Title: LIST Act of 2020
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
Less Imprecision in Species Treatment Act of 2020 or the LIST Act of 2020
This bill revises the process for removing a species from the endangered or threatened species lists.
A species must be removed from the endangered or threatened species lists if the Department of the Interior produces or receives substantial scientific or commercial information demonstrating that the species is recovered or that recovery goals set for the species have been met.
The publication and notice of a proposed regulation to remove a species from the lists must consist solely of a notice of the removal.
The bill establishes a process for removing species from the lists if they were erroneously or wrongfully listed. The bill prohibits a person from submitting a petition to list a species as a threatened or endangered species for 10 years if the person knowingly submitted a petition with information that was inaccurate beyond scientifically reasonable margins of error, fraudulent, or misrepresentative.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5579 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5579

  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 10, 2020

Mr. Gianforte (for himself, Mr. Gosar, Mr. Newhouse, Mr. Crawford, and 
 Mr. McClintock) 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 endangered species.

    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 ``Less Imprecision in Species 
Treatment Act of 2020'' or the ``LIST Act of 2020''.

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 procedures 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 subsection (c)(2) that 
each determination under subparagraph (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 Department of the Interior has produced or 
received substantial scientific or commercial information demonstrating 
that the species is recovered or that 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 subsection (c), the publication and notice under 
subsection (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 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533(a)), as 
amended 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 
described in clause (ii) regarding a species included in a list under 
subsection (c), the Secretary 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 commercial information available to, or received or 
produced by, the Department under paragraphs (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 determination 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 includes such information as was received or 
        produced by the Department under such clause.
    ``(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 review.
    ``(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 considered an 
interested person for purposes of subparagraph (A) with respect to any 
petition submitted by the person after the date the person submitted 
such scientific or commercial information.''.

SEC. 3. EXPANDED CONSIDERATION DURING FIVE-YEAR REVIEW.

    Section 4(c) (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 established, 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 determination 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).''.
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