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[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1992 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1992

 To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to ensure that listing of 
  species is in the public interest, that species are listed only on 
   basis of actual threats, not speculative future threats to their 
 existence, that listing of species and designation of their critical 
 habitat will be subject to blind peer review, that persons conducting 
listing processes do not benefit economically from a listing decision, 
  that emergency listing without full public and scientific community 
participation will occur only in emergency situations, that incidental 
   take prosecutions will occur only after a recovery plan has been 
  prepared which provides guidance as to what constitutes a take, and 
that the Act does not encourage suits between private citizens, and for 
                            other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 5, 1993

Mr. Smith of Oregon (for himself, Mrs. Vucanovich, Mr. Young of Alaska, 
Mr. Skeen, Mr. Doolittle, Mr. Herger, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Taylor of North 
   Carolina, Mr. Packard, Mr. Hancock, Mr. Boehner, and Mr. Hansen) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                     Merchant Marine and Fisheries

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to ensure that listing of 
  species is in the public interest, that species are listed only on 
   basis of actual threats, not speculative future threats to their 
 existence, that listing of species and designation of their critical 
 habitat will be subject to blind peer review, that persons conducting 
listing processes do not benefit economically from a listing decision, 
  that emergency listing without full public and scientific community 
participation will occur only in emergency situations, that incidental 
   take prosecutions will occur only after a recovery plan has been 
  prepared which provides guidance as to what constitutes a take, and 
that the Act does not encourage suits between private citizens, 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 Improvement Act 
of 1993''.

SEC. 2. INSERTING A PUBLIC INTEREST DETERMINATION IN LISTING DECISION.

    (a) In General.--Section 4(a)(1) of the Endangered Species Act of 
1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533(a)(1)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``Sec. 4. (a) In General.--(1) The Secretary shall by regulation 
promulgated in accordance with subsection (b) of this section determine 
that a species is an endangered species or a threatened species if the 
Secretary determines the following:
            ``(A) That the species warrants listing as an endangered 
        species or a threatened species because of any of the following 
        factors:
                    ``(i) The past or present destruction, 
                modification, or curtailment of its habitat or range.
                    ``(ii) Overutilization for commercial, 
                recreational, scientific, or educational purposes.
                    ``(iii) Disease or predation.
                    ``(iv) The inadequacy of existing regulatory 
                mechanisms.
                    ``(v) Other natural or manmade factors affecting 
                its continued existence.
            ``(B) That the listing of the species is in the public 
        interest after considering the following factors:
                    ``(i) The technical practicability of recovering 
                the species.
                    ``(ii) The biological significance of the species.
                    ``(iii) The quality of available data on the 
                species.
                    ``(iv) The direct and indirect costs to the public 
                and private sectors, including public service and 
                employment, which may be imposed by the application of 
                the protections of this Act to such species.
                    ``(v) The impacts on the use and value of non-
                Federal property which may result from application of 
                the protections of this Act to such species.
                    ``(vi) The impacts on the environment and other 
                species which may result from the application of the 
                protections of this Act to such species.
                    ``(vii) The scientific and other benefits which may 
                result from the application of the protections of this 
                Act to such species.
                    ``(viii) Any other beneficial or adverse effects 
                which may result from the application of the 
                protections of this Act to such species.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 4(b)(1)(A) of the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533(b)(1)(A)) is amended by striking 
``subsection (a)(1)'' and inserting in lieu thereof ``subsection 
(a)(1)(A)''.

SEC. 3. REQUIRING BLIND PEER REVIEW.

    Section 4(b) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
1533(b)) is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new 
paragraph:
    ``(9) Prior to making any determination pursuant to subsection 
(a)(1), the Secretary shall submit for peer review all information on 
and analyses of the species or habitat upon which such determination 
will be made to a panel of experts who are not employed by, under 
contract to, or recipients of grants from the department of the 
Secretary. The panel shall be selected by the Inspector General of the 
department of the Secretary without the advice or consent of the 
Secretary or any official of any agency advising the Secretary on the 
determination. The Secretary shall consider the report of the panel 
prior to making a determination, shall make the report available to the 
public, and shall provide a response to the report in the preamble to 
the final rule setting forth the determination.''.

SEC. 4. AVOIDING BIAS.

    Section 4(b) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
1533(b)), as amended by section 3 of this Act, is further amended by 
adding at the end thereof the following paragraph (11):
    ``(10) No person who advises the Secretary on, or otherwise 
participates formally in procedures leading to, a determination 
pursuant to subsection (a)(1), or the institution with which such 
person is employed, shall receive any grant or other funding under or 
pursuant to this Act or any other authority of the Secretary to study, 
conduct research on, undertake conservation activities for, or 
otherwise address the species which is the subject of such 
determination.''.

SEC. 5. ESTIMATION OF NUMBER OF A SPECIES.

    Section 4(b) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
1533(b)), as amended by sections 3 and 4 of this Act, is further 
amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(11)(A) The Secretary shall determine and publish in the Federal 
Register with each proposed rule under subsection (a)(1) an estimate of 
the number of the species that is the subject of the rule.
    ``(B) The estimate published under subparagraph (A) for a species--
            ``(i) shall be periodically reviewed and revised by the 
        Secretary to reflect changes in the number of the species; and
            ``(ii) shall be used by the Secretary to make 
        determinations under subsection (c)(2)(B).''.

SEC. 6. APPLYING THE EMERGENCY LISTING PROCESS TO EMERGENCY SITUATIONS.

    Section 4(b)(7) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
1533(b)(7)) is amended by striking ``a significant risk to the well-
being'' and inserting in lieu thereof ``an immediate threat of 
extinction''.

SEC. 7. LIMITING APPLICATION OF TAKE PROHIBITION PRIOR TO COMPLETION OF 
              A RECOVERY PLAN.

    Section 9(a) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
1538(a)) is amended by inserting at the end thereof a new paragraph (3) 
as follows:
    ``(3) For purposes of paragraph (1)(B) of this subsection and any 
regulation applying such paragraph to a threatened species pursuant to 
section 4(d) of this Act, the terms ``harm'' and ``harass'' in the 
definition of ``take'' in section 3(19) of this Act shall apply only to 
such species which are subject to a recovery plan issued under section 
4(f) of this Act.''.

SEC. 8. ELIMINATING CITIZEN SUITS AGAINST PRIVATE PARTIES.

    Section 11(g) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
1540(g)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)(A) by striking ``any person, including 
        the United States and any other governmental instrumentality or 
        agency (to the extent permitted by the eleventh amendment to 
        the Constitution), who'' and inserting in lieu thereof ``the 
        United States, or any instrumentality or agency thereof, 
        which'';
            (2) in the first sentence following subparagraph (C) of 
        paragraph (1) by striking ``or the citizenship of the 
        parties''; and
            (3) in paragraph (3) by striking ``(A)'' and subparagraph 
        (B).

SEC. 9. COMPENSATION FOR DIMINUTION IN VALUE OF PRIVATE PROPERTY 
              RIGHTS.

    (a) In General.--The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end thereof the following:

``SEC. 19. COMPENSATION FOR DIMINUTION IN VALUE OF PRIVATE PROPERTY 
              RIGHTS.

    ``(a) In General.--The head of any Federal agency who takes an 
action under this Act, or regulations issued pursuant to this Act, 
shall compensate the owner of private property for any diminution in 
value caused by the action. Action may cause the diminution in value of 
private property--
            ``(1) even though the action results in less than a 
        complete deprivation of all use or value or of all separate 
        distinct interests in the same private property; and
            ``(2) even if the action is temporary in nature.
    ``(b) Duty of Federal Agency Heads.--The head of each Federal 
agency shall, at the time of issuing regulations or undertaking any 
activity under this Act, determine whether such regulations or activity 
results in the diminution in value of private property such that such 
diminution is compensable under this section.
    ``(c) Compensation.--(1) Within 60 days after the date of issuance 
of any such regulation or the taking of any such action which results 
in a diminution in value of private property which is compensable under 
this section, the head of the Federal agency concerned shall make an 
offer of compensation to the owner of the private property affected. 
Any offer made under this paragraph shall be effective for one year.
    ``(2) Such owner may reject the offer and, within one year after 
such rejection, file a claim for compensation in the United States 
Claims Court for a determination of the value of the property affected. 
In addition to awarding fair market value for the property affected, 
the court may award reasonable attorney's fees and expenses of 
litigation.
    ``(3) In any case in which the property affected involves lands, 
such owner, in lieu of a claim under paragraph (2), may exchange in 
accordance with applicable Federal law lands affected by such law, 
regulation, or activity.
    ``(4) Such owner may also accept such compensation as may be 
available under other laws for tax benefits, mineral rights credits, 
and comparable offers for value by the United States.
    ``(5) Any cash settlement or judgment from the United States Claims 
Court pursuant to paragraph (2) shall be paid as a matter of right from 
the land and water conservation fund established by section 2 of the 
Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l-5).''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply to any activity of the United States Government after the date of 
enactment of this Act.

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