Common Sense in Species Protection Act of 2015

To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to require the Secretary of the Interior to publish and make available for public comment a draft economic analysis at the time a proposed rule to designate critical habitat is published. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Common Sense in Species Protection Act of 2015 2. Draft economic analysis for critical habitat designation (a) In general Section 4(b)(2) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1533(b)(2) (1) in the first sentence, by striking (2) The Secretary shall (2) Critical habitat designation (A) In general The Secretary shall ; (2) in the second sentence, by striking The Secretary may (B) Exclusions The Secretary shall ; and (3) by adding at the end the following: (C) Draft economic analysis (i) Requirement At the time a proposed rule to designate critical habitat is published, the Secretary shall publish and make available for public comment a draft analysis that— (I) examines the incremental and cumulative economic effects of all actions to protect the species and its habitat (including the effects of the proposed designation) upon each State and locality that is the subject of, or affected by, the proposed designation; (II) includes consideration of public and private economic effects on— (aa) possible uses of land and property values; (bb) the provision of water, power, or other public services; (cc) employment; and (dd) revenues available for State and local governments, including a political subdivision of a State that directly or indirectly provides public services, school districts, and any other instrumentality of a State; (III) complies with the guidelines issued pursuant to section 515 of the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act of 2001 (114 Stat. 2763A–153); and (IV) assesses such effects on a quantitative and qualitative basis. (ii) Determination factors not affected Nothing in clause (i) shall be construed as adding to, subtracting from, or otherwise modifying the factors set forth in subsection (a)(1) or the bases set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection . (b) Application (1) In general The amendments made by subsection (a) shall apply with respect to any designation of critical habitat under such Act on or after August 28, 2013. (2) Report Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary (as that term is defined in such Act) shall submit a report to the Congress describing the effect of paragraph (1).

Summary: Common Sense in Species Protection Act of 2015 This bill amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to require the Department of the Interior or the Department of Commerce to exclude an area from designation as a critical habitat to conserve an endangered or threatened species if the benefits of exclusion outweigh the benefits of including the area, unless the failure to designate the area as critical habitat will result in the extinction of the species. At the time a proposed rule to designate a critical habitat is published, the appropriate department must make available for public comment a draft analysis that: (1) examines the incremental and cumulative economic effects of all actions to protect the species and its habitat upon each state and locality that is affected by the proposed designation; (2) includes consideration of economic effects on possible uses of land and property values, employment, revenues available for state and local governments, and the provision of water, power, or other public services; and (3) assesses those effects on a quantitative and qualitative basis. The bill applies to any designation of critical habitat on or after August 28, 2013.