MONARCH Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5920 To encourage and facilitate efforts by States and other stakeholders to con- serve and sustain the western population of monarch butterflies, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 14, 2020 Mr. PANETTA (for himself, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. WOODALL, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. COHEN, Mr. COURT- NEY, Mr. COX of California, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mrs. DINGELL, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. HARDER of California, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. GRI- JALVA, Mr. KING of New York, Mr. MCNERNEY, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Ms. WILD, Mr. LOEBSACK, Mr. CORREA, Mr. COSTA, and Mr. LUJA´N) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committees on Natural Resources, and Appropriations, 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 A BILL To encourage and facilitate efforts by States and other stake- holders to conserve and sustain the western population of monarch butterflies, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:09 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5920.IH H5920 pamtmann on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5920 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Monarch Action, Re- 2 covery, and Conservation of Habitat Act of 2020’’ or the 3 ‘‘MONARCH Act of 2020’’. 4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 5 Congress finds that— 6 (1) the population of western monarch butter- 7 flies is at imminent risk of extinction; 8 (2) over the past 3 decades, the population of 9 western monarch butterflies has declined by more 10 than 99 percent due to prolonged drought, loss of 11 milkweed and native pollinator habitat, loss of breed- 12 ing and overwintering habitat, and climate change; 13 (3) in 2019, the population of western monarch 14 butterflies maintained a historic low of approxi- 15 mately 29,000 butterflies, falling below the predicted 16 extinction threshold; 17 (4) the extinction of the population of migra- 18 tory western monarch butterflies is now likely to 19 occur within the next 2 decades if urgent action is 20 not taken; 21 (5) actively restoring native milkweed and nec- 22 tar plants, monarch overwintering habitat, and other 23 pollinator habitat, and ensuring that key habitats 24 are protected from destruction, are critical to ensur- 25 ing the survival of western monarch butterflies and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:09 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5920.IH H5920 pamtmann on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5920 IH can also help facilitate conservation of other essen- 1 tial pollinators; and 2 (6) enhancing pollinator populations can result 3 in improved pollination services for neighboring land, 4 including agriculture and wildlife ecosystems. 5 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) CONSERVATION.—The term ‘‘conservation’’ 8 means the use of each method or procedure nec- 9 essary to protect habitats of western monarch but- 10 terflies, including— 11 (A) the protection, restoration, and man- 12 agement of overwintering, breeding, and migra- 13 tory habitats; 14 (B) assistance in the development and im- 15 plementation of national, regional, State, and 16 local conservation and management plans; and 17 (C) community outreach and education. 18 (2) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the West- 19 ern Monarch Butterfly Rescue Fund established by 20 section 5(a). 21 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 22 the Secretary of the Interior. 23 (4) WESTERN MONARCH BUTTERFLY.—The 24 term ‘‘western monarch butterfly’’ means the mon- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:09 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5920.IH H5920 pamtmann on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5920 IH arch butterfly population that overwinters along the 1 coast of the State of California and breeds across 2 the States of California, Arizona, Nevada, Wash- 3 ington, Oregon, Idaho, and Utah. 4 SEC. 4. WESTERN MONARCH BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION 5 GRANT PROGRAM. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of 7 funds and in consultation with other Federal officials, the 8 Secretary of Agriculture (referred to in this section as the 9 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall use amounts in the Fund to provide 10 grants for projects for the conservation of western mon- 11 arch butterflies for which project proposals are approved 12 by the Secretary in accordance with this section. 13 (b) PROJECT PROPOSALS.— 14 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An entity that is eli- 15 gible to receive a grant for a project under this sec- 16 tion is— 17 (A) a relevant local or Tribal government 18 agency, research institution, or nonprofit orga- 19 nization with expertise required for the con- 20 servation of western monarch butterflies; and 21 (B) any other entity, as determined appro- 22 priate by the Secretary, with the expertise re- 23 quired for the conservation of western monarch 24 butterflies. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:09 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5920.IH H5920 pamtmann on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 5920 IH (2) FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES.— 1 A State or Federal agency— 2 (A) may not be a lead entity or receive a 3 grant for a project under this section; but 4 (B) may be included as a partner or col- 5 laborator on a project that receives a grant 6 under this section. 7 (3) REQUIRED ELEMENTS.—A proposal for a 8 project under this section shall include— 9 (A) a statement of the purposes of the 10 project; 11 (B) the name of the entity with overall re- 12 sponsibility for the project; 13 (C) a description of— 14 (i) the qualifications of the entity that 15 will conduct the project; 16 (ii) methods for project implementa- 17 tion and outcome assessment; and 18 (iii) anticipated outcomes; 19 (D) assurances that the project will be im- 20 plemented in consultation with relevant wildlife 21 management authorities, Indian Tribes, and 22 other appropriate local government, State gov- 23 ernment, and Federal Government officials; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:09 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5920.IH H5920 pamtmann on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 5920 IH (E) assurances that the conservation ef- 1 forts outlined in the proposal do not conflict 2 with food safety measures or practices; 3 (F) information that demonstrates the 4 clear potential of the project to contribute to 5 the conservation and recovery of western mon- 6 arch butterflies; and 7 (G) such other information as the Sec- 8 retary may require. 9 (c) PROJECT REVIEW AND APPROVAL.—The Sec- 10 retary shall annually— 11 (1) solicit project proposals for funding under 12 this section; and 13 (2) review each proposal described in paragraph 14 (1) on a timeline that recognizes the urgency of the 15 declining number of western monarch butterflies to 16 determine whether the proposal meets the criteria 17 specified in subsection (d). 18 (d) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—The Secretary may 19 approve a project proposal under this section if the pro- 20 posal demonstrates a likelihood that the project will con- 21 tribute to the conservation of western monarch butterfly 22 populations in the wild. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:09 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5920.IH H5920 pamtmann on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 5920 IH (e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 1 provide technical assistance for a project that receives a 2 grant under this section. 3 (f) PROJECT REPORTING.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each entity that receives a 5 grant for a project under this section shall submit 6 to the Secretary, at such intervals as the Secretary 7 may require, reports that include any information 8 that the Secretary determines is necessary to evalu- 9 ate the progress and success of the project for the 10 purposes of ensuring positive results, assessing prob- 11 lems, and fostering improvements. 12 (2) AVAILABILITY TO STATE LEGISLATURES.— 13 Each entity that receives a grant for a project under 14 this section shall submit each report under para- 15 graph (1) to the State legislature of the State in 16 which the project is conducted. 17 (3) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.—The Sec- 18 retary shall make available to the public, in a timely 19 manner— 20 (A) each report submitted under para- 21 graph (1); and 22 (B) any other documents relating to 23 projects for which a grant is provided under 24 this section. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:09 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5920.IH H5920 pamtmann on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 5920 IH SEC. 5. WESTERN MONARCH BUTTERFLY RESCUE FUND. 1 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 2 Treasury of the United States a fund, to be known as the 3 ‘‘Western Monarch Butterfly Rescue Fund’’. 4 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the amounts 5 available in the Fund for each fiscal year, the Secretary 6 may expend not more than 3 percent to pay the adminis- 7 trative expenses necessary to carry out this Act. 8 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 9 authorized to be appropriated to the Fund $12,500,000 10 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025. 11 SEC. 6. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WESTERN MONARCH 12 BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION PLAN. 13 Of amounts available to the Secretary that are not 14 otherwise obligated, the Secretary shall transfer to the Na- 15 tional Fish and Wildlife Foundation $12,500,000 for each 16 of fiscal years 2021 through 2025 to facilitate the imple- 17 mentation of the Western Monarch Butterfly Conservation 18 Plan prepared by the Western Association of Fish and 19 Wildlife Agencies and dated January 2019. 20 SEC. 7. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 31 of 22 each year, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report 23 describing the status of western monarch butterflies, in- 24 cluding, with respect to the year for which the report is 25 submitted— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:09 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5920.IH H5920 pamtmann on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 5920 IH (1) a summary of the projects for which the 1 Secretary of Agriculture has provided funding under 2 section 4 and an evaluation of those projects; and 3 (2) a summary of the projects for which the 4 Secretary has provided funding through the Western 5 Monarch Butterfly Conservation Plan prepared by 6 the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agen- 7 cies and dated January 2019. 8 (b) PROVISION OF INFORMATION BY THE DEPART- 9 MENT OF THE INTERIOR.—To facilitate the preparation 10 of each report under subsection (a), the Secretary of Agri- 11 culture shall provide to the Secretary information relating 12 to projects described in paragraph (1) of that subsection. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:09 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H5920.IH H5920 pamtmann on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS