I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 99 
To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to provide for improved 
precision in the listing, delisting, and downlisting of endangered species 
and potentially endangered species. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 9, 2023 
Mr. BIGGS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to provide 
for improved precision in the listing, delisting, and 
downlisting of endangered species and potentially endan-
gered species. 
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 ‘‘Less Imprecision in 
Species Treatment Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘LIST Act of 
2023’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:20 Jan 14, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H99.IH
H99
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT TO INITIATE DELISTING. 
(a) REQUIREMENT IN CASE OF RECOVERY.—Section 
4(b) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
1533(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(9)(A) The Secretary shall initiate the proce-
dures in accordance with subsection (a)(1) to remove 
a species from a list published under subsection (c) 
if— 
‘‘(i) the goals of a recovery plan for the 
species developed under subsection (f) have 
been met; or 
‘‘(ii) the goals for recovery of the species 
have not been developed under subsection (f), 
and the Secretary determines that the species 
has recovered sufficiently to no longer require 
the protection of the Act. 
‘‘(B) Notwithstanding the requirement of sub-
section (c)(2) that each determination under sub-
paragraph (B) of that subsection shall be made in 
accordance with the provisions of subsections (a) 
and (b), the Secretary shall remove a species from 
any list published under subsection (c) if the De-
partment of the Interior has produced or received 
substantial scientific or commercial information 
demonstrating that the species is recovered or that 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:20 Jan 14, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H99.IH
H99
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
recovery goals set for the species under subsection 
(f) have been met. 
‘‘(C) In the case of a species removed under 
subparagraph (A) from a list published under sub-
section (c), the publication and notice under sub-
section (b)(5) shall consist solely of a notice of such 
removal.’’. 
(b) REQUIREMENT
IN
CASE
ERRONEOUSLY
OR 
WRONGFULLY LISTED.—Section 4(b)(3) of the Endan-
gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533(a)), as amend-
ed by subsection (a), is further amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘(H)(i) Not later than 90 days after the 
date the Department of the Interior receives or 
produces under this subsection information de-
scribed in clause (ii) regarding a species in-
cluded in a list under subsection (c), the Sec-
retary shall to the maximum extent practicable 
find whether the inclusion of such species in 
such list was less than likely to have occurred 
in the absence of the scientific or commercial 
information referred to in clause (ii). 
‘‘(ii) Information referred to in clause (i) is 
any information demonstrating that the listing 
was determined on the basis of scientific or 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:20 Jan 14, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H99.IH
H99
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
commercial information available to, or received 
or produced by, the Department under para-
graphs (1) and (3) of subsection (b) that at the 
time the scientific or commercial information 
was available to or received or produced by the 
Department it was— 
‘‘(I) inaccurate beyond scientifically 
reasonable margins of error; 
‘‘(II) fraudulent; or 
‘‘(III) misrepresentative. 
‘‘(iii) Notwithstanding the requirement 
under subsection (c)(2)(B) that each determina-
tion under subparagraph (B) shall be made in 
accordance with the provisions of subsections 
(a) and (b), the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(I) remove from any list published 
under subsection (c) any species for which 
a positive finding is made under clause (i); 
and 
‘‘(II) promptly publish in the Federal 
Register notice of such finding that in-
cludes such information as was received or 
produced by the Department under such 
clause. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:20 Jan 14, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H99.IH
H99
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
‘‘(iv) Any positive finding by the Secretary 
under clause (i) shall not be subject to judicial 
review. 
‘‘(v) Any negative finding by the Secretary 
under clause (i) shall be subject to judicial re-
view. 
‘‘(vi) In the case of a species removed 
under clause (iii) from a list, the publication 
and notice under subsection (b)(5) shall consist 
solely of a notice of such removal. 
‘‘(vii) If the Secretary finds that a person 
submitted a petition that is the subject of a 
positive finding under clause (i) knowing that it 
contained scientific or commercial information 
described in clause (ii), then during the 10-year 
period beginning on the date of the finding 
under this clause the person shall not be consid-
ered an interested person for purposes of sub-
paragraph (A) with respect to any petition sub-
mitted by the person after the date the person 
submitted such scientific or commercial infor-
mation.’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:20 Jan 14, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H99.IH
H99
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
SEC. 3. EXPANDED CONSIDERATION DURING FIVE-YEAR 
REVIEW. 
Section 4(c) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 
(16 U.S.C. 1533(c)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(3) Each determination under paragraph 
(2)(B) shall consider one of the following: 
‘‘(A) Except as provided in subparagraph 
(B) of this paragraph, the criteria required 
under subsection (f)(1)(B) in the recovery plan 
for the species. 
‘‘(B) If the objective, measurable criteria 
under subsection (f)(1)(B)(ii) are not estab-
lished, the factors for the determination that a 
species is an endangered species or a threatened 
species set forth in subsections (a)(1) and 
(b)(1). 
‘‘(C) A finding of error in the determina-
tion that the species is an endangered species, 
a threatened species, or extinct. 
‘‘(D) A determination that the species is 
no longer an endangered species or threatened 
species or in danger of extinction, based on an 
analysis of the factors that are the basis for 
listing in subsections (a)(1) and (b)(1).’’. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:20 Jan 14, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H99.IH
H99
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB