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 endangered species. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Less Imprecision in 

5 Species Treatment Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘LIST Act of 

6 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT TO INITIATE DELISTING. 

2 (a) REQUIREMENT IN CASE OF RECOVERY.—Section 

3 4(b) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

4 1533(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(9)(A) The Secretary shall initiate the proce6 dures in accordance with subsection (a)(1) to remove 

7 a species from a list published under subsection (c) 

8 if— 

9 ‘‘(i) the goals of a recovery plan for the 

10 species developed under subsection (f) have 

11 been met; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) the goals for recovery of the species 

13 have not been developed under subsection (f), 

14 and the Secretary determines that the species 

15 has recovered sufficiently to no longer require 

16 the protection of the Act. 

17 ‘‘(B) Notwithstanding the requirement of sub18 section (c)(2) that each determination under sub19 paragraph (B) of that subsection shall be made in 

20 accordance with the provisions of subsections (a) 

21 and (b), the Secretary shall remove a species from 

22 any list published under subsection (c) if the De23 partment of the Interior has produced or received 

24 substantial scientific or commercial information 

25 demonstrating that the species is recovered or that 


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1 recovery goals set for the species under subsection 

2 (f) have been met. 

3 ‘‘(C) In the case of a species removed under 

4 subparagraph (A) from a list published under sub5 section (c), the publication and notice under sub6 section (b)(5) shall consist solely of a notice of such 

7 removal.’’. 

8 (b) REQUIREMENT IN CASE ERRONEOUSLY OR

9 WRONGFULLY LISTED.—Section 4(b)(3) of the Endan10 gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533(a)), as amend11 ed by subsection (a), is further amended by adding at the 

12 end the following: 

13 ‘‘(H)(i) Not later than 90 days after the 

14 date the Department of the Interior receives or 

15 produces under this subsection information de16 scribed in clause (ii) regarding a species in17 cluded in a list under subsection (c), the Sec18 retary shall to the maximum extent practicable 

19 find whether the inclusion of such species in 

20 such list was less than likely to have occurred 

21 in the absence of the scientific or commercial 

22 information referred to in clause (ii). 

23 ‘‘(ii) Information referred to in clause (i) is 

24 any information demonstrating that the listing 

25 was determined on the basis of scientific or 


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1 commercial information available to, or received 

2 or produced by, the Department under para3 graphs (1) and (3) of subsection (b) that at the 

4 time the scientific or commercial information 

5 was available to or received or produced by the 

6 Department it was— 

7 ‘‘(I) inaccurate beyond scientifically 

8 reasonable margins of error; 

9 ‘‘(II) fraudulent; or 

10 ‘‘(III) misrepresentative. 

11 ‘‘(iii) Notwithstanding the requirement 

12 under subsection (c)(2)(B) that each determina13 tion under subparagraph (B) shall be made in 

14 accordance with the provisions of subsections 

15 (a) and (b), the Secretary shall— 

16 ‘‘(I) remove from any list published 

17 under subsection (c) any species for which 

18 a positive finding is made under clause (i); 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(II) promptly publish in the Federal 

21 Register notice of such finding that in22 cludes such information as was received or 

23 produced by the Department under such 

24 clause. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) Any positive finding by the Secretary 

2 under clause (i) shall not be subject to judicial 

3 review. 

4 ‘‘(v) Any negative finding by the Secretary 

5 under clause (i) shall be subject to judicial re6 view. 

7 ‘‘(vi) In the case of a species removed 

8 under clause (iii) from a list, the publication 

9 and notice under subsection (b)(5) shall consist 

10 solely of a notice of such removal. 

11 ‘‘(vii) If the Secretary finds that a person 

12 submitted a petition that is the subject of a 

13 positive finding under clause (i) knowing that it 

14 contained scientific or commercial information 

15 described in clause (ii), then during the 10-year 

16 period beginning on the date of the finding 

17 under this clause the person shall not be consid18 ered an interested person for purposes of sub19 paragraph (A) with respect to any petition sub20 mitted by the person after the date the person 

21 submitted such scientific or commercial infor22 mation.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. EXPANDED CONSIDERATION DURING FIVE-YEAR 

2 REVIEW. 

3 Section 4(c) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

4 (16 U.S.C. 1533(c)) is amended by adding at the end the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(3) Each determination under paragraph 

7 (2)(B) shall consider one of the following: 

8 ‘‘(A) Except as provided in subparagraph 

9 (B) of this paragraph, the criteria required 

10 under subsection (f)(1)(B) in the recovery plan 

11 for the species. 

12 ‘‘(B) If the objective, measurable criteria 

13 under subsection (f)(1)(B)(ii) are not estab14 lished, the factors for the determination that a 

15 species is an endangered species or a threatened 

16 species set forth in subsections (a)(1) and 

17 (b)(1). 

18 ‘‘(C) A finding of error in the determina19 tion that the species is an endangered species, 

20 a threatened species, or extinct. 

21 ‘‘(D) A determination that the species is 

22 no longer an endangered species or threatened 

23 species or in danger of extinction, based on an 

24 analysis of the factors that are the basis for 

25 listing in subsections (a)(1) and (b)(1).’’. 

Æ 


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