. KATKO, Mr. CLAY, Ms. BASS, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. ALLRED, Mr. LYNCH, Mrs. FLETCHER, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Mr. MCCAUL, Mrs. MCBATH, Mr. CROW, Ms. GABBARD, Mrs. MURPHY of Florida, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Ms. TORRES SMALL of New Mexico, Mr. MARCHANT, Miss RICE of New York, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. BUCHANAN, and Ms. CASTOR of Florida VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:12 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H3742.RH H3742 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3742 RH DECEMBER 24, 2020 Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] DECEMBER 24, 2020 Committee on the Budget discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 12, 2019] VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:12 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H3742.RH H3742 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3742 RH A BILL To amend the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to make supplemental funds available for management of fish and wildlife species of greatest conservation need as determined by State fish and wildlife agencies, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:12 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H3742.RH H3742 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3742 RH 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 ‘‘Recovering America’s 4 Wildlife Act of 2019’’. 5 TITLE I—WILDLIFE CONSERVA- 6 TION AND RESTORATION 7 SEC. 101. WILDLIFE CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION 8 SUBACCOUNT. 9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 of the Pittman-Robertson 10 Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669b) is amended in 11 subsection (c)— 12 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as 13 paragraphs (9) and (10); and 14 (2) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 15 following: 16 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF SUBACCOUNT.— 17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There is established in 18 the fund a subaccount to be known as the ‘Wild- 19 life Conservation and Restoration Subaccount’ 20 (referred to in this section as the ‘Subaccount’). 21 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts in the Sub- 22 account shall be available without further appro- 23 priation, for each fiscal year, for apportionment 24 in accordance with this Act. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:12 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3742.RH H3742 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3742 RH ‘‘(C) DEPOSITS INTO SUBACCOUNT.—Begin- 1 ning in fiscal year 2020, the Secretary of the 2 Treasury shall transfer $1,300,000,000 from the 3 general fund of the treasury each fiscal year to 4 the fund for deposit in the Subaccount. 5 ‘‘(2) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Amounts 6 transferred to the Subaccount shall supplement, but 7 not replace, existing funds available to the States 8 from— 9 ‘‘(A) the funds distributed pursuant to the 10 Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act (16 11 U.S.C. 777 et seq.); and 12 ‘‘(B) the fund. 13 ‘‘(3) INNOVATION GRANTS.— 14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall dis- 15 tribute 10 percent of funds apportioned from the 16 Subaccount through a competitive grant pro- 17 gram to State fish and wildlife departments, the 18 District of Columbia fish and wildlife depart- 19 ment, fish and wildlife departments of terri- 20 tories, or to regional associations of fish and 21 wildlife departments (or any group composed of 22 more than 1 such entity). 23 ‘‘(B) PURPOSE.—Such grants shall be pro- 24 vided for the purpose of catalyzing innovation of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:12 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3742.RH H3742 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3742 RH techniques, tools, strategies, or collaborative part- 1 nerships that accelerate, expand, or replicate ef- 2 fective and measurable recovery efforts for species 3 of greatest conservation need and species listed 4 under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (15 5 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and the habitats of such spe- 6 cies. 7 ‘‘(C) REVIEW COMMITTEE.—The Secretary 8 shall appoint a review committee comprised of— 9 ‘‘(i) a State Director from each re- 10 gional association of State fish and wildlife 11 departments; 12 ‘‘(ii) the head of a department respon- 13 sible for fish and wildlife management in a 14 territory; and 15 ‘‘(iii) four individuals representing 16 four different nonprofit organizations each 17 of which is actively participating in car- 18 rying out wildlife conservation restoration 19 activities using funds apportioned from the 20 Subaccount. 21 ‘‘(D) SUPPORT FROM UNITED STATES FISH 22 AND WILDLIFE SERVICE.—The United States 23 Fish and Wildlife Service shall provide any per- 24 sonnel or administrative support services nec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:12 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3742.RH H3742 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3742 RH essary for such Committee to carry out its re- 1 sponsibilities under this Act. 2 ‘‘(E) EVALUATION.—Such committee shall 3 evaluate each proposal submitted under this 4 paragraph and recommend projects for funding, 5 giving preference to solutions that accelerate the 6 recovery of species identified as priorities 7 through regional scientific assessments of species 8 of greatest conservation need. 9 ‘‘(4) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds apportioned from 10 the Subaccount— 11 ‘‘(A) shall be used to implement the Wildlife 12 Conservation Strategy of a State, territory, or 13 the District of Columbia, as required under sec- 14 tion 4(d), by carrying out, revising, or enhanc- 15 ing existing wildlife and habitat conservation 16 and restoration programs and developing and 17 implementing new wildlife conservation and res- 18 toration programs to recover and manage species 19 of greatest conservation need and the key habi- 20 tats and plant community types essential to the 21 conservation of those species as determined by 22 the appropriate State fish and wildlife depart- 23 ment; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:12 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3742.RH H3742 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3742 RH ‘‘(B) shall be used to develop, revise, and 1 enhance the Wildlife Conservation Strategy of a 2 State, territory, or the District of Columbia, as 3 may be required by this Act; 4 ‘‘(C) shall be used to assist in the recovery 5 of species found in the State, territory, or the 6 District of Columbia that are listed as endan- 7 gered species, threatened species, candidate spe- 8 cies or species proposed for listing, or species pe- 9 titioned for listing under the Endangered Species 10 Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) or under 11 State law; 12 ‘‘(D) may be used for wildlife conservation 13 education and wildlife-associated recreation 14 projects; 15 ‘‘(E) may be used to manage a species of 16 greatest conservation need whose range is shared 17 with another State, territory, Indian Tribe, or 18 foreign government and for the conservation of 19 the habitat of such species; 20 ‘‘(F) may be used to manage, control, and 21 prevent invasive species, disease, and other risks 22 to species of greatest conservation need; and 23 ‘‘(G) may be used for law enforcement ac- 24 tivities that are directly related to the protection 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:12 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3742.RH H3742 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3742 RH and conservation of a species of greatest con- 1 servation need and the habitat of such species. 2 ‘‘(5) MINIMUM REQUIRED SPENDING FOR ENDAN- 3 GERED SPECIES RECOVERY.—Not less than an aver- 4 age of 15 percent over a 5-year period of amounts ap- 5 portioned to a State, territory, or the District of Co- 6 lumbia from the Subaccount shall be used for pur- 7 poses described in paragraph (4)(C). The Secretary 8 may reduce the minimum requirement of a State, ter- 9 ritory, or the District of Columbia on an annual 10 basis if the Secretary determines that the State, terri- 11 tory, or the District of Columbia is meeting the con- 12 servation and recovery needs of all species described 13 in paragraph (4)(C). 14 ‘‘(6) PUBLIC ACCESS TO PRIVATE LANDS NOT RE- 15 QUIRED.—Funds apportioned from the Subaccount 16 shall not be conditioned upon the provision of public 17 access to private lands, waters, or holdings. 18 ‘‘(7) REQUIREMENTS FOR MATCHING FUNDS.— 19 ‘‘(A) For the purposes of the non-Federal 20 fund matching requirement for a wildlife con- 21 servation or restoration program or project fund- 22 ed by the Subaccount, a State may use as match- 23 ing non-Federal funds— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:12 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3742.RH H3742 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3742 RH ‘‘(i) funds from Federal agencies other 1 than the Department of the Interior and the 2 Department of Agriculture; 3 ‘‘(ii) donated private lands and waters, 4 including privately owned easements; 5 ‘‘(iii) in circumstances described in 6 subparagraph (B), revenue generated 7 through the sale of State hunting and fish- 8 ing licenses; and 9 ‘‘(iv) other sources consistent with part 10 80 of title 50, Code of Federal Regulations, 11 in effect on the date of enactment of the Re- 12 covering America’s Wildlife Act of 2019. 13 ‘‘(B) Revenue described in subparagraph 14 (A)(iii) may only be used to fulfill the require- 15 ments of such non-Federal fund matching re- 16 quirement if— 17 ‘‘(i) no Federal funds apportioned to 18 the State fish and wildlife department of 19 such State from the Wildlife Restoration 20 Program or the Sport Fish Restoration Pro- 21 gram have been reverted because of a failure 22 to fulfill such non-Federal fund matching 23 requirement by such State during the pre- 24 vious 2 years; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:12 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3742.RH H3742 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3742 RH ‘‘(ii) the project or program being 1 funded benefits the habitat of a hunted or 2 fished species and a species of greatest con- 3 servation need. 4 ‘‘(8) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the fol- 5 lowing definitions apply: 6 ‘‘(A) SPECIES OF GREATEST CONSERVATION 7 NEED.—The term ‘species of greatest conserva- 8 tion need’ has the meaning given to it by each 9 State fish and wildlife department, with respect 10 to funds apportioned to such State. 11 ‘‘(B) TERRITORY AND TERRITORIES.—The 12 terms ‘territory’ and ‘territories’ mean the Com- 13 monwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American 14 Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mar- 15 iana Islands, and the United States Virgin Is- 16 lands. 17 ‘‘(C) WILDLIFE.—The term ‘wildlife’ means 18 any species of wild, freeranging fauna, including 19 fish, and also fauna in captive breeding pro- 20 grams the object of which is to reintroduce indi- 21 viduals of a depleted indigenous species into pre- 22 vious [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]