II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 3156

To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to ensure the recovery of

the declining biological diversity of the United States, to reaffirm and

strengthen the commitment of the United States to protect wildlife,

to safeguard the economic and ecological future of children of the United

States, and to provide certainty to local governments, communities, and

individuals in their planning and economic development efforts.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

OCTOBER 3 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2000

Mr. LAUTENBERG (for himself, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr.

WELLSTONE, Mr. DODD, Mr. MOYNIHAN, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. KERRY,

Mr. TORRICELLI, Mr. LEAHY, and Mr. REID ) introduced the following

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment

and Public Works

A BILL

To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to ensure

the recovery of the declining biological diversity of the

United States, to reaffirm and strengthen the commitment of the United States to protect wildlife, to safeguard the economic and ecological future of children

of the United States, and to provide certainty to local

governments, communities, and individuals in their planning and economic development efforts.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS; REF2 ERENCES TO ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT OF

3 1973.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2000’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of

7 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents; references to Endangered Species Act of

1973.

Sec. 2. Findings.

TITLE I—ENDANGERED SPECIES RECOVERY

Sec. 101. Definitions.

Sec. 102. Designation of interim and critical habitat.

Sec. 103. Schedule for listing determinations.

Sec. 104. Contents of listing petitions.

Sec. 105. Recovery planning.

Sec. 106. Endangered species conservation agreements.

Sec. 107. Interagency cooperation.

Sec. 108. Permits and conservation plans.

Sec. 109. Citizen suits.

Sec. 110. Natural resource damage liability.

Sec. 111. Authorization of appropriations.

TITLE II—SPECIES CONSERVATION TAX INCENTIVES

Sec. 201. Tax exclusion for cost-sharing payments under Partners for Fish and

Wildlife Program.

Sec. 202. Enhanced deduction for the donation of a conservation easement.

Sec. 203. Exclusion from estate tax for real property subject to endangered

species conservation agreement.

Sec. 204. Expansion of estate tax exclusion for real property subject to qualified conservation easement.

8 (c) REFERENCES TO ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT OF

9 1973.—Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever

10 in this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms

11 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi12 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a
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1 section or other provision of the Endangered Species Act

2 of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

4 Congress finds that—

5 (1) the American public recognizes the impor6 tance of protecting the natural environmental legacy

7 of the United States;

8 (2) it is only through the protection of all spe9 cies of plants and animals and the ecosystems on

10 which the species depend that the people of the

11 United States will conserve a world for our children

12 with the spiritual, medicinal, agricultural, and eco13 nomic benefits that plants and animals offer;

14 (3) we have a moral responsibility not to drive

15 other species to extinction;

16 (4) we are rapidly proceeding in a manner that

17 will deny to future generations a world of abundant,

18 varied species;

19 (5) although the Endangered Species Act of

20 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) has prevented the ex21 tinction of many animal, plant, and fish species,

22 many of those species have not fully recovered and

23 that Act must ensure their long-term survival and

24 recovery;
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1 (6) Federal agencies and other persons should

2 act to protect declining species before they need the

3 full application of the Endangered Species Act of

4 1973;

5 (7) all members of the public have a right to be

6 involved in the decisions made to protect biodiver7 sity;

8 (8) to avoid extinction in the wild, habitats

9 must be conserved by using the best available

10 science;

11 (9) only by taking actions that implement the

12 recovery goals of the Endangered Species Act of

13 1973 can we ensure that species will eventually be

14 removed from the lists of endangered species and

15 threatened species; and

16 (10) we can provide certainty for communities,

17 local governments, and private landowners that will

18 enable them to move forward with planning and eco19 nomic development efforts while still protecting spe20 cies.

21 TITLE I—ENDANGERED SPECIES

22 RECOVERY

23 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS.

24 Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1532) is amended—
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1 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through

2 (5), (6) through (9), (10), (12) through (14), and

3 (15) through (21) as paragraphs (3) through (6),

4 (9) through (12), (14), (20) through (22), and (24)

5 through (30), respectively;

6 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol7 lowing:

8 ‘‘(2) CANDIDATE SPECIES.—The term ‘can9 didate species’ means any species—

10 ‘‘(A) that is not the subject of a proposed

11 regulation under section 4(a)(1);

12 ‘‘(B) that the Secretary is considering for

13 listing as an endangered species or threatened

14 species; and

15 ‘‘(C) for which the Secretary has—

16 ‘‘(i) sufficient information to support

17 a proposed regulation for that listing; or

18 ‘‘(ii) information indicating that pro19 posing that listing may be appropriate, but

20 for which further information is required

21 to support such a proposed regulation.’’;

22 (3) by striking paragraph (6) (as so redesig23 nated) and inserting the following:
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1 ‘‘(6) CRITICAL HABITAT.—The term ‘critical

2 habitat’ for an endangered species or threatened

3 species or includes—

4 ‘‘(A) the specific areas within the geo5 graphic area occupied by the species, at the

6 time the species is listed in accordance with sec7 tion 4, on which are found physical or biological

8 features that—

9 ‘‘(i) are essential to the conservation

10 of the species; and

11 ‘‘(ii) may require special management

12 considerations or protections; and

13 ‘‘(B) specific areas outside the geo14 graphical area occupied by the species, at the

15 time the species is listed in accordance with sec16 tion 4, on a determination by the Secretary that

17 the areas are essential for the conservation of

18 the species.’’;

19 (4) by inserting after paragraph (6) (as so re20 designated) the following:

21 ‘‘(7) CUMULATIVE IMPACTS.—The term ‘cumu22 lative impacts’ means the direct impacts and indirect

23 impacts on a species or its habitat that result from

24 the incremental impact of a proposed action when

25 added to other past, present, and reasonably foresee-
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1 able future actions, regardless of which person un2 dertakes such other actions.

3 ‘‘(8) DIRECT IMPACTS.—The term ‘direct im4 pacts’ means impacts that are caused by a proposed

5 action and that occur at the same time and place as

6 the proposed action.’’;

7 (5) by inserting after paragraph (12) (as so re8 designated) the following:

9 ‘‘(13) IMPACTS.—The term ‘impacts’ includes—

10 ‘‘(A) loss of individual members of a spe11 cies;

12 ‘‘(B) diminishment of the habitat of the

13 species, both qualitatively and quantitatively;

14 ‘‘(C) disruption of normal behavioral pat15 terns, such as breeding, feeding, and sheltering;

16 and

17 ‘‘(D) impairment of the ability of the spe18 cies to withstand random fluctuations in envi19 ronmental conditions.’’;

20 (6) by inserting after paragraph (14) (as so re21 designated) the following:

22 ‘‘(15) INDIRECT IMPACTS.—The term ‘indirect

23 impacts’ means impacts that are caused by a pro24 posed action and that occur later in time than, or
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1 farther removed in distance from, the proposed ac2 tion, but that are still reasonably foreseeable.

3 ‘‘(16) INTERIM HABITAT.—The term ‘interim

4 habitat’ includes the habitat necessary to support

5 current populations of a species or populations that

6 are necessary to ensure survival, whichever is larger.

7 ‘‘(17) JEOPARDIZE THE CONTINUED EXIST8 ENCE OF.—The term ‘jeopardize the continued exist9 ence of’ means to engage in an action that reason10 ably would be expected, directly, indirectly, or cumu11 latively, to reduce appreciably the likelihood of recov12 ery in the wild of any foreign or domestic species in13 cluded in a list published under section 4(c).

14 ‘‘(18) MINIMIZE.—The term ‘minimize’

15 means—

16 ‘‘(A) subject to subparagraph (B), to avoid

17 to the extent possible, in designing and engag18 ing in an activity, adverse impacts to an endan19 gered species or threatened species or in the

20 course of the activity; and

21 ‘‘(B) in the case of an activity for which it

22 is determined, after consideration of a reason23 able range of alternatives, that avoidance of ad24 verse impacts to the species is impossible, to de25 sign and implement the activity in a manner
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1 that results in the lowest possible individual

2 and cumulative adverse impacts on the species.

3 ‘‘(19) MITIGATE.—The term ‘mitigate’ means

4 to redress adverse impacts to an endangered species

5 or threatened species in connection with an action,

6 by replacing the number of plants and animals in

7 the wild, and the value to the species of the habitat,

8 that were lost as a result of the adverse impacts.’’;

9 (7) by inserting after paragraph (22) (as so re10 designated) the following:

11 ‘‘(23) RECOVERY.—The term ‘recovery’ means

12 a condition in which—

13 ‘‘(A) the threats to a species, as deter14 mined under section 4(a), have been eliminated;

15 ‘‘(B) the species has achieved long-term vi16 ability; and

17 ‘‘(C) the protective measures under this

18 Act are no longer needed.’’;

19 (8) by striking paragraph (25) (as so redesig20 nated) and inserting the following:

21 ‘‘(25) SPECIES.—The term ‘species’ includes—

22 ‘‘(A) any subspecies of fish or wildlife or

23 plant;
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1 ‘‘(B) any distinct population segment of

2 any species of vertebrate fish or wildlife that

3 interbreeds when mature; and

4 ‘‘(C) the last remaining distinct population

5 segment in the United States of any plant or

6 invertebrate species.’’; and

7 (9) in paragraph (26) (as so redesignated), by

8 striking ‘‘and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Is9 lands’’ and inserting ‘‘the Freely Associated States,

10 and (for the purposes of subsections (c) and (d) of

11 section 6), any Indian tribe’’.

12 SEC. 102. DESIGNATION OF INTERIM AND CRITICAL HABI13 TAT.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4(a) (16 U.S.C. 1533(a))

15 is amended by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the

16 following:

17 ‘‘(3) INTERIM AND CRITICAL HABITAT.—The

18 Secretary, by regulation promulgated in accordance

19 with subsection (b), shall—

20 ‘‘(A) subject to subparagraph (C), concur21 rently with making a determination under para22 graph (1) that a species is an endangered spe23 cies or threatened species, designate interim

24 habitat of the species;
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1 ‘‘(B) subject to subparagraph (C), concur2 rently with adoption of the final recovery plan

3 for a species under subsection (f), designate

4 critical habitat of the species;

5 ‘‘(C) in the case of a highly migratory ma6 rine species, designate interim habitat and crit7 ical habitat for the species to the maximum ex8 tent biologically determinable; and

9 ‘‘(D) from time to time thereafter as ap10 propriate, revise a designation under this para11 graph, if the Secretary determines that the revi12 sion would expedite or assist the recovery of the

13 species.’’.

14 (b) BASIS FOR DETERMINATIONS.—Section 4(b) (16

15 U.S.C. 1533(b)) is amended by striking paragraph (2) and

16 inserting the following:

17 ‘‘(2) INTERIM AND CRITICAL HABITAT.—

18 ‘‘(A) CRITICAL HABITAT.—The Secretary

19 shall designate critical habitat, and make revi20 sions to the designations, under subsection

21 (a)(3)—

22 ‘‘(i) on the basis of the best scientific

23 data available; and

24 ‘‘(ii) after taking into consideration

25 the economic impact, and any other rel-
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1 evant impact, of specifying any particular

2 area as critical habitat.

3 ‘‘(B) INTERIM HABITAT.—In the case of

4 interim habitat designated at the time of list5 ing, the Secretary shall revise and finalize the

6 habitat as critical habitat concurrently with the

7 adoption of the final recovery plan.

8 ‘‘(C) EXCLUSION OF AREAS FROM CRIT9 ICAL HABITAT.—The Secretary may exclude

10 any area from critical habitat on the basis that

11 the benefits of the exclusion outweigh the bene12 fits of specifying the area as part of the critical

13 habitat, if the Secretary determines, based on

14 the best scientific and commercial data avail15 able, that the failure to designate the area as

16 critical habitat will not impair the recovery of

17 the species.

18 ‘‘(D) DESIGNATION OF INTERIM HABITAT

19 BASED ON BIOLOGICAL FACTORS.—The Sec20 retary shall designate interim habitat of a spe21 cies based only on biological factors, giving spe22 cial consideration to habitat that is, at the time

23 of the designation, occupied by the species.’’.
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1 SEC. 103. SCHEDULE FOR LISTING DETERMINATIONS.

2 Section 4(b)(3)(C) (16 U.S.C. 1533(b)(3)(C)) is

3 amended by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(iv) SPECIES WITH EXISTING FIND5 ING OF WARRANTED ACTION.—Not later

6 than 1 year after the date of enactment of

7 this clause, for each species for which a

8 finding under subparagraph (B)(iii) was

9 made before the date of enactment of this

10 clause, the Secretary shall publish in the

11 Federal Register—

12 ‘‘(I) a proposal to list the species

13 as an endangered species or threat14 ened species; or

15 ‘‘(II) a finding that the peti16 tioned action is not warranted under

17 subparagraph (B)(i).

18 ‘‘(v) SPECIES WITH NEW FINDING OF

19 WARRANTED ACTION.—Not later than 4

20 years after the date on which a finding

21 under subparagraph (B)(iii) is published

22 for a species for which a finding under

23 subparagraph (B)(iii) was made on or

24 after the date of enactment of this clause,

25 or a date on which such a species is other26 wise designated by the Secretary as a can-
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1 didate species, the Secretary shall publish

2 in the Federal Register—

3 ‘‘(I) a proposal to list the species

4 as an endangered species or threat5 ened species; or

6 ‘‘(II) a finding that the peti7 tioned action is not warranted under

8 subparagraph (B)(i).’’.

9 SEC. 104. CONTENTS OF LISTING PETITIONS.

10 Section 4(b)(3) (16 U.S.C. 1533(b)(3)) is amended

11 by adding at the end the following:

12 ‘‘(E) CONTENTS OF LISTING PETITIONS.—

13 A petition referred to in subparagraph (A)

14 shall, to the maximum extent practicable,

15 contain—

16 ‘‘(i) a description of the current

17 known and historic ranges of the species;

18 ‘‘(ii) a description of the most recent

19 population estimates and trends, if avail20 able;

21 ‘‘(iii) a statement of the reason that

22 the petitioned action is warranted, includ23 ing a description of known or perceived

24 threats to the species;
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1 ‘‘(iv) a bibliography of scientific lit2 erature on the species, if any, in support of

3 the petition; and

4 ‘‘(v) any other information that the

5 petitioner determines is appropriate.’’.

6 SEC. 105. RECOVERY PLANNING.

7 Section 4(f) (16 U.S.C. 1533(f)) is amended—

8 (1) in paragraph (1)—

9 (A) in the first sentence—

10 (i) by striking ‘‘develop and imple11 ment plans’’ and inserting ‘‘, not later

12 than 18 months after the date on which a

13 species is added to a list under subsection

14 (c), develop a draft plan and, not later

15 than 30 months after that date, develop

16 and begin implementation of a final plan’’;

17 (ii) by inserting ‘‘each’’ before ‘‘en18 dangered’’; and

19 (iii) by striking ‘‘, unless he finds that

20 such a plan will not promote the conserva21 tion of the species’’; and

22 (B) in the second sentence, by striking

23 subparagraph (B) and inserting the following:

24 ‘‘(B) include in each plan specific provisions, in25 cluding provisions required under subparagraph (C),
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1 that provide for the conservation in the recovery

2 plan area of all species listed as endangered species

3 or threatened species, candidate species, and species

4 proposed for listing;

5 ‘‘(C) incorporate in each recovery plan for a

6 species—

7 ‘‘(i) a description of such site-specific man8 agement actions, including identification of ac9 tions of the highest priority and greatest recov10 ery potential, as may be necessary to achieve

11 the goals of the plan for the recovery of the

12 species;

13 ‘‘(ii) objective, measurable criteria, includ14 ing habitat needs and population levels, that,

15 when met, would result in a determination, in

16 accordance with this section, that the species be

17 removed from the list;

18 ‘‘(iii) estimates of the time required and

19 the cost to carry out those measures needed to

20 achieve the goals of the plan and to achieve in21 termediate steps toward each goal;

22 ‘‘(iv) a general description of the types of

23 actions likely to violate the taking prohibition of

24 section 9 or the jeopardy prohibition of section

25 7; and
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1 ‘‘(v) a list of Federal agencies, States,

2 tribes, and local government entities, signifi3 cantly affected by the goals or management ac4 tions specified in the recovery plan, that should

5 complete a recovery implementation plan pursu6 ant to paragraph (5)(A); and

7 ‘‘(D) for the purposes of determining the cri8 teria under subparagraph (C)(ii), select, in consulta9 tion with the National Academy of Sciences, inde10 pendent scientists who—

11 ‘‘(i) through publication of peer-reviewed

12 scientific literature, have demonstrated relevant

13 scientific expertise in that species or a similar

14 species; and

15 ‘‘(ii) do not have, nor represent anyone

16 with, a significant economic interest in the re17 covery plan.’’; and

18 (2) by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the

19 following:

20 ‘‘(5) RECOVERY IMPLEMENTATION PLANS.—

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each Federal agency

22 significantly affected by the goals or manage23 ment actions specified in a final recovery plan

24 shall develop and implement a plan (referred to

25 in this paragraph as a ‘recovery implementation
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1 plan’), after providing public notice and an op2 portunity for public review and comment on the

3 recovery implementation plan.

4 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—Each recovery imple5 mentation plan shall—

6 ‘‘(i) identify the affirmative conserva7 tion duties and management responsibil8 ities of the agency that will contribute to

9 the achievement of recovery goals identi10 fied in the final recovery plan;

11 ‘‘(ii) specify specific agency actions,

12 timetables, and funding required to achieve

13 and monitor progress toward meeting re14 covery goals or management responsibil15 ities;

16 ‘‘(iii) identify any land or water under

17 the jurisdiction or ownership of the agency

18 that provide or may provide suitable habi19 tat for the species;

20 ‘‘(iv) identify any actions needed to

21 acquire additional suitable habitat under

22 section 5(a); and

23 ‘‘(v) describe management actions

24 that the agency will take on land or water

25 under the jurisdiction or ownership of the
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1 agency to contribute toward recovery of the

2 species.

3 ‘‘(C) STATE COOPERATION.—Consistent

4 with section 6, the Secretary shall cooperate, to

5 the maximum extent practicable, with States,

6 tribes, and local government entities, that are

7 significantly affected by a final recovery plan, to

8 develop State cooperative plans to achieve the

9 goals and implement the management actions

10 identified in the recovery plan.’’.

11 SEC. 106. ENDANGERED SPECIES CONSERVATION AGREE12 MENTS.

13 Section 5 (16 U.S.C. 1534) is amended by adding

14 at the end the following:

15 ‘‘(c) ENDANGERED SPECIES CONSERVATION AGREE16 MENTS.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter

18 into an agreement in accordance with this sub19 section, to be known as an ‘endangered species con20 servation agreement’, with any person that is an

21 owner or lessee of real property on which will be car22 ried out conservation measures for any species de23 scribed in paragraph (3) in accordance with the en24 dangered species conservation agreement.
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1 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED TERMS.—The Secretary shall

2 include in an endangered species conservation agree3 ment with a person under this subsection provisions

4 that—

5 ‘‘(A) require the person—

6 ‘‘(i) to carry out on real property

7 owned or leased by the person activities

8 not otherwise required by law that con9 tribute to the conservation of a species de10 scribed in paragraph (3); or

11 ‘‘(ii) to refrain from carrying out on

12 real property owned or leased by the per13 son otherwise lawful activities that would

14 inhibit the conservation of a species de15 scribed in paragraph (3);

16 ‘‘(B) describe the real property referred to

17 in clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A);

18 ‘‘(C) specify species conservation goals for

19 the activities by the person, and measures for

20 attaining the conservation goals of this sub21 section;

22 ‘‘(D) require the person to make measur23 able progress each year in achieving the goals;

24 ‘‘(E) specify actions to be taken by the

25 Secretary or the person, or both, to monitor the
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1 effectiveness of the endangered species con2 servation agreement in attaining the goals;

3 ‘‘(F) require the person to notify the Sec4 retary if—

5 ‘‘(i) any right or obligation of the per6 son under the endangered species conserva7 tion agreement is assigned to any other

8 person; or

9 ‘‘(ii) any term of the endangered spe10 cies conservation agreement is breached by

11 the person or any other person to whom is

12 assigned a right or obligation of the person

13 under the endangered species conservation

14 agreement;

15 ‘‘(G) specify the date on which the endan16 gered species conservation agreement takes ef17 fect; and

18 ‘‘(H) provide that the endangered species

19 conservation agreement shall not be in effect on

20 and after any date on which the Secretary pub21 lishes a certification under paragraph (5) that

22 the person has not complied with the endan23 gered species conservation agreement.
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1 ‘‘(3) COVERED SPECIES.—A species referred to

2 in clauses (i) and (ii) of paragraph (2)(A) is any

3 species that is—

4 ‘‘(A) listed as an endangered species or

5 threatened species under section 4;

6 ‘‘(B) proposed for such listing under sec7 tion 4; or

8 ‘‘(C) identified by the Secretary as a can9 didate for such listing under section 4.

10 ‘‘(4) REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF PROPOSED EN11 DANGERED SPECIES CONSERVATION AGREEMENTS

12 BY SECRETARY.—On submission by any person of a

13 proposed endangered species conservation agreement

14 under this subsection, the Secretary shall—

15 ‘‘(A) review the proposed endangered spe16 cies conservation agreement and determine

17 whether the endangered species conservation

18 agreement complies with the requirements of

19 this subsection; and

20 ‘‘(B) if the Secretary determines that the

21 endangered species conservation agreement

22 complies with the requirements of this

23 subsection—

24 ‘‘(i) approve the endangered species

25 conservation agreement and enter into the
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1 endangered species conservation agreement

2 with the person; and

3 ‘‘(ii) promptly notify the Secretary of

4 the Treasury that the endangered species

5 conservation agreement has been entered

6 into and specify the date on which the en7 dangered species conservation agreement

8 takes effect.

9 ‘‘(5) MONITORING IMPLEMENTATION OF EN10 DANGERED SPECIES CONSERVATION AGREE11 MENTS.—The Secretary shall—

12 ‘‘(A) periodically monitor the implementa13 tion of each endangered species conservation

14 agreement entered into under this subsection;

15 and

16 ‘‘(B) based on the information obtained

17 from the monitoring, annually certify to the

18 Secretary of the Treasury whether or not each

19 person that has entered into an endangered

20 species conservation agreement under this sub21 section has complied with the endangered spe22 cies conservation agreement.

23 ‘‘(6) STATE COOPERATION.—The Secretary

24 shall establish a technical assistance program in co25 operation with the States to assist landowners in the
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1 development and implementation of endangered spe2 cies conservation agreements.’’.

3 SEC. 107. INTERAGENCY COOPERATION.

4 (a) FEDERAL AGENCY ACTIONS AND CONSULTA5 TIONS.—Section 7(a) (16 U.S.C. 1536(a)) is amended—

6 (1) in the second sentence of paragraph (1)—

7 (A) by striking ‘‘All other Federal agen8 cies’’ and inserting ‘‘Each other Federal agen9 cy’’;

10 (B) by striking ‘‘their’’ and inserting ‘‘its’’;

11 and

12 (C) by inserting before the period the fol13 lowing: ‘‘, including recovery actions identified

14 in recovery implementation plans of the agen15 cy’’;

16 (2) in the first sentence of paragraph (2), by

17 inserting after ‘‘to be critical,’’ the following: ‘‘in

18 such a way as to diminish the value of that habitat

19 for the recovery of the species,’’; and

20 (3) by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(5) CONSULTATION WITH SECRETARY CON22 CERNING CANDIDATE SPECIES.—

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any Federal agency

24 may consult with the Secretary regarding any
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1 action that may affect any candidate species or

2 species proposed for listing under section 4(c).

3 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL CONSULTATION.—If

4 consultation under this paragraph is completed

5 before the listing of the species—

6 ‘‘(i) no additional consultation is re7 quired solely as a consequence of the sub8 sequent listing of the species, if the Sec9 retary determines that there have been no

10 significant changes in the agency proposal

11 and that there is no significant new infor12 mation that was not considered in the

13 original consultation; and

14 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary shall reinitiate con15 sultation under paragraph (2), if the Sec16 retary determines that there has been a

17 significant change in the agency proposal

18 or that there is significant new information

19 that was not considered in the original

20 consultation.

21 ‘‘(C) NOTIFICATION OF CHANGE OR NEW

22 INFORMATION.—A Federal agency shall notify

23 the Secretary of any significant change in, or

24 significant new information regarding, any ac-
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1 tion regarding which the agency consulted with

2 the Secretary under this paragraph.

3 ‘‘(6) MONITORING.—The head of each Federal

4 agency shall monitor the status and trends of endan5 gered species, threatened species, and candidate spe6 cies that occur on land or in water under the juris7 diction or ownership of the agency.’’.

8 (b) OPINION OF SECRETARY.—Section 7(b) (16

9 U.S.C. 1536(b)) is amended—

10 (1) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the

11 following:

12 ‘‘(3) STATEMENT OF OPINION OF SEC13 RETARY.—

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Promptly after conclu15 sion of consultation under paragraph (2), (3),

16 or (5) of subsection (a), the Secretary shall pro17 vide to the Federal agency and the applicant, if

18 any, a written statement setting forth the Sec19 retary’s opinion, and a summary of the infor20 mation on which the opinion is based, detailing

21 how the agency action affects the species or its

22 critical habitat, including a description of the

23 quantity of habitat and the number of members

24 of the species that will be taken, and conserva25 tion actions to minimize and mitigate the im-
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1 pacts of any incidental taking that may result

2 from the action.

3 ‘‘(B) ALTERNATIVES.—If jeopardy or ad4 verse modification is found, the Secretary shall

5 suggest those reasonable and prudent alter6 natives that the Secretary believes would not

7 violate subsection (a)(2) and that can be taken

8 by the Federal agency or applicant in imple9 menting the agency action.’’;

10 (2) in paragraph (4)—

11 (A) in subparagraphs (A) and (B), by

12 striking ‘‘violate such subsection’’ each place it

13 appears and inserting ‘‘interfere with the timely

14 achievement of recovery goals’’;

15 (B) in clause (ii), by inserting ‘‘and miti16 gate’’ after ‘‘minimize’’;

17 (C) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘and’’ after

18 the comma at the end;

19 (D) in clause (iv), by striking the period at

20 the end and inserting ‘‘, and’’; and

21 (E) by adding at the end the following:

22 ‘‘(v) directs the Federal agency to assess and

23 report to the Secretary not later than 2 years after

24 the date of issuance of the written statement and

25 every 2 years thereafter for as long as any incidental
28

•S 3156 IS

1 taking continues, the quantity of the incidental tak2 ing that has occurred as a direct impact, indirect

3 impact, or cumulative impact.

4 If an assessment under clause (v) indicates that the quan5 tity of incidental taking authorized under the written

6 statement has been exceeded, the Federal agency shall im7 mediately reinitiate consultation with the Secretary pursu8 ant to subsection (a)(2).’’; and

9 (3) by adding at the end the following:

10 ‘‘(5) NOTICE OF CONSULTATION AND AC11 TION.—

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On receipt of a re13 quest to initiate consultation under paragraph

14 (2), (3), or (5) of subsection (a), the Secretary

15 shall promptly publish a notice in the Federal

16 Register announcing that the consultation has

17 been initiated and briefly describing the pro18 posed agency action.

19 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.—

20 The Secretary shall make available on request

21 any information in the possession or control of

22 the Secretary concerning the consultation or the

23 opinion prepared pursuant to this subsection

24 with respect to the consultation.
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1 ‘‘(6) INDEPENDENT SCIENTISTS.—In preparing

2 an opinion pursuant to this subsection, the Secretary

3 shall invite independent scientists described in sec4 tion 4(f)(1)(D) with expertise on species that may be

5 affected by the proposed agency action to provide

6 input into the consultation or opinion.

7 ‘‘(7) PUBLICATION OF FINDINGS AND REA8 SONS.—Not later than 30 days after the date on

9 which the Secretary provides a written statement

10 under paragraph (3) to the Federal agency and the

11 applicant for a permit, if any, the Secretary shall

12 publish in the Federal Register a description of the

13 findings and reasons of the Secretary for making

14 any determination under this subsection.’’.

15 (c) BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT.—Section 7(c)(1) (16

16 U.S.C. 1536(c)(1)) is amended in the last sentence by

17 striking ‘‘Such assessment may be undertaken’’ and in18 serting ‘‘The assessment shall be made available to the

19 public and may be undertaken’’.

20 (d) FOREIGN SPECIES.—Section 7 (16 U.S.C. 1536)

21 is amended by adding at the end the following:

22 ‘‘(q) FOREIGN SPECIES.—This section shall apply to

23 any agency action with respect to any endangered species,

24 threatened species, species proposed to be added to a list

25 under section 4(c), or candidate species carried out in
30

•S 3156 IS

1 whole or in part, in the United States, in a foreign coun2 try, or on the high seas.’’.

3 (e) STREAMLINING AND CONSOLIDATING INTER4 AGENCY COOPERATION.—Section 7 (16 U.S.C. 1536) (as

5 amended by subsection (d)) is amended by adding at the

6 end the following:

7 ‘‘(r) REGULATIONS TO ENSURE TIMELY CONCLU8 SION OF CONSULTATIONS.—

9 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF ECOSYSTEM.—In this sub10 section, the term ‘ecosystem’ means a dynamic com11 plex of organisms and biological communities, and

12 their associated nonliving environment, interacting

13 together as an ecological unit.

14 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 1 year

15 after the date of enactment of this subsection, the

16 Secretary, in cooperation with the States, shall pro17 mulgate regulations to ensure timely conclusion of

18 consultations under this section.

19 ‘‘(3) CONTENT.—Regulations under this sub20 section shall provide that—

21 ‘‘(A) consultations and conferences under

22 this section between the Secretary and a Fed23 eral agency shall, to the maximum extent prac24 ticable and if approved by the Secretary, en25 compass a number of similar or related agency
31

•S 3156 IS

1 actions to be undertaken within a particular

2 geographical range or ecosystem; and

3 ‘‘(B) the Secretary shall, to the maximum

4 extent practicable, consolidate requests for con5 sultations or conferences from various Federal

6 agencies whose proposed actions may affect en7 dangered species, threatened species, or can8 didate species that are dependent on the same

9 ecosystem.’’.

10 SEC. 108. PERMITS AND CONSERVATION PLANS.

11 Section 10 (16 U.S.C. 1539) is amended by striking

12 subsection (a) and inserting the following:

13 ‘‘(a) PERMITS.—

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may permit,

15 under the terms and conditions provided for in this

16 section—

17 ‘‘(A) any act otherwise prohibited by sec18 tion 9 for scientific purposes or to enhance the

19 propagation or survival of the affected species,

20 or the conservation of the species in the wild,

21 such as acts necessary for the conservation, es22 tablishment, and maintenance of experimental

23 populations pursuant to subsection (j); or

24 ‘‘(B) any taking otherwise prohibited by

25 section 9(a)(1) if the taking is incidental to,
32

•S 3156 IS

1 and not the purpose of, the carrying out of an

2 otherwise lawful activity.

3 ‘‘(2) DURATION.—The Secretary shall limit the

4 duration of a permit under paragraph (1) as nec5 essary to ensure that changes in circumstances that

6 could occur in the period covered by the permit and

7 that would jeopardize the continued existence of the

8 species are reasonably foreseeable.

9 ‘‘(3) CONSERVATION PLAN.—

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No permit may be

11 issued by the Secretary authorizing any taking

12 referred to in paragraph (1)(B) unless the ap13 plicant for the permit submits to the Secretary

14 a conservation plan in accordance with this

15 paragraph that is based on the best scientific

16 and commercial information available.

17 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—A conservation plan

18 under this paragraph shall provide a description

19 and analysis of—

20 ‘‘(i) the specific activities sought to be

21 authorized by the permit;

22 ‘‘(ii) a reasonable range of alternative

23 actions to the taking of each species cov24 ered by the plan;
33

•S 3156 IS

1 ‘‘(iii) the individual and cumulative

2 impacts that may reasonably be antici3 pated to result from the permitted activi4 ties covered by the plan, including the im5 pacts of modification or destruction of

6 habitat of species authorized under the

7 permit;

8 ‘‘(iv) objective, measurable biological

9 goals to be achieved for each species cov10 ered by the plan;

11 ‘‘(v) the conservation measures that

12 the applicant will implement to minimize

13 and mitigate the impacts described in

14 clause (iii), including—

15 ‘‘(I) the specific conservation

16 measures for achieving the biological

17 goals of the plan; and

18 ‘‘(II) any additional requirements

19 or restrictions or other adaptive man20 agement provisions that are necessary

21 to respond to all reasonably foresee22 able changes in circumstances that

23 would jeopardize the continued exist24 ence of any species covered by the

25 plan, including new scientific informa-
34

•S 3156 IS

1 tion and changing environmental con2 ditions, including natural disasters;

3 ‘‘(vi) the reasonably anticipated costs

4 of the measures described in clause (v);

5 ‘‘(vii) the actions that the applicant

6 will take to monitor—

7 ‘‘(I) the effectiveness of the

8 plan’s conservation measures in

9 achieving the plan’s biological goals;

10 and

11 ‘‘(II) impacts on the recovery of

12 each species;

13 ‘‘(viii) funding that will be available to

14 the applicant, throughout the term of the

15 plan, to implement the plan and the con16 servation measures specified in the plan;

17 and

18 ‘‘(ix) such other matters as the Sec19 retary determines are necessary or appro20 priate for the purposes of carrying out the

21 plan.

22 ‘‘(C) FINDINGS.—The Secretary shall not

23 issue a permit under paragraph (1)(B) for the

24 taking of any species unless the Secretary finds,

25 after opportunity for public comment with re-
35

•S 3156 IS

1 spect to a permit application and the related

2 conservation plan, that—

3 ‘‘(i) the conservation plan submitted

4 for the permit meets all of the require5 ments of this paragraph;

6 ‘‘(ii) the taking will be incidental;

7 ‘‘(iii) the applicant will minimize and

8 mitigate the individual impacts and cumu9 lative impacts of the taking;

10 ‘‘(iv) the activities authorized by the

11 permit and conservation plan are con12 sistent with the recovery of the species and

13 will result in no net loss of the value to the

14 species of the habitat occupied by the spe15 cies;

16 ‘‘(v) the applicant has, in accordance

17 with paragraph (9), filed a performance

18 bond or other evidence of financial security

19 to ensure adequate funding for each ele20 ment of the conservation plan; and

21 ‘‘(vi) the permit contains—

22 ‘‘(I) such terms and conditions as

23 are necessary or appropriate to carry

24 out this paragraph and ensure imple-
36

•S 3156 IS

1 mentation of the conservation plan by

2 the applicant; and

3 ‘‘(II) such reporting and moni4 toring requirements as are necessary

5 for determining whether the terms

6 and conditions are being complied

7 with.

8 ‘‘(D) REPORTS ON BIOLOGICAL STATUS

9 AND GOALS.—

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Each permit shall

11 require the permittee to provide to the Sec12 retary, not later than 1 year after the date

13 of issuance of the permit and at least once

14 each year thereafter during the term of the

15 permit, a complete report on—

16 ‘‘(I) the biological status of the

17 species in the affected area;

18 ‘‘(II) the impacts of the habitat

19 conservation plan and the permitted

20 action on the species; and

21 ‘‘(III) whether the biological

22 goals of the plan are being met.

23 ‘‘(ii) AVAILABILITY TO PUBLIC.—The

24 Secretary shall make reports required
37

•S 3156 IS

1 under this subparagraph available to the

2 public.

3 ‘‘(E) ADDITIONAL CONSERVATION MEAS4 URES.—

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If necessary to en6 sure that the permitted action does not

7 jeopardize the continued existence of any

8 species affected by the permitted action,

9 the Secretary shall require a permittee to

10 implement conservation measures in addi11 tion to the conservation measures specified

12 in the plan.

13 ‘‘(ii) COST SHARING.—The Secretary

14 shall pay the costs of any additional con15 servation measures required under this

16 subparagraph that are in excess of the rea17 sonably anticipated costs specified in the

18 plan.

19 ‘‘(4) REVIEW BY SECRETARY.—

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Every 3 years after

21 the date of approval of a permit application and

22 conservation plan under this section, the Sec23 retary shall review and report on the progress

24 toward implementation of the terms and condi25 tions of the permit and plan and make rec-
38

•S 3156 IS

1 ommendations on actions necessary to ensure

2 that—

3 ‘‘(i) the terms and conditions do not

4 jeopardize the continued existence of any

5 species;

6 ‘‘(ii) progress is being made toward

7 achieving the biological goals of the plan;

8 and

9 ‘‘(iii) the requirements, goals, and

10 purposes of this Act are being met.

11 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY TO PUBLIC.—The Sec12 retary shall annually—

13 ‘‘(i) prepare and make publicly avail14 able a report on the status of all permits

15 reviewed pursuant to this paragraph since

16 the date of the last report; and

17 ‘‘(ii) publish in the Federal Register a

18 notice of the availability of the most recent

19 report.

20 ‘‘(5) PERMIT REVOCATION.—The Secretary

21 shall revoke a permit issued under this section and

22 issue an order suspending activities allowed under

23 the permit that may be reasonably expected to cause

24 a taking of any species covered by the permit, if—
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•S 3156 IS

1 ‘‘(A) the permittee is not in compliance

2 with the terms and conditions of the permit, the

3 requirements of this Act, and the regulations

4 issued under this Act, including any failure by

5 a permittee to substantially comply with the

6 conservation plan required for a permit issued

7 under paragraph (1)(B); or

8 ‘‘(B) the level of the taking authorized by

9 the permit has been exceeded.

10 ‘‘(6) ACTIONS BY SECRETARY ON FAILURE BY

11 PERMITTEE.—

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a permittee defaults

13 on any obligation of the permittee under a per14 mit issued under paragraph (1)(B) or a con15 servation plan required for the permit, the Sec16 retary shall undertake actions to conserve each

17 species covered by the plan and permit.

18 ‘‘(B) FUNDING.—To carry out actions re19 quired under subparagraph (A) with respect to

20 a default by a permittee, the Secretary may

21 use—

22 ‘‘(i) the proceeds of the performance

23 bond or other financial security under

24 paragraph (9) provided by the permittee;

25 and
40

•S 3156 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) amounts in the Habitat Con2 servation Plan Fund established by para3 graph (10).

4 ‘‘(7) LOW EFFECT, SMALL SCALE PLANS.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall

6 develop and implement a streamlined applica7 tion and approval procedure for a permit issued

8 under paragraph (1)(B) and related conserva9 tion plan that the Secretary determines to be a

10 low effect, small scale plan.

11 ‘‘(B) PREREQUISITES.—A permit and re12 lated conservation plan may be treated as a low

13 effect, small scale permit and plan if—

14 ‘‘(i) the permitted action is expected

15 to be of less than 5 years in duration;

16 ‘‘(ii) the conservation plan is applica17 ble to an area of less than 5 acres;

18 ‘‘(iii) the affected acreage is not adja19 cent to other land that has been the sub20 ject of a permit issued under this section

21 within the preceding 5 years to the same

22 person, or as part of the same project;

23 ‘‘(iv) the permitted action is not part

24 of a single larger project that will have ad-
41

•S 3156 IS

1 ditional impacts on the endangered species

2 or threatened species;

3 ‘‘(v) the Secretary determines that the

4 plan will have a negligible cumulative im5 pact and individual impact on the recovery

6 of the endangered species or threatened

7 species; and

8 ‘‘(vi) the permitted action is not re9 lated to other actions that will have addi10 tional impacts on the endangered species

11 or threatened species.

12 ‘‘(C) RELATED ACTIONS.—For the pur13 poses of subparagraph (B)(vi), actions shall be

14 considered related if they—

15 ‘‘(i) automatically trigger other ac16 tions that may affect endangered species

17 or threatened species;

18 ‘‘(ii) cannot or will not proceed unless

19 other actions are taken previously or si20 multaneously; or

21 ‘‘(iii) are interdependent on parts of a

22 larger action and depend on the larger ac23 tion for their justification.

24 ‘‘(D) MONITORING.—
42

•S 3156 IS

1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary

2 shall monitor the implementation and re3 sults of low effect, small scale permits and

4 conservation plans to ensure that the per5 mits and plans do not jeopardize the con6 tinued existence of any endangered species

7 or threatened species.

8 ‘‘(ii) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS OR

9 RESTRICTIONS.—If the Secretary deter10 mines that additional requirements or re11 strictions are required to ensure that ac12 tions authorized by a low effect, small

13 scale conservation plan do not jeopardize

14 the continued existence of any species de15 termined to be an endangered species or

16 threatened species after the plan was ap17 proved, the Secretary shall require appro18 priate modifications to the plan to imple19 ment those requirements or restrictions.

20 ‘‘(iii) COST SHARING.—The Secretary

21 shall pay all costs of implementing addi22 tional requirements or restrictions required

23 under clause (ii).

24 ‘‘(E) FINANCIAL SECURITY.—The per25 mittee for which a low effect, small scale permit
43

•S 3156 IS

1 and conservation plan is approved under this

2 paragraph shall not be required to provide a

3 performance bond or other financial security

4 under paragraph (9).

5 ‘‘(8) MONITORING.—The Secretary shall mon6 itor the implementation and results of all conserva7 tion plans approved under this subsection to ensure

8 that the plans do not jeopardize the continued exist9 ence of any endangered species or threatened spe10 cies.

11 ‘‘(9) PERFORMANCE BONDS.—

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—After the approval of

13 an incidental taking permit under paragraph

14 (1)(B) and associated conservation plan in ac15 cordance with this subsection, but before the

16 permit is issued, the applicant shall—

17 ‘‘(i) file with the Secretary a perform18 ance bond payable to the United States,

19 and conditional on faithful performance of

20 all the requirements of the permit; or

21 ‘‘(ii) deposit another form of financial

22 security, payable to the United States, in

23 a form and manner approved by the Sec24 retary, and conditional on such faithful

25 performance, having a cash or market
44

•S 3156 IS

1 value, as applicable, equal to or greater

2 than the amount of a performance bond

3 otherwise required under clause (i).

4 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT.—The amount of the bond

5 or deposit of other financial security required

6 for each permit shall be—

7 ‘‘(i) determined by the Secretary;

8 ‘‘(ii) based on the mitigation require9 ments needed to meet the biological goals

10 of the conservation plan; and

11 ‘‘(iii) sufficient to ensure the comple12 tion of all conservation measures to be im13 plemented by the permittee under the con14 servation plan that are specified in the

15 plan.

16 ‘‘(C) PHASED OR ADJUSTED BONDS OR

17 DEPOSITS.—In the case of a bond or deposit of

18 other financial security required for a large19 scale conservation plan (as defined in para20 graph (12)(A)), or a conservation plan for

21 which the reasonably foreseeable costs may be

22 prohibitive, the Secretary may authorize the use

23 of—

24 ‘‘(i) phased bonds or deposits, by

25 which the permittee may divide the area or
45

•S 3156 IS

1 actions covered by the conservation plan

2 into discrete sections and execute a sepa3 rate bond or deposit for each section before

4 undertaking any action on that section; or

5 ‘‘(ii) adjusted bonds or deposits,

6 through which the amount of the bond or

7 deposits required and the terms of accept8 ance of a bond or deposits shall be ad9 justed by the Secretary from time to time

10 as the extent of actions that affect endan11 gered species or threatened species in12 creases or decreases.

13 ‘‘(D) EXECUTION.—The bond or deposits

14 shall be executed by the permittee and a cor15 porate surety or depository, respectively.

16 ‘‘(E) RELEASE OF BOND OR DEPOSIT.—

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The permittee

18 may file a request with the Secretary for

19 the release of all or any part of a perform20 ance bond or deposit of any other financial

21 security required under this paragraph.

22 ‘‘(ii) NOTICE AND COMMENT.—Not

23 later than 30 days after any request for re24 lease has been filed with the Secretary, the

25 Secretary shall—
46

•S 3156 IS

1 ‘‘(I) file notice of the request in

2 the Federal Register; and

3 ‘‘(II) provide opportunity for

4 public comment before making a deci5 sion under clause (iii).

6 ‘‘(iii) REVIEW.—Not later than 30

7 days after receipt of the request, the Sec8 retary shall conduct a review of the imple9 mentation of the conservation plan to de10 termine whether—

11 ‘‘(I) the requirements of the plan

12 have been fully implemented;

13 ‘‘(II) the plan has achieved its bi14 ological goals; and

15 ‘‘(III) no further action is needed

16 to ensure that the permitted action is

17 not jeopardizing the existence of the

18 species covered by the plan.

19 ‘‘(iv) NOTICE OF DECISION.—Not

20 later than 90 days after receipt of the re21 quest, the Secretary shall notify the per22 mittee in writing of the decision of the Sec23 retary to release or not to release all or

24 part of the bond or deposit.
47

•S 3156 IS

1 ‘‘(v) NOTICE OF REASONS FOR NO RE2 LEASE.—If the Secretary does not release

3 any portion of the bond or deposit, the

4 Secretary shall notify the permittee in

5 writing of the reasons that the portion was

6 not released and recommended corrective

7 actions necessary to secure that release.

8 ‘‘(10) HABITAT CONSERVATION PLAN FUND.—

9 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab10 lished in the Treasury a separate account to be

11 known as the ‘Habitat Conservation Plan Fund’

12 (referred to in this paragraph as the ‘Fund’).

13 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The Fund shall consist

14 of—

15 ‘‘(i) donations to the Fund;

16 ‘‘(ii) appropriations to the Fund;

17 ‘‘(iii) amounts received by the United

18 States as fees charged for permits under

19 this section;

20 ‘‘(iv) amounts received by the United

21 States as natural resource damages under

22 section 11(i); and

23 ‘‘(v) the proceeds of performance

24 bonds and other deposits of financial secu25 rity under paragraph (9).
48

•S 3156 IS

1 ‘‘(C) USE.—Amounts in the Fund shall be

2 available to the Secretary until expended, with3 out further appropriation, to pay the cost of—

4 ‘‘(i) additional conservation measures

5 required under paragraph (3)(E) and addi6 tional requirements and restrictions re7 quired under paragraph (7)(C)(iii) for re8 covery of a species;

9 ‘‘(ii) actions by the Secretary to con10 serve species under paragraph (6);

11 ‘‘(iii) permitting with respect to which

12 fees are deposited in the Fund under sub13 paragraph (B)(iii); and

14 ‘‘(iv) restoration or replacement of

15 natural resources with respect to which

16 natural resource damages are deposited in

17 the Fund under subparagraph (B)(iv).

18 ‘‘(11) MULTIPLE LANDOWNER, MULTISPECIES

19 PLANNING.—

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall

21 encourage the development of multiple land22 owner, multispecies conservation plans, that—

23 ‘‘(i) make a significant contribution to

24 the recovery of an endangered species or

25 threatened species;
49

•S 3156 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) rely on the best available sci2 entific information;

3 ‘‘(iii) rely, to the maximum extent

4 practicable, on ecosystem planning; and

5 ‘‘(iv) maintain the well-being of other

6 species located within the planning area.

7 ‘‘(B) STREAMLINING OF PERMITTING

8 PROCESSES ACROSS JURISDICTIONS.—

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—To encourage the

10 development of the plans, the Secretary

11 shall cooperate, to the maximum extent

12 practicable, with States and local govern13 ments to streamline permitting processes

14 across jurisdictions.

15 ‘‘(ii) LARGE-SCALE CONSERVATION

16 PLANS.—The cooperation shall include

17 issuing permits under paragraph (1)(B) to

18 a State, local government, or group of local

19 governments for large-scale conservation

20 plans that involve more than 1 landowner.

21 ‘‘(C) INCIDENTAL TAKING CERTIFI22 CATES.—A permit under subparagraph (B)(ii)

23 may authorize the State, local government, or

24 group of local governments to issue incidental

25 taking certificates to landowners that authorize
50

•S 3156 IS

1 takings under the authority of the permit with2 in the jurisdiction of the State, local govern3 ment, or group of local governments, if—

4 ‘‘(i) the State, local government, or

5 group of local governments meets the per6 formance bond or other financial security

7 requirements under paragraph (9) with re8 spect to all such certificates, or each cer9 tificate is effective only after the landowner

10 to whom the certificate is issued has met

11 those requirements with respect to the cer12 tificate;

13 ‘‘(ii) the State, local government, or

14 group of local governments ensures that all

15 incidental taking certificates issued under

16 the permit are consistent with the permit

17 and approved habitat conservation plan;

18 ‘‘(iii) the State, local government, or

19 group of local governments provides ade20 quate public notice and opportunity to

21 comment on decisions to issue incidental

22 taking certificates; and

23 ‘‘(iv) the Secretary and the State,

24 local government, or group of local govern25 ments have adequate authority to enforce
51

•S 3156 IS

1 the terms and conditions of the incidental

2 taking certificates.

3 ‘‘(D) ENCOURAGEMENT OF PLANS.—The

4 Secretary shall—

5 ‘‘(i) ensure the participation of a

6 broad range of public and private interests

7 in the development of the plan;

8 ‘‘(ii) provide technical assistance to

9 the maximum extent practicable; and

10 ‘‘(iii) give the plans priority consider11 ation for funding under section 6.

12 ‘‘(E) POOLED BONDS OR DEPOSITS.—The

13 Secretary may approve the use of pooled bonds

14 or deposits in order to meet the requirements of

15 paragraph (9) for plans approved under this

16 paragraph that—

17 ‘‘(i) do not meet the requirements of

18 subparagraph (C); and

19 ‘‘(ii) involve more than 1 landowner.

20 ‘‘(12) CITIZEN PARTICIPATION; INDEPENDENT

21 SCIENTISTS.—

22 ‘‘(A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph:

23 ‘‘(i) AGENCY INVOLVEMENT.—The

24 term ‘agency involvement’ means any role

25 played by the Secretary in the development
52

•S 3156 IS

1 of a conservation plan under paragraph

2 (3).

3 ‘‘(ii) INDEPENDENT SCIENTIST.—The

4 term ‘independent scientist’ means a sci5 entist that meets the criteria specified in

6 section 4(f)(1)(D).

7 ‘‘(iii) LARGE-SCALE CONSERVATION

8 PLAN.—The term ‘large-scale conservation

9 plan’ means a conservation plan that cov10 ers a significant portion of the range of an

11 endangered species, threatened species,

12 candidate species, or species proposed for

13 listing under section 4.

14 ‘‘(B) NOTICE AND COMMENT.—The Sec15 retary may issue a permit under this section

16 only after—

17 ‘‘(i) notice of the receipt of an appli18 cation for the permit has been published in

19 the Federal Register;

20 ‘‘(ii) at least a 60-day public comment

21 period has been provided; and

22 ‘‘(iii) a notice of permit approval has

23 been published in the Federal Register

24 with agency responses to public comments.

25 ‘‘(C) AGENCY INVOLVEMENT.—
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•S 3156 IS

1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—On receipt of re2 quest for involvement by an agency in the

3 development of a large-scale conservation

4 plan pursuant to paragraphs (3)(A) and

5 (11), the Secretary shall promptly publish

6 a notice in the Federal Register announc7 ing the agency’s involvement and briefly

8 describing the activities that would be per9 mitted under the plan.

10 ‘‘(ii) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMA11 TION.—The Secretary shall make available,

12 on request, any information in the Sec13 retary’s possession or control concerning

14 the planning efforts.

15 ‘‘(D) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary

17 shall invite members of the public to par18 ticipate in the development of large-scale

19 conservation plans and multiple landowner,

20 multispecies plans.

21 ‘‘(ii) BALANCED DEVELOPMENT PROC22 ESS.—The Secretary shall promulgate reg23 ulations establishing a development process

24 under this paragraph that ensures an equi25 table balance of participation between—
54

•S 3156 IS

1 ‘‘(I) citizens with a primary in2 terest in carrying out economic devel3 opment activities that may affect spe4 cies conservation; and

5 ‘‘(II) citizens whose primary in6 terest is in species conservation.

7 ‘‘(iii) MEETINGS.—A meeting of par8 ticipants under this subparagraph shall not

9 be subject to the Federal Advisory Com10 mittee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), but shall be

11 open to the public.

12 ‘‘(E) INDEPENDENT SCIENTISTS.—On re13 ceipt of a request for involvement by an agency

14 in the development of a large-scale conservation

15 plan, the Secretary shall invite independent sci16 entists with expertise on species that may be af17 fected by the plan to provide input.

18 ‘‘(13) COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.—

19 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary

20 shall establish a community assistance program

21 to provide timely and accurate information to

22 local governments and property owners in ac23 cordance with subparagraph (B).

24 ‘‘(B) FIELD OFFICE EMPLOYEES.—Under

25 the community assistance program, the Sec-
55

•S 3156 IS

1 retary shall assign to each field office of the

2 United States Fish and Wildlife Service employ3 ees whose duties include—

4 ‘‘(i) providing accurate, timely infor5 mation on local impacts of determinations

6 that species are endangered species or

7 threatened species, recovery planning ef8 forts, and other actions under this Act;

9 ‘‘(ii) providing assistance on obtaining

10 permits under this section and otherwise

11 complying with this Act;

12 ‘‘(iii) serving as a focal point for ques13 tions, requests, complaints, and sugges14 tions from property owners and local gov15 ernments concerning the policies and ac16 tivities of the United States Fish and

17 Wildlife Service or other Federal agencies

18 in the implementation of this Act; and

19 ‘‘(iv) training Federal personnel on

20 public outreach efforts under this Act.’’.

21 SEC. 109. CITIZEN SUITS.

22 Section 11(g) (16 U.S.C. 1540(g)) is amended—

23 (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘in viola24 tion’’ and all that follows through the end of the

25 subparagraph and inserting ‘‘in violation of this Act,
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•S 3156 IS

1 any regulation or permit issued under this Act, any

2 statement provided by the Secretary under section

3 7(b)(3), or any agreement concluded under this

4 Act;’’; and

5 (2) in paragraph (2)—

6 (A) in subparagraph (A)(i), by inserting

7 before the semicolon at the end the following ‘‘,

8 except that notwithstanding this clause such an

9 action may be brought immediately after the

10 notice in the case of an action against any per11 son regarding an emergency posing a signifi12 cant risk to any species of fish, wildlife, or

13 plant included in a list under section 4(c) or

14 proposed for inclusion in such a list’’; and

15 (B) in subparagraph (B)(i), by inserting

16 before the semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘,

17 except that notwithstanding this clause such an

18 action may be brought immediately after such

19 notice in the case of an action under this sec20 tion against any person regarding an emergency

21 posing a significant risk to any species of fish,

22 wildlife, or plant included in a list under section

23 4(c)’’.
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1 SEC. 110. NATURAL RESOURCE DAMAGE LIABILITY.

2 Section 11 (16 U.S.C. 1540) is amended by adding

3 at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(i) NATURAL RESOURCE DAMAGE LIABILITY.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any person that, in viola6 tion of this Act, negligently damages any member or

7 habitat of a species included in a list under section

8 4(c) shall be liable to—

9 ‘‘(A) the United States for the costs in10 curred by the United States in restoring or re11 placing the member or habitat, including rea12 sonable costs of assessing the damage; and

13 ‘‘(B) a State for the costs incurred by the

14 State in restoring or replacing the member or

15 habitat under a management agreement with

16 the Secretary under section 6(a) or a coopera17 tive agreement with the Secretary under section

18 6(c), including reasonable costs of assessing the

19 damage.

20 ‘‘(2) DEPOSIT.—Amounts received by the

21 United States under this subsection—

22 ‘‘(A) shall be deposited in the Habitat

23 Conservation Plan Fund established by section

24 10(a)(10); and
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•S 3156 IS

1 ‘‘(B) may be obligated only for the acquisi2 tion or rehabilitation of damaged habitat or

3 populations.

4 ‘‘(3) CIVIL ACTIONS BY SECRETARY.—The Sec5 retary may commence a civil action on behalf of the

6 United States under this subsection.

7 ‘‘(4) NOTICE.—No action may be commenced

8 under this subsection by the Secretary or a State be9 fore the end of the 60-day period beginning on the

10 date on which the Secretary or the State, respec11 tively, provides written notice of the action to the

12 person against whom the action is commenced.’’.

13 SEC. 111. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

14 Section 15 (16 U.S.C. 1542) is amended to read as

15 follows:

16 ‘‘SEC. 15. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be

18 appropriated—

19 ‘‘(1) to the Secretary of the Interior for car20 rying out this Act—

21 ‘‘(A) $135,000,000 for fiscal year 2001;

22 ‘‘(B) $140,000,000 for fiscal year 2002;

23 ‘‘(C) $145,000,000 for fiscal year 2003;

24 ‘‘(D) $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2004;

25 and
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•S 3156 IS

1 ‘‘(E) $155,000,000 for fiscal year 2005;

2 and

3 ‘‘(2) to the Secretary of Commerce for carrying

4 out this Act—

5 ‘‘(A) $35,000,000 for fiscal year 2001;

6 ‘‘(B) $40,000,000 for fiscal year 2002;

7 ‘‘(C) $45,000,000 for fiscal year 2003;

8 ‘‘(D) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2004;

9 and

10 ‘‘(E) $55,000,000 for fiscal year 2005.

11 ‘‘(b) CONVENTION IMPLEMENTATION.—In addition

12 to other amounts authorized by this section, there are au13 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior

14 for carrying out functions under section 8 relating to im15 plementation of the Convention on International Trade in

16 Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora—

17 ‘‘(1) $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2001; and

18 ‘‘(2) $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2002

19 and 2003.

20 ‘‘(c) HABITAT CONSERVATION PLAN FUND.—In ad21 dition to other amounts authorized by this section, there

22 is authorized to be appropriated to the Habitat Conserva23 tion Plan Fund established by section 10(a)(10)

24 $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2001, 2002, and

25 2003.
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1 ‘‘(d) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT FUNDS.—In addi2 tion to other amounts authorized by this section, there are

3 authorized to be appropriated—

4 ‘‘(1) to the Secretary of the Interior for enter5 ing into cooperative agreements under section 6 with

6 States and Indian tribes, $20,000,000 for each of

7 fiscal years 2001, 2002, and 2003; and

8 ‘‘(2) to the Secretary of Commerce for entering

9 into cooperative agreements under section 6 with

10 States and Indian tribes, $5,000,000 for each of fis11 cal years 2001, 2002, and 2003.’’.

12 TITLE II—SPECIES CONSERVA13 TION TAX INCENTIVES

14 SEC. 201. TAX EXCLUSION FOR COST-SHARING PAYMENTS

15 UNDER PARTNERS FOR FISH AND WILDLIFE

16 PROGRAM.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 126(a) of the Internal

18 Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to certain cost-sharing

19 payments) is amended by redesignating paragraph (10) as

20 paragraph (11) and by inserting after paragraph (9) the

21 following:

22 ‘‘(10) The Partners for Fish and Wildlife Pro23 gram authorized by the Fish and Wildlife Act of

24 1956 (16 U.S.C. 742a et seq.).’’.
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•S 3156 IS

1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

2 this section shall apply to payments received after the date

3 of the enactment of this Act.

4 SEC. 202. ENHANCED DEDUCTION FOR THE DONATION OF A

5 CONSERVATION EASEMENT.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (A) of section

7 170(h)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (defining

8 conservation purpose) is amended by striking ‘‘or’’ at the

9 end of clause (iii), by striking the period at the end of

10 clause (iv) and inserting ‘‘, or’’, and by adding at the end

11 the following:

12 ‘‘(v) the conservation of a species des13 ignated by the Secretary of the Interior or

14 the Secretary of Commerce under the En15 dangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C.

16 1531 et seq) as endangered or threatened,

17 proposed by such Secretary for designation

18 as endangered or threatened, or identified

19 by such Secretary as a candidate for such

20 designation, provided the property is not

21 required, as of the date of contribution, to

22 be used for such purpose other than by

23 reason of the terms of contribution.’’.

24 (b) ENHANCED DEDUCTIONS.—Subsection (e) of sec25 tion 170 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (defining
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•S 3156 IS

1 qualified conservation contribution) is amended by adding

2 at the end the following:

3 ‘‘(7) SPECIAL RULES FOR CONTRIBUTIONS RE4 LATED TO CONSERVATION OF SPECIES.—In the case

5 of a qualified conservation contribution by an indi6 vidual for the conservation of endangered or threat7 ened species, proposed species, or candidate species

8 under subsection (h)(4)(v):

9 ‘‘(A) 50 PERCENT LIMITATION TO

10 APPLY.—Such a contribution shall be treated

11 for the purposes of this section as described in

12 subsection (b)(l)(A).

13 ‘‘(B) 20-YEAR CARRY FORWARD.—Sub14 section (d)(1) shall be applied by substituting

15 ‘20 years’ for ‘5 years’ each place it appears

16 and with appropriate adjustments in the appli17 cation of subparagraph (A)(ii) thereof.

18 ‘‘(C) UNUSED DEDUCTION CARRYOVER AL19 LOWED ON TAXPAYER’S LAST RETURN.—If the

20 taxpayer dies before the close of the last taxable

21 year for which a deduction could have been al22 lowed under subsection (d)(1), any portion of

23 the deduction for such contribution which has

24 not been allowed shall be allowed as a deduction

25 under subsection (a) (without regard to sub-
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1 section (b)) for the taxable year in which such

2 death occurs or such portion may be used as a

3 deduction against the gross estate of the tax4 payer.’’.

5 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

6 this section shall apply to contributions made after the

7 date of the enactment of this Act.

8 SEC. 203. EXCLUSION FROM ESTATE TAX FOR REAL PROP9 ERTY SUBJECT TO ENDANGERED SPECIES

10 CONSERVATION AGREEMENT.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part IV of subchapter A of chap12 ter 11 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to

13 taxable estate) is amended by adding at the end the fol14 lowing new section:

15 ‘‘SEC. 2058. CERTAIN REAL PROPERTY SUBJECT TO ENDAN16 GERED SPECIES CONSERVATION AGREE17 MENT.

18 ‘‘(a) GENERAL RULE.—For purposes of the tax im19 posed by section 2001, the value of the taxable estate shall

20 be determined by deducting from the value of the gross

21 estate an amount equal to lesser of—

22 ‘‘(1) the adjusted value of real property in23 cluded in the gross estate which is subject to an en24 dangered species conservation agreement, or

25 ‘‘(2) $10,000,000.
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1 ‘‘(b) PROPERTY SUBJECT TO AN ENDANGERED SPE2 CIES CONSERVATION AGREEMENT.—For purposes of this

3 section—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Real property shall be

5 treated as subject to an endangered species con6 servation agreement if—

7 ‘‘(A) such property was owned by the dece8 dent or a member of the decedent’s family at all

9 times during the 3-year period ending on the

10 date of the decedent’s death,

11 ‘‘(B) each person who has an interest in

12 such property (whether or not in possession)

13 has entered into—

14 ‘‘(i) an endangered species conserva15 tion agreement with respect to such prop16 erty, and

17 ‘‘(ii) a written agreement with the

18 Secretary consenting to the application of

19 subsection (d), and

20 ‘‘(C) the executor of the decedent’s

21 estate—

22 ‘‘(i) elects the application of this sec23 tion, and

24 ‘‘(ii) files with the Secretary such en25 dangered species conservation agreement.
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•S 3156 IS

1 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTED VALUE.—

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The adjusted value of

3 any real property shall be its value for purposes

4 of this chapter, reduced by—

5 ‘‘(i) any amount deductible under sec6 tion 2055(f) with respect to the property,

7 and

8 ‘‘(ii) any acquisition indebtedness with

9 respect to the property.

10 ‘‘(B) ACQUISITION INDEBTEDNESS.—For

11 purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘acquisi12 tion indebtedness’ means, with respect to any

13 real property, the unpaid amount of—

14 ‘‘(i) the indebtedness incurred by the

15 donor in acquiring such property,

16 ‘‘(ii) the indebtedness incurred before

17 the acquisition of such property if such in18 debtedness would not have been incurred

19 but for such acquisition,

20 ‘‘(iii) the indebtedness incurred after

21 the acquisition of such property if such in22 debtedness would not have been incurred

23 but for such acquisition and the incurrence

24 of such indebtedness was reasonably fore25 seeable at the time of such acquisition, and
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•S 3156 IS

1 ‘‘(iv) the extension, renewal, or refi2 nancing of an acquisition indebtedness.

3 ‘‘(c) ENDANGERED SPECIES CONSERVATION AGREE4 MENT.—For purposes of this section—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘endangered spe6 cies conservation agreement’ means a written agree7 ment entered into with the Secretary of the Interior

8 or the Secretary of Commerce—

9 ‘‘(A) which commits each person who

10 signed such agreement to carry out on the real

11 property activities or practices not otherwise re12 quired by law or to refrain from carrying out on

13 such property activities or practices that could

14 otherwise be lawfully carried out and includes—

15 ‘‘(i) objective and measurable species

16 of concern conservation goals,

17 ‘‘(ii) site-specific and other manage18 ment measures necessary to achieve those

19 goals, and

20 ‘‘(iii) objective and measurable criteria

21 to monitor progress toward those goals,

22 ‘‘(B) which is certified by such Secretary

23 as providing a major contribution to the con24 servation of a species of concern, and
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•S 3156 IS

1 ‘‘(C) which is for a term that such Sec2 retary determines is sufficient to achieve the

3 purposes of the agreement, but not less than 10

4 years beginning on the date of the decedent’s

5 death.

6 ‘‘(2) SPECIES OF CONCERN.—The term ‘species

7 of concern’ means any species designated by the Sec8 retary of the Interior or the Secretary of Commerce

9 under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16

10 U.S.C. 1531 et seq) as endangered or threatened,

11 proposed by such Secretary for designation as en12 dangered or threatened, or identified by such Sec13 retary as a candidate for such designation.

14 ‘‘(3) ANNUAL CERTIFICATION TO THE SEC15 RETARY BY THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR OR

16 THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE OF THE STATUS OF

17 ENDANGERED SPECIES CONSERVATION AGREE18 MENTS.—If the executor elects the application of

19 this section, the executor shall promptly give written

20 notice of such election to the Secretary of the Inte21 rior or the Secretary of Commerce. The Secretary of

22 the Interior or the Secretary of Commerce shall

23 thereafter annually certify to the Secretary that the

24 endangered species conservation agreement applica25 ble to any property for which such election has been
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•S 3156 IS

1 made remains in effect and is being satisfactorily

2 complied with.

3 ‘‘(d) RECAPTURE OF TAX BENEFIT IN CERTAIN

4 CASES.—

5 ‘‘(1) DISPOSITION OF INTEREST OR MATERIAL

6 BREACH.—

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An additional tax in

8 the amount determined under subparagraph

9 (B) shall be imposed on any person on the ear10 lier of—

11 ‘‘(i) the disposition by such person of

12 any interest in property subject to an en13 dangered species conservation agreement

14 (other than a disposition described in sub15 paragraph (C)),

16 ‘‘(ii) a material breach by such person

17 of the endangered species conservation

18 agreement, or

19 ‘‘(iii) the termination of the endan20 gered species conservation agreement.

21 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT OF ADDITIONAL TAX.—

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The amount of

23 the additional tax imposed by subpara24 graph (A) with respect to any interest shall
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•S 3156 IS

1 be an amount equal to the applicable per2 centage of the lesser of—

3 ‘‘(I) the adjusted tax difference

4 attributable to such interest (within

5 the meaning of section

6 2032A(c)(2)(B)), or

7 ‘‘(II) the excess of the amount

8 realized with respect to the interest

9 (or, in any case other than a sale or

10 exchange at arm’s length, the fair

11 market value of the interest) over the

12 value of the interest determined under

13 subsection (a).

14 ‘‘(ii) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE.—For

15 purposes of clause (i), the applicable per16 centage is determined in accordance with

17 the following table:

‘‘If, with respect to the date

of the agreement, the

date of the event described in subparagraph

(A) occurs—

The applicable percentage is—

Before 10 years ........................................................................ 100

After 9 years and before 20 years ........................................... 75

After 19 years and before 30 years ......................................... 50

After 29 years and before 40 years ......................................... 25

After 39 .................................................................................... 0.

18 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTION IF CERTAIN HEIRS AS19 SUME OBLIGATIONS UPON THE DEATH OF A
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1 PERSON EXECUTING THE AGREEMENT.—Sub2 paragraph (A)(i) shall not apply if—

3 ‘‘(i) upon the death of a person de4 scribed in subsection (b)(1)(B) during the

5 term of such agreement, the property sub6 ject to such agreement passes to a member

7 of the person’s family, and

8 ‘‘(ii) the member agrees—

9 ‘‘(I) to assume the obligations

10 imposed on such person under the en11 dangered species conservation agree12 ment,

13 ‘‘(II) to assume personal liability

14 for any tax imposed under subpara15 graph (A) with respect to any future

16 event described in subparagraph (A),

17 and

18 ‘‘(III) to notify the Secretary of

19 the Treasury and the Secretary of the

20 Interior or the Secretary of Commerce

21 that the member has assumed such

22 obligations and liability.

23 If a member of the person’s family enters into

24 an agreement described in subclauses (I), (II),

25 and (III), such member shall be treated as sig-
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•S 3156 IS

1 natory to the endangered species conservation

2 agreement the person entered into.

3 ‘‘(2) DUE DATE OF ADDITIONAL TAX.—The ad4 ditional tax imposed by paragraph (1) shall become

5 due and payable on the day that is 6 months after

6 the date of the disposition referred to in paragraph

7 (1)(A)(i) or, in the case of an event described in

8 clause (ii) or (iii) of paragraph (1)(A), on April 15

9 of the calendar year following any year in which the

10 Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Com11 merce fails to provide the certification required

12 under subsection (c)(3).

13 ‘‘(e) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—If a taxpayer in14 curs a tax liability pursuant to subsection (d)(1)(A),

15 then—

16 ‘‘(1) the statutory period for the assessment of

17 any additional tax imposed by subsection (d)(1)(A)

18 shall not expire before the expiration of 3 years from

19 the date the Secretary is notified (in such manner

20 as the Secretary may by regulation prescribe) of the

21 incurring of such tax liability, and

22 ‘‘(2) such additional tax may be assessed before

23 the expiration of such 3-year period notwithstanding

24 the provisions of any other law or rule of law that

25 would otherwise prevent such assessment.
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1 ‘‘(f) ELECTION AND FILING OF AGREEMENT.—The

2 election under this section shall be made on the return

3 of the tax imposed by section 2001. Such election, and

4 the filing under subsection (b) of an endangered species

5 conservation agreement, shall be made in such manner as

6 the Secretary shall by regulation provide.

7 ‘‘(g) APPLICATION OF THIS SECTION TO INTERESTS

8 IN PARTNERSHIPS, CORPORATIONS, AND TRUSTS.—This

9 section shall apply to an interest in a partnership, corpora10 tion, or trust if at least 30 percent of the entity is owned

11 (directly or indirectly) by the decedent, as determined

12 under the rules described in section 2057(e)(3).

13 ‘‘(h) MEMBER OF FAMILY.—For purposes of this sec14 tion, the term ‘member of the family’ means any member

15 of the family (as defined in section 2032A(e)(2)) of the

16 decedent.’’.

17 (b) CARRYOVER BASIS.—Section 1014(a)(4) of the

18 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to basis of prop19 erty acquired from a decedent) is amended by inserting

20 ‘‘or 2058’’ after ‘‘section 2031(c)’’.

21 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

22 for part IV of subchapter A of chapter 11 of the Internal

23 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end

24 the following new item:

‘‘Sec. 2058. Certain real property subject to endangered species

conservation agreement.’’.
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•S 3156 IS

1 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

2 this section shall apply to estates of decedents dying after

3 the date of the enactment of this Act.

4 SEC. 204. EXPANSION OF ESTATE TAX EXCLUSION FOR

5 REAL PROPERTY SUBJECT TO QUALIFIED

6 CONSERVATION EASEMENT.

7 (a) REPEAL OF CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS ON WHERE

8 LAND IS LOCATED.—Clause (i) of section 2031(c)(8)(A)

9 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (defining land sub10 ject to a qualified conservation easement) is amended to

11 read as follows:

12 ‘‘(i) which is located in the United

13 States or any possession of the United

14 States,’’.

15 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

16 this section shall apply to estates of decedents dying after

17 the date of the enactment of this Act.

Æ