I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6364 
To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to increase State and local 
involvement in management plans. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 12, 2018 
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska (for himself, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. BIGGS, Mr. 
BISHOP of Utah, Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina, Mr. MEADOWS, Mr. 
NORMAN, Mr. EMMER, Mr. LUETKEMEYER, Mr. MARSHALL, Mrs. NOEM, 
Mr. STEWART, Mr. BANKS of Indiana, Mr. PEARCE, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, 
Mr. GOHMERT, Mr. NEWHOUSE, and Mr. ESTES of Kansas) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Re-
sources 
A BILL 
To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to increase 
State and local involvement in management plans. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Localizing Authority 
of Management Plans Act of 2018’’ or the ‘‘LAMP Act 
of 2018’’. 
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SEC. 2. REFERENCES. 
Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in 
this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 
of an amendment to, or repeal of, a provision, the ref-
erence shall be considered to be made to a provision of 
the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 
seq.). 
SEC. 3. VOLUNTARY COOPERATIVE MANAGEMENT AGREE-
MENTS. 
Section 6 (16 U.S.C. 1535) is amended by striking 
so much as precedes subsection (c) and inserting the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘SEC. 6. COOPERATION WITH NON-FEDERAL PERSONS. 
‘‘(a) GENERALLY.—In carrying out the program au-
thorized by this Act, the Secretary shall cooperate to the 
maximum extent practicable with the States and other 
non-Federal persons. Such cooperation shall include con-
sultation with the States and non-Federal persons con-
cerned before acquiring any land or water, or interest 
therein, for the purpose of conserving any endangered spe-
cies or threatened species. 
‘‘(b) COOPERATIVE MANAGEMENT AGREEMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter 
into a cooperative management agreement with any 
State or group of States, political subdivision of a 
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shall publish in the Federal Register a notice of 
availability of the terms of such agreement and the 
response of the Secretary to all information received 
or presented with respect to the agreement pursuant 
to paragraph (4)(B). 
‘‘(6) ENVIRONMENTAL
ASSESSMENTS.—Prepa-
ration, approval, and entering into a cooperative 
management agreement under this subsection shall 
not be subject to section 102(2) of the National En-
vironmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)). 
‘‘(7) NO SURPRISES.—For any species or area 
that is the subject of a cooperative management 
agreement under this subsection, a party to the 
agreement shall not be required— 
‘‘(A) to make any additional payment for 
any purpose, or to accept any additional restric-
tion on any parcel of land available for develop-
ment or land management under the agree-
ment, without consent of the party; or 
‘‘(B) to undertake any other measure to 
minimize or mitigate impacts on the species in 
addition to measures required by the agreement 
as established. 
‘‘(8) EFFECT OF LISTING OF SPECIES.—A co-
operative management agreement entered into under 
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this subsection shall remain in effect and shall not 
be required to be amended if a species to which the 
agreement does not apply is determined to be an en-
dangered species or threatened species under section 
4. 
‘‘(9) 
APPLICABILITY
OF
CERTAIN
PROVI-
SIONS.—Sections 5, 7, and 9 shall not apply to those 
activities of a party to a cooperative management 
agreement that are conducted in accordance with 
such agreement. 
‘‘(10) VIOLATIONS
OF
AGREEMENTS.—(A) If 
the Secretary determines that a party to a coopera-
tive management agreement is not administering or 
acting in accordance with the agreement, the Sec-
retary shall notify the party. 
‘‘(B) If a party that is notified under subpara-
graph (A) fails to take appropriate corrective action 
within a period of time determined by the Secretary 
to be reasonable (not to exceed 90 days after the 
date of the notification)— 
‘‘(i) the Secretary shall rescind the entire 
cooperative management agreement or the ap-
plicability of the agreement to the party that is 
the subject of the notification; and 
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‘‘(ii) beginning on the date of the rescis-
sion— 
‘‘(I) the entire agreement shall not be 
effective, or the agreement shall not be ef-
fective with respect to the party, whichever 
is appropriate; and 
‘‘(II) sections 5, 7, and 9 shall apply 
to activities of the party. 
‘‘(11) FACA.—Consultation with States pursu-
ant to this section shall not be subject to the Fed-
eral Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).’’. 
SEC. 4. DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY TO STATES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6 (16 U.S.C. 1535) as 
amended by section 3 of this Act, is further amended by 
striking subsection (c) and all that follows through sub-
section (f) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(c) STATE AUTHORITY TO PROTECT ENDANGERED 
SPECIES AND THREATENED SPECIES.— 
‘‘(1) DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY.—In further-
ance of the purposes of this Act, the Secretary may 
delegate to a State that establishes and maintains 
an adequate program for the conservation of endan-
gered species and threatened species the authority 
under this Act with respect to species that are resi-
dents in the State. Within 120 days after the Sec-
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retary receives a certified copy of such a proposed 
State program, the Secretary shall make a deter-
mination whether such program will be adequate to 
provide protections to endangered species and 
threatened species in such State. In order for a 
State program to be determined to be an adequate 
program for the conservation of endangered species 
and threatened species, the Secretary must find that 
under the State program— 
‘‘(A)(i) State agency has authority to con-
serve resident species that are determined by 
the State agency or the Secretary to be endan-
gered species or threatened species; 
‘‘(ii) the State agency has established ac-
ceptable conservation programs, consistent with 
the purposes and policies of this Act, for all 
resident species in the State that are deter-
mined by the Secretary to be endangered spe-
cies or threatened species or for those species or 
taxonomic groups of species that the State pro-
poses to cover under its program, and has fur-
nished to the Secretary a copy of such plan and 
program together with all pertinent details and 
information requested by the Secretary; 
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‘‘(iii) the State agency is authorized to 
conduct investigations to determine the status 
and requirements for survival of resident en-
dangered species and threatened species; 
‘‘(iv) provision is made for public partici-
pation in designating resident species as endan-
gered species or threatened species; and 
‘‘(v) the State agency has initiated or en-
couraged voluntary or incentive based programs 
to further the conservation objectives for the 
species; or 
‘‘(B)(i) the requirements set forth in 
clauses (iii) and (iv) of subparagraph (A) are 
complied with; and 
‘‘(ii) plans are included under which imme-
diate attention will be given to those resident 
species that are determined by the Secretary or 
the State agency to be endangered species or 
threatened species and that the Secretary and 
the State agency agree are most urgently in 
need of conservation programs. 
‘‘(2) 
CONTENTS
OF
DELEGATION
AGREE-
MENT.—(A) Such delegation shall provide for— 
‘‘(i) the actions to be taken by the Sec-
retary and the States; 
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‘‘(ii) the benefits that are expected to be 
derived in connection with the conservation of 
endangered species or threatened species; 
‘‘(iii) the estimated cost of such actions; 
and 
‘‘(iv) the share of such costs to be borne by 
the Federal Government and by the States; ex-
cept that— 
‘‘(I) the Federal share of such costs 
shall not exceed 75 percent of the esti-
mated program cost stated in the agree-
ment; and 
‘‘(II) the Federal share may be in-
creased to 90 percent if two or more States 
having a common interest in one or more 
endangered species or threatened species, 
the conservation of which may be enhanced 
by cooperation of such States, enter jointly 
into an agreement with the Secretary. 
‘‘(3) COMPLIANCE WITH PROCEDURES.—In im-
plementing this Act under authority delegated to a 
State by the Secretary, the State shall comply with 
all requirements, prohibitions, and procedures set 
forth by this Act. 
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‘‘(4) PROHIBITIONS NOT AFFECTED.—A delega-
tion to a State whose program is determined ade-
quate under paragraph (1) shall not affect the appli-
cability of prohibitions set forth in or authorized 
pursuant to section 4(d) or paragraph (1) or (2) of 
section 9(a) with respect to the taking of any resi-
dent endangered species or threatened species in the 
State. 
‘‘(d) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may provide 
financial assistance to any State, through its respec-
tive State agency, that has entered into a coopera-
tive management agreement under subsection (b) or 
received authority under a delegation under sub-
section (c) of this section to assist in development of 
programs for the conservation of endangered species 
and threatened species or to assist in monitoring the 
status of candidate species pursuant to subpara-
graph (C) of section 4(b)(3) and recovered species 
pursuant to section 4(f). The Secretary shall allocate 
among such States each annual appropriation under 
subsection (i) based on consideration of— 
‘‘(A) the international commitments 
of the United States to protect endangered 
species or threatened species; 
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‘‘(B) the readiness of a State to pro-
ceed with a conservation program con-
sistent with the objectives and purposes of 
this Act; 
‘‘(C) the number of endangered spe-
cies and threatened species within a State; 
‘‘(D) the potential for restoring en-
dangered species and threatened species 
within a State; 
‘‘(E) the relative urgency to initiate a 
program to restore and protect an endan-
gered species or threatened species, in 
terms of survival of the species; 
‘‘(F) the importance of monitoring the 
status of candidate species within a State 
to prevent a significant risk to the well- 
being of any such species; and 
‘‘(G) the importance of monitoring the 
status of recovered species within a State 
to assure that such species do not return 
to the point at which the measures pro-
vided pursuant to this Act are again nec-
essary. 
‘‘(2) UNOBLIGATED AMOUNTS.—So much 
of the annual appropriation made under sub-
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section (i) allocated for obligation to any State 
for any fiscal year as remains unobligated at 
the end thereof may be made available to that 
State until the end of the succeeding fiscal 
year. Any amount allocated to any State that is 
unobligated at the end of the period during 
which it is available for expenditure may be 
made available for expenditure by the Secretary 
in conducting programs under this section. 
‘‘(3) ADVANCE OF FUNDS.—The Secretary 
may, in the Secretary’s discretion, and under 
such rules and regulations as the Secretary may 
prescribe, advance funds to the State for fi-
nancing the United States pro rata share 
agreed upon in the cooperative agreement. For 
the purposes of this section, the non-Federal 
share may, in the discretion of the Secretary, be 
in the form of money or real property, the value 
of which shall be determined by the Secretary, 
whose decision shall be final. 
‘‘(e) REVIEW
OF STATE PROGRAMS.—Any action 
taken by the Secretary under this section shall be subject 
to his periodic review at intervals of no greater intervals 
5 years. 
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‘‘(f) CONFLICTS BETWEEN FEDERAL
AND STATE 
LAWS.—Any State law or regulation that applies with re-
spect to the importation or exportation of, or interstate 
or foreign commerce in, endangered species or threatened 
species is void to the extent that it may effectively— 
‘‘(1) permit what is prohibited by this Act or by 
any regulation that implements this Act; or 
‘‘(2) prohibit what is authorized pursuant to an 
exemption or permit provided for in this Act or in 
any regulation that implements this Act. This Act 
shall not otherwise be construed to void any State 
law or regulation that is intended to conserve migra-
tory, resident, or introduced fish or wildlife, or to 
permit or prohibit sale of such fish or wildlife. Any 
State law or regulation respecting the taking of an 
endangered species or threatened species may be 
more restrictive than the exemptions or permits pro-
vided for in this Act or in any regulation that imple-
ments this Act.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 6(g)(2)(A) 
(16 U.S.C. 1535(g)(2)(A)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(A) to which the Secretary has delegated 
authority under subsection (c); or’’. 
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SEC. 5. FACA. 
Section 6 (16 U.S.C. 1535), as amended by sections 
3 and 4 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘(j) FACA.—Consultation with States regarding this 
section shall not be subject to the Federal Advisory Com-
mittee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).’’. 
Æ 
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