What This Bill Does
This bill changes how the federal government shares information about endangered and threatened species decisions. It requires agencies to publish online the scientific and business information they use to decide if a species should be protected, and to share spending details about lawsuits related to endangered species laws.
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Who It Affects
Federal agencies involved in endangered species decisions (the Department of Interior, Forest Service, Environmental Protection Agency, National Marine Fisheries Service, and certain power administrations), state governments, tribal governments, county governments, Congress, and the public.
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Key Provisions
- The Secretary must publish online the best scientific and business information used as the basis for endangered species listing decisions, except when a state requests information be kept private or when national defense secrets are involved (Sec. 2)
- Before making an endangered species decision, federal officials must provide all supporting data to affected states (Sec. 3)
- Information submitted by state, tribal, and county governments counts as "best scientific and commercial data available" when making endangered species decisions (Sec. 3)
- The Secretary of Interior must file annual reports with Congress detailing all federal money spent on endangered species lawsuits within 90 days after each fiscal year ends, and must maintain a searchable online database updated monthly with this spending information (Sec. 4)
- The database must include case names, case numbers, links to court documents, descriptions of legal claims, agency names, plaintiff names, money spent by each agency, employee time spent, attorney fees awarded, and any federal funding given to people or groups bringing lawsuits (Sec. 4)
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What Changes
If this becomes law, the federal government will make public online the scientific basis for all endangered species decisions (with limited exceptions for state privacy laws and military secrets). Federal agencies will also have to report their spending on endangered species litigation to Congress and the public through a searchable internet database. States, tribes, and counties can now formally submit data that agencies must consider as part of their decision-making process.
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Important Definitions
- **Covered Agency**: Department of Interior, Forest Service, Environmental Protection Agency, National Marine Fisheries Service, Bonneville Power Administration, Western Area Power Administration, Southwestern Power Administration, and Southeastern Power Administration (Sec. 4)
- **Covered Suit**: Any civil lawsuit containing claims under the Endangered Species Act against the federal government based on a covered agency's action, or any administrative process awarding fees and expenses to third parties (Sec. 4)
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Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 518
To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to require publication on
the internet of the basis for determinations that species are endangered
species or threatened species, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 25, 2023
Mr. MCCLINTOCK (for himself, Mr. BENTZ, Mr. VALADAO, Mr. STAUBER, and
Mr. JACKSON of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Natural Resources
A BILL
To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to require
publication on the internet of the basis for determina-
tions that species are endangered species or threatened
species, 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
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Endangered Species
4
Transparency and Reasonableness Act of 2023’’.
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•HR 518 IH
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT TO PUBLISH ON THE INTERNET THE
1
BASIS FOR LISTINGS.
2
Section 4(b) of the Endangered Species Act (16
3
U.S.C. 1533(b)) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
4
lowing:
5
‘‘(9) The Secretary shall make publicly available on
6
the internet the best scientific and commercial data avail-
7
able that are the basis for each regulation, including each
8
proposed regulation, promulgated under subsection (a)(1),
9
except that—
10
‘‘(A) at the request of a Governor, State agen-
11
cy, or legislature of a State, the Secretary shall not
12
make information available under this paragraph if
13
such State determines that public disclosure of such
14
information is prohibited by a law or regulation of
15
such State, including any law or regulation requiring
16
the protection of personal information; and
17
‘‘(B) within 30 days after the date of the enact-
18
ment of this paragraph, the Secretary shall execute
19
an agreement with the Secretary of Defense that
20
prevents the disclosure of classified information per-
21
taining to Department of Defense personnel, facili-
22
ties, lands, or waters.’’.
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•HR 518 IH
SEC. 3. DECISIONAL TRANSPARENCY AND USE OF STATE,
1
TRIBAL, AND LOCAL INFORMATION.
2
(a) REQUIRING DECISIONAL TRANSPARENCY WITH
3
AFFECTED STATES.—Section 6(a) of the Endangered
4
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1535(a)) is amended—
5
(1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before the first sentence;
6
and
7
(2) by striking ‘‘Such cooperation shall include’’
8
and inserting the following:
9
‘‘(2) Such cooperation shall include—
10
‘‘(A) before making a determination under
11
section 4(a), providing to States affected by
12
such determination all data that is the basis of
13
the determination; and
14
‘‘(B)’’.
15
(b) ENSURING USE OF STATE, TRIBAL, AND LOCAL
16
INFORMATION.—
17
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 of the Endangered
18
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1532) is amended—
19
(A)
by
redesignating
paragraphs
(2)
20
through (21) as paragraphs (3) through (22),
21
respectively; and
22
(B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the
23
following:
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•HR 518 IH
‘‘(2) The term ‘best scientific and commercial data
1
available’ includes all such data submitted by a State,
2
Tribal, or county government.’’.
3
(2) CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section 7(n)
4
of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1536(n)) is amended by
5
striking ‘‘section 3(13)’’ and inserting ‘‘section
6
3(14)’’.
7
SEC. 4. DISCLOSURE OF EXPENDITURES UNDER ENDAN-
8
GERED SPECIES ACT OF 1973.
9
(a) REQUIREMENT TO DISCLOSE.—Section 13 of the
10
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (87 Stat. 902; relating
11
to conforming amendments which have executed) is
12
amended to read as follows:
13
‘‘SEC. 13. DISCLOSURE OF EXPENDITURES.
14
‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of the Interior,
15
in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, shall—
16
‘‘(1) not later than 90 days after the end of
17
each fiscal year, submit to the Committee on Nat-
18
ural Resources of the House of Representatives and
19
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of
20
the Senate an annual report detailing Federal Gov-
21
ernment expenditures for covered suits during the
22
preceding fiscal year (including the information de-
23
scribed in subsection (b)); and
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•HR 518 IH
‘‘(2) make publicly available through the inter-
1
net a searchable database, updated monthly, of the
2
information described in subsection (b).
3
‘‘(b) INCLUDED INFORMATION.—The report shall in-
4
clude—
5
‘‘(1) the case name and number of each covered
6
suit, and a hyperlink to the settlement decisions,
7
final decision, consent decrees, stipulations of dis-
8
missal, releases, interim decisions, motions to dis-
9
miss, partial motions for summary judgement, or re-
10
lated final documents;
11
‘‘(2) a description of each claim or cause of ac-
12
tion in each covered suit;
13
‘‘(3) the name of each covered agency whose ac-
14
tions give rise to any claim in a covered suit and
15
each plaintiff in such suit;
16
‘‘(4) funds expended by each covered agency
17
(disaggregated by agency account) to receive and re-
18
spond to notices referred to in section 11(g)(2) or to
19
prepare for litigation of, litigate, negotiate a settle-
20
ment agreement or consent decree in, or provide ma-
21
terial, technical, or other assistance in relation to, a
22
covered suit;
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•HR 518 IH
‘‘(5) the number of full-time equivalent employ-
1
ees that participated in the activities described in
2
paragraph (4);
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‘‘(6) any information required to be published
4
under section 1304 of title 31, United States Code,
5
with respect to a covered suit;
6
‘‘(7)
attorneys
fees
and
other
expenses
7
(disaggregated by agency account) awarded in cov-
8
ered suits, including any consent decrees or settle-
9
ment agreements (regardless of whether a decree or
10
settlement agreement is sealed or otherwise subject
11
to nondisclosure provisions), including the bases for
12
such awards; and
13
‘‘(8) any Federal funding used by a person or
14
a governmental or nongovernmental entity in bring-
15
ing a claim in a covered suit.
16
‘‘(c) REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE INFORMATION.—
17
The head of each covered agency shall provide to the Sec-
18
retary in a timely manner all information requested by the
19
Secretary to comply with the requirements of this section.
20
‘‘(d)
LIMITATION
ON
DISCLOSURE.—Notwith-
21
standing any other provision of this section, this section
22
shall not affect any restriction in a consent decree or set-
23
tlement agreement on the disclosure of information that
24
is not described in subsection (b).
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•HR 518 IH
‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—
1
‘‘(1) COVERED
AGENCY.—The term ‘covered
2
agency’ means any agency of the Department of the
3
Interior, the Forest Service, the Environmental Pro-
4
tection Agency, the National Marine Fisheries Serv-
5
ice, the Bonneville Power Administration, the West-
6
ern Area Power Administration, the Southwestern
7
Power Administration, or the Southeastern Power
8
Administration.
9
‘‘(2) COVERED SUIT.—The term ‘covered suit’
10
means—
11
‘‘(A) any civil action containing any claim
12
arising under this Act against the Federal Gov-
13
ernment and based on the action of a covered
14
agency; and
15
‘‘(B) any administrative proceeding under
16
which the United States awards fees and other
17
expenses to a third party under section 504 of
18
title 5, United States Code.’’.
19
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents
20
in the first section of such Act is amended by striking the
21
item relating to section 13 and inserting the following:
22
‘‘Sec. 13. Disclosure of expenditures.’’.
(c) PRIOR AMENDMENTS NOT AFFECTED.—This sec-
23
tion shall not be construed to affect the amendments made
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•HR 518 IH
by section 13 of such Act, as in effect before the enact-
1
ment of this Act.
2
SEC. 5. AWARD OF LITIGATION COSTS TO PREVAILING PAR-
3
TIES IN ACCORDANCE WITH EXISTING LAW.
4
Section 11(g)(4) of the Endangered Species Act of
5
1973 (16 U.S.C. 1540(g)(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘to
6
any’’ and all that follows through the end of the sentence
7
and inserting ‘‘in accordance with section 2412 of title 28,
8
United States Code and section 504 of title 5, United
9
States Code.’’.
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Æ
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