[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 180 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 180
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 3, 2025
Mr. McClintock 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 determinations that species are
endangered species or threatened species, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Endangered Species Transparency and
Reasonableness Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT TO PUBLISH ON THE INTERNET THE BASIS FOR LISTINGS.
Section 4(b) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C.
1533(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(9) The Secretary shall make publicly available on the internet
the best scientific and commercial data available that are the basis
for each regulation, including each proposed regulation, promulgated
under subsection (a)(1), except that--
``(A) at the request of a Governor, State agency, or
legislature of a State, the Secretary shall not make
information available under this paragraph if such State
determines that public disclosure of such information is
prohibited by a law or regulation of such State, including any
law or regulation requiring the protection of personal
information; and
``(B) within 30 days after the date of the enactment of
this paragraph, the Secretary shall execute an agreement with
the Secretary of Defense that prevents the disclosure of
classified information pertaining to Department of Defense
personnel, facilities, lands, or waters.''.
SEC. 3. DECISIONAL TRANSPARENCY AND USE OF STATE, TRIBAL, AND LOCAL
INFORMATION.
(a) Requiring Decisional Transparency With Affected States.--
Section 6(a) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1535(a))
is amended--
(1) by inserting ``(1)'' before the first sentence; and
(2) by striking ``Such cooperation shall include'' and
inserting the following:
``(2) Such cooperation shall include--
``(A) before making a determination under section
4(a), providing to States affected by such
determination all data that is the basis of the
determination; and
``(B)''.
(b) Ensuring Use of State, Tribal, and Local Information.--Section
3 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1532) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (10) as
paragraphs (3) through (11), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
``(2) The term `best scientific and commercial data available'
includes all such data submitted by a State, Tribal, or county
government.''.
SEC. 4. DISCLOSURE OF EXPENDITURES UNDER ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT OF
1973.
(a) Requirement To Disclose.--Section 13 of the Endangered Species
Act of 1973 (87 Stat. 902; relating to conforming amendments which have
executed) is amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 13. DISCLOSURE OF EXPENDITURES.
``(a) Requirement.--The Secretary of the Interior, in consultation
with the Secretary of Commerce, shall--
``(1) not later than 90 days after the end of each fiscal
year, submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House
of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources of the Senate an annual report detailing Federal
Government expenditures for covered suits during the preceding
fiscal year (including the information described in subsection
(b)); and
``(2) make publicly available through the internet a
searchable database, updated monthly, of the information
described in subsection (b).
``(b) Included Information.--The report shall include--
``(1) the case name and number of each covered suit, and a
hyperlink to the settlement decisions, final decision, consent
decrees, stipulations of dismissal, releases, interim
decisions, motions to dismiss, partial motions for summary
judgement, or related final documents;
``(2) a description of each claim or cause of action in
each covered suit;
``(3) the name of each covered agency whose actions give
rise to any claim in a covered suit and each plaintiff in such
suit;
``(4) funds expended by each covered agency (disaggregated
by agency account) to receive and respond to notices referred
to in section 11(g)(2) or to prepare for litigation of,
litigate, negotiate a settlement agreement or consent decree
in, or provide material, technical, or other assistance in
relation to, a covered suit;
``(5) the number of full-time equivalent employees that
participated in the activities described in paragraph (4);
``(6) any information required to be published under
section 1304 of title 31, United States Code, with respect to a
covered suit;
``(7) attorneys fees and other expenses (disaggregated by
agency account) awarded in covered suits, including any consent
decrees or settlement agreements (regardless of whether a
decree or settlement agreement is sealed or otherwise subject
to nondisclosure provisions), including the bases for such
awards; and
``(8) any Federal funding used by a person or a
governmental or nongovernmental entity in bringing a claim in a
covered suit.
``(c) Requirement To Provide Information.--The head of each covered
agency shall provide to the Secretary in a timely manner all
information requested by the Secretary to comply with the requirements
of this section.
``(d) Limitation on Disclosure.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of this section, this section shall not affect any
restriction in a consent decree or settlement agreement on the
disclosure of information that is not described in subsection (b).
``(e) Definitions.--
``(1) Covered agency.--The term `covered agency' means any
agency of the Department of the Interior, the Forest Service,
the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Marine
Fisheries Service, the Bonneville Power Administration, the
Western Area Power Administration, the Southwestern Power
Administration, or the Southeastern Power Administration.
``(2) Covered suit.--The term `covered suit' means--
``(A) any civil action containing any claim arising
under this Act against the Federal Government and based
on the action of a covered agency; and
``(B) any administrative proceeding under which the
United States awards fees and other expenses to a third
party under section 504 of title 5, United States
Code.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in the first section
of such Act is amended by striking the item relating to section 13 and
inserting the following:
``Sec. 13. Disclosure of expenditures.''.
(c) Prior Amendments Not Affected.--This section shall not be
construed to affect the amendments made by section 13 of such Act, as
in effect before the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 5. AWARD OF LITIGATION COSTS TO PREVAILING PARTIES IN ACCORDANCE
WITH EXISTING LAW.
Section 11(g)(4) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C.
1540(g)(4)) is amended by striking ``to any'' and all that follows
through the end of the sentence and inserting ``in accordance with
section 2412 of title 28, United States Code and section 504 of title
5, United States Code.''.
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