zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Endangered Species Management Self-Determination Act

This bill amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) by requiring the Department of Interior and the Department of Commerce to obtain the consent of each state for adding species to the list of threatened or endangered plants and animals when the species is present in the state.

Interior must submit to Congress a list of all endangered or threatened species. Congress must give its approval by a joint resolution before the list may take effect.

 Species are automatically taken off the list after five years. Interior may petition for the species to be relisted.

The bill eliminates provisions of the ESA allowing interested persons to petition for the addition or removal of a species from the list.

A state may regulate intrastate endangered or threatened species that are only present within its boundaries. If a state elects to regulate those species, it is given exclusive authority with respect to managing species and their habitats. State action with respect to intrastate species is not subject to judicial review.

The Bonneville, Southeastern, Southwestern, and Western Area Power Administrations must include in customer monthly billing statements information on the share of costs to the customer incurred as a result of compliance with the ESA, unless the costs are for intrastate species regulated by states.

Owners or lessees of property may apply to Interior for a determination of whether a proposed property use will violate the ESA. The use is deemed compliant if Interior fails to respond within 90 days. The owners and lessees may seek monetary compensation for unfavorable determinations.

The bill eliminates awards of attorney fees in citizen suits under the ESA.

Date: 2016-05-18
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Environmental protection
This bill prohibits any authorization of appropriations for the National Park Service to:

 study how artificial light affects the movements and behavior of insects, or develop or test remote sensing technology that measures distance by illuminating a target with a laser and analyzing the reflected light to determine how artificial light affects insect movements and behavior.

Date: 2016-05-19
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Public Safety and Wildlife Protection Act

This bill prohibits importing, exporting, delivering, carrying, transporting, selling, receiving, acquiring, or purchasing steel-jaw leghold traps or Conibear traps.

Steel-jaw leghold traps are certain spring-powered pan or sear-activated devices with steel jaws that are designed to snap closed on animals. Conibear traps consist of metal frames hinged at the center point and powered by two torsion springs that create a scissor-like action designed to kill animals by snapping their spinal columns. Both types of traps exclude cage or box traps, suitcase-type live beaver traps, or mouse or rat snap traps.

The bill establishes penalties for violating the prohibition on the traps.

The Department of the Interior must pay rewards for information that leads to a conviction of a violation of this bill, unless the information was provided by officers or employees of federal, state, or local governments while they were performing official duties.

Date: 2016-06-22
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Animals
Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act of 2016

This bill makes it illegal to possess, buy, sell, transport, or trade shark fins or any product containing shark fins.A person may possess a shark fin that was lawfully taken consistent with a license or permit under certain circumstances.

 Penalties areimposedfor violations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

Date: 2016-06-24
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Animals
Recovering America's Wildlife Act of 2016

This bill amends the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to direct the Department of the Treasury to transfer, beginning in FY2016, revenues from energy and mineral development on federal lands totaling $1.3 billion to the Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Subaccount of the Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration Fund, to be available without further appropriation. The purpose of the subaccount is to fund state wildlife conservation and restoration programs for managing fish and wildlife species of the greatest conservation need as determined by a state fish and wildlife agency.

Date: 2016-07-06
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Environmental protection
Conserving Our Reefs and Livelihoods Act of 2016

This bill amends the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 to expand the coral reef conservation program by awarding remaining program grant funds to appropriate projects, including monitoring and assessment, research, and education necessary to protect and restore coral reefs.

The Coral Reef Conservation Fund is renamed the Coral Reef Conservation and Restoration Fund.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)must establish the Center of Excellence in Coral Reef Ecosystem Science Cooperative Institute.Additionally, the bill directs NOAAto submit to Congress a national coral reef action strategy.

The U.S. Coral Reef Task Force is authorized to carry out prize competitions that promote coral reef research and conservation. The prize competitions must be designed to help the United States achieve its goal of developing new and effective ways to advance the understanding, monitoring, and sustainability of coral reef ecosystems.

The Department of the Interior may provide coral reef conservation and restoration assistance. Interior must obtain approval from the relevant fish and wildlife management agency of a state or territory before restricting fishing access to state or territorial waters within its jurisdiction.

The bill directs NOAA to award competitive grants for colleges, universities, and nonprofit research organizations to research lionfish and their impact on the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico ecosystems.

Date: 2016-07-13
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Marine Mammal Research and Response Act of 2016

This bill reauthorizes through FY2022 and revises the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, including by expanding the Act and the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue and Response Grant Program to include assistance for marine mammals that are entangled in material (e.g. fishing gear) and are on U.S. beaches or shores, or in U.S. navigable waters.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) must develop a program to make publicly available certain data collected under this bill.

The bill requires sums received for marine mammal conservation (e.g. fines for violations) and sums received from emergency declaration grants for marine mammal conservation to be deposited into the Marine Mammal Unusual Mortality Event Fund.

The bill establishes the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue and Rapid Response Fund for providing emergency financial assistance for certain stranded or entangled marine mammals.

NOAA must: (1) establish a national marine mammal health and stranding observing system (Marine Mammal Health Map), (2) analyze gaps in data about marine mammal rescue and response, and (3) report on the response capabilities for sick and injured marine mammals in U.S. Arctic regions.

Date: 2016-07-13
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Animals
Coral Reef Conservation Act Reauthorization and Enhancement Amendments of 2016

This bill amends the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 to extend the award of coral reef conservation program grant funds to appropriate projects, including monitoring and assessment, research, pollution reduction, education, and technical support.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)and the Department of the Interior are authorized to undertake emergency actions to: (1) minimize injury to a coral reef or a coral reef ecosystem; and (2) stabilize, repair, or restore a coral reef. It is unlawful to injure a coral reef or its ecosystem subject to certain exemptions.

The bill modifies the goals and objectives of the national coral reef action strategy. NOAA must submit a report to Congress describing all activities undertaken to implement the strategy.

Additionally, NOAA is authorized to: (1) make community-based planning grants for increased protection of high priority coral reefs, (2) maintain an inventory of all coral reef vessel groundings, (3) identify all coral reefs with a high incidence of vessel impacts, and (4) identify measures to reduce such impacts.

NOAA must also submit an international coral reef ecosystem strategy to Congress and may establish an international coral reef ecosystem partnership program.The international strategy must be published in the Federal Register.

The bill establishes the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force to coordinate federal actions that are designed to preserve and protect coral reef ecosystems. Additionally, the 12 federal agencies on the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force are authorized to carry out either individually or cooperatively, prize competitions that promote coral reef research and conservation.

Date: 2016-07-14
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Invasive Fish and Wildlife Prevention Act of 2016

This bill sets forth a regulatory process for preventing the introduction and establishment in the United States of certain injurious wildlife that is likely to cause harm to: (1) humans; (2) interests in agriculture, horticulture, or forestry; or (3) wildlife or wildlife resources.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) may: (1) designate certain wildlife as injurious, and (2) make immediate and temporary emergency designations if the injurious wildlife poses an imminent threat. Interested persons may petition the USFWS to designate wildlife as injurious.

The bill: (1) gives the Department of the Interior the primary authority to prevent the importation and sale of wildlife pathogens and harmful parasites, and (2) establishes requirements that address those pathogens and parasites.

The bill prohibits: (1) importing into the United States, or transporting between states, injurious wildlife or wildlife not in trade; and (2) possessing or releasing into the wild such wildlife.

The USFWS may issue permits that authorize the importation or transport of injurious wildlife for scientific, zoological, medical research, or educational purposes.

The USFWS must establish user fees for live wildlife imports.

The bill establishes civil and criminal penalties for violations.

Interior must establish a grant program for supporting states and Indian tribes in: (1) inspecting and monitoring interstate transport of wildlife, and (2) assessing risks associated with the intentional importation of wildlife.

 The bill establishes the Injurious Wildlife Prevention Fund to carry out this bill. Revenues generated by user fees and penalties must be deposited into the fund.

Date: 2016-07-14
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Environmental protection
Limiting Inhumane Federal Trapping for Public Safety Act

This bill prohibits any personnel of the Department of the Interior or the Department of Agriculture (USDA), in performing their duties, from using, recommending, training in the use of, or planning for the use of, any body-gripping trap used to kill or capture an animal. This prohibition does not apply to training in the dismantling of body-gripping traps that have been illegally placed.

No person shall use or possess any body-gripping trap on property under the administrative jurisdiction of Interior or USDA, except in Indian country, regardless of whether the person is employed by, or is working under a contract with, Interior or USDA.

Such prohibitions shall not apply to the use of a body-gripping trap to:

 control documented, invasive species to achieve resource management objectives where alternative methods have failed; or protect a species that is listed as an endangered or threatened species or treated by the Forest Service as a sensitive species. Such exceptions shall not apply unless:

 such use of a body-gripping trap is in accordance with state and federal law; prior to using such a trap, all available and viable nonlethal methods for such control or protection have been attempted; and such attempts have been documented in writing, and the documentation is maintained at the headquarters of the department that employs the individual engaging in such attempt. The bill imposes criminal penalties for violating the prohibitions in this bill.

Date: 2016-09-08
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Animals
Coral Reef Sustainability Through Innovation Act of 2016

This bill amends the Coral Reef Conservation Act to authorize the 12 federal agencies on the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, which includes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to carry out, either individually or cooperatively, prize competitions that promote coral reef research and conservation. The prize competitions should be designed to help the United States achieve its goal of developing new and effective ways to advance the understanding, monitoring, and sustainability of coral reef ecosystems.

Priority is given to establish programs that address communities, environments, or industries that are in distress due to the decline or degradation of coral reef ecosystems.

Date: 2016-11-16
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Traveling Exotic Animal and Public Safety Protection Act

This bill amends the Animal Welfare Act to establish a prohibition on the use of exotic or wild animals in performances (e.g., circus, ride, carnival, or parade) of a traveling animal act. The prohibition does not apply to the use of animals in: (1) zoos; (2) aquariums; (3) research facilities; (4) film, television, or advertising, if the performance is not before a public studio audience; or (5) rodeos. The prohibition also does not apply to domestic animals or farm animals.

Date: 2016-11-17
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Animals
Safeguard Aquaculture Farmers Act

This bill provides the force and effect of law for certain regulations that allow for the taking of double-crested cormorants (birds) that eat fish at aquaculture facilities.

Date: 2016-12-02
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Animals
Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act of 2016

This bill establishes a National Wildlife Corridors System for:

 conserving and restoring habitats that support native fish, wildlife, and plant species that have experienced or may experience habitat loss, degradation, fragmentation, or obstructions of connectivity; providing long-term habitat connectivity for the native species for migration, dispersal, adaptation to environmental change, and genetic exchange; and facilitating coordinated landscape- and seascape-scale connectivity planning and management across departmental jurisdictions. The Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, the Interior, and Transportation must: (1) each create a process for designating lands and waters under their respective administration and control as national wildlife corridors; and (2) manage corridors in a manner that contributes to the long-term connectivity, persistence, resilience, and adaptability of native species.

The bill establishes safety and mitigation requirements for corridors that intersect, adjoin, or cross local, state, or federal roads or highways.

The departments may acquire land to establish and enhance corridors and the land may be purchased with amounts from the Land and Water Conservation Fund or the Wildlife Corridors Stewardship and Protection Fund.

The U.S. Geological Survey must establish and make available to the public a comprehensive National Native Species Habitats and Corridors Geographic Information System Database.

The bill establishes a Wildlife Corridors Stewardship and Protection Fund, which may be used by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for enhancing the management and the protection of corridors and other lands and waters identified as important to further the purposes of the corridor.

Date: 2016-12-07
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Environmental protection
Wildlife Trafficking Enforcement Act of 2015

This bill applies provisions of the federal criminal code concerning money laundering and racketeering to wildlife trafficking violations of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, the African Elephant Conservation Act, and the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act of 1994, if the endangered or threatened species of fish or wildlife, products, items, or substances involved in the violation and relevant conduct have a total value of more than $10,000. Violators would be subject to increased fines and years of imprisonment.

The amounts generated from penalties for those wildlife violations must be used for the benefit and conservation of impacted species.

Date: 2015-01-06
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Migratory Bird Treaty Amendment Act of 2013

This bill amends the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to allow an agricultural producer, or a hunter with the producer's permission, to take migratory game birds by the aid of baiting, if: (1) the manipulation occurs on the producer's land on which a crop was not harvestable during the current or immediately preceding crop year due to a natural disaster, and (2) a local representative of the Department of Agriculture confirms that the crop has been destroyed and that it would not be economically practicable to harvest the crop.

Date: 2015-01-07
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Animals
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.

Date: 2015-01-07
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Environmental protection
21st Century Endangered Species Transparency Act 

This bill amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to require the Department of the Interior or the Department of Commerce, as appropriate, to make publicly available on the Internet the best scientific and commercial data available that are the basis for the determination of whether a species is an endangered species or a threatened species, including each proposed regulation for the listing of a species.

The departments are prohibited from making the information publicly available when: (1) the public disclosure of the information is prohibited by state law relating to the protection of personal information, and (2) the state makes a request to a department to withhold the information.

Date: 2015-01-28
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Environmental protection
Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act of 2015

This bill revises a variety of existing programs to expand access to, and opportunities for, hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting.

The Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act is reauthorized through FY2025. The North American Wetlands Conservation Act and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act are reauthorized through FY2020.

Components of firearms and ammunition and sport fishing equipment and its components (such as lead sinkers) are exempted from regulations of chemical substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act.

The proportion of funding from the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act that states may use for public target ranges is increased.

Interior must issue permits for the importation of polar bear parts taken in sports hunts in Canada before May 15, 2008, which is the date the species was listed as threatened.

The bill revises standards for determining what a baited area is for purposes of the prohibition on taking migratory game birds.

Federal public land management officials must facilitate hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting on certain federal public land. Land under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management or the Forest Service must be open for hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting unless the managing agency acts to close the land.

This bill provides special rules to expand access to federal land and waterways for film crews of five people or fewer.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers may not prohibit individuals from possessing a firearm in public areas of a water resources development project. The National Park Service may not prohibit individuals from transporting bows and crossbows if certain requirements are met.

Funds from the Land and Water Conservation Fund are allocated for priority projects that secure public access to federal public lands for hunting, fishing, and other recreational purposes.

Date: 2015-02-05
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Sage-Grouse and Mule Deer Habitat Conservation and Restoration Act of 2015

This bill provides a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) for a vegetation management project by the Bureau of Land Management or the Forest Service involving removal or treatment of any Pinyon or Juniper tree to conserve or restore the habitat of the greater sage-grouse or mule deer.

Under NEPA a categorical exclusion is a category of actions which do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment and which have been found to have no such effect in procedures adopted by a federal agency in implementing environmental regulations. Therefore, neither an Environmental Assessment nor an Environmental Impact Statement is required.

Date: 2015-02-11
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Environmental protection
Polar Bear Conservation and Fairness Act of 2015

This bill amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to direct Department of the Interior to issue a permit for the importation of a polar bear part (other than an internal organ) from a bear taken in a sport hunt in Canada to any permit applicant who has submitted proof that the polar bear was: (1) legally harvested by the applicant before the May 15, 2008, listing of the polar bear as threatened, and (2) harvested from an approved polar bear population. Interior must issue these permits without regard to limits on importing marine mammals with depleted populations.

Date: 2015-02-25
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Animals
Hunter and Farmer Protection Act of 2015

This bill amends the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to revise standards for determining what constitutes baiting for purposes of the prohibition on taking migratory game birds.

A baited area, in the case of waterfowl, cranes, and coots, includes a standing, unharvested crop that has been manipulated through activities such as mowing, discing, or rolling, unless the activities are normal agricultural practices. An area is not considered to be a baited area if it: (1) has been treated with a normal agricultural practice, (2) has standing crops that have not been manipulated, or (3) has standing crops that have been or are flooded.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) must submit to the Department of the Interior a report on changes to normal agricultural practices across the range of crops grown by agricultural producers in each region of the United States in which USDA harvest practice recommendations are provided to agricultural producers.

Date: 2015-02-26
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Animals
This bill prohibits the Department of the Interior from using any funds to make a determination on the listing of the northern long-eared bat (myotis septentrionalis) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Interior proposed in October 2013 to list the northern long-eared bat as endangered.

Date: 2015-03-04
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Animals
This bill amends the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to delay by 10 years until 2026 the date after which interest from the wildlife conservation and restoration fund is available for apportionment.

Date: 2015-03-11
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Animals
State, Tribal, and Local Species Transparency and Recovery Act

This bill amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to require the Department of the Interior or the Department of Commerce, as appropriate, to provide to affected states all data that is used as the basis of a determination on whether a species is an endangered species or a threatened species before making a determination.

The appropriate Department must use data submitted by a state, tribal, or county government in making such a determination.

Date: 2015-03-12
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Environmental protection
Endangered Species Management Self-Determination Act

Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) to require the consent of the governor of a state in which a species is present for: (1) a determination of endangered or threatened species status by regulation, and (2) listing of the species as endangered or threatened by the Department of the Interior upon a determination by the Department of Commerce.

Eliminates a rulemaking procedure involving the petitioning by an interested person for adding a species to, or removing a species from, the lists of endangered and threatened species.

Defines "best scientific and commercial data," for purposes of determinations, to include any scientific evidence made available by any state agency.

Subjects determinations by Interior and Commerce to list species as endangered or threatened to congressional approval by joint resolution. Requires removal of each species listed on an approved list five years after the joint resolution is enacted. Provides a procedure for re-submission by Interior, in consultation with the governor of each state in which the endangered or threatened species is present, of a list including a species so removed and subjects that list to approval by joint resolution.

 Eliminates the requirement for guidelines concerning petitions.

Establishes a process for exclusive state regulation of endangered or threatened species determined by a state governor to be present only within that state. Precludes judicial review of any such action. Subjects the following to the process of intrastate regulation: (1) issuance of species conservation regulations, (2) recovery plan implementation, (3) species recovery monitoring, and (4) establishment of agency guidelines.

Requires the Bonneville, Southeastern, Southwestern, and Western Area Power Administrations, except with respect to intrastate species regulation, to include in customer monthly billing statements information on the share of costs to the customer incurred as a result of ESA compliance.

Allows an owner or lessee of any real property to submit to Interior an application that includes any proposed use of the real property for a determination of whether the use will violate ESA. Deems the use to be compliant if Interior fails to respond within 90 days. Allows the owner or lessee to seek compensation (150% of the property's fair market value) if the use is determined to violate ESA and an action of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service diminishes the fair market value of any real property by at least 50% with respect to the intended use.

Eliminates the award of attorney fees in citizen suits under ESA.

Date: 2015-03-24
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Environmental protection
Sage-Grouse Protection and Conservation Act

This bill addresses the management of the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and the Gunnison sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus) in California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

If the Department of Agriculture (USDA) or the Department of the Interior receives, or has already received, from one of those states a statewide conservation and management plan for the protection and recovery of those sage-grouse species, the appropriate department must take steps during the next six years to: (1) allow for appropriate monitoring and collection of data, and (2) assess the state plan's success.

The appropriate department must: (1) share data with states and assist them in developing and implementing plans; (2) require states that opt to have plans in lieu of federal endangered species plans to monitor and report on relevant data, including population trends; (3) use statewide plans as the basis for all relevant determinations under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969; and (4) stay any land use planning activities relating to federal management of sage-grouse species on public land or National Forest System land within those states that have plans.

The appropriate department may extend the provisions of the bill for six more years with the consent of the relevant state.

Interior must fully implement for at least six years Secretarial Order 3336 to prevent and suppress rangeland fire and restore sagebrush landscapes impacted by fire across the Western United States.

Date: 2015-04-22
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Environmental protection
Refuge from Cruel Trapping Act

 Amends the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 to prohibit the use or possession of body-gripping traps in the National Wildlife Refuge System.

Imposes on persons who possess or use such traps in the System: (1) for a first offense, a civil fine of up to $500 for each body-gripping trap possessed or used; and (2) for subsequent offenses, a civil fine of up to $1,000 for each body-gripping trap possessed or used, imprisonment for up to 180 days, or both such a civil fine and imprisonment.

Subjects to civil forfeiture any body-gripping traps that are possessed or used in violation of this Act, and any wildlife captured by the use of such traps, including the pelts and raw fur.

Requires persons found to be in violation of such prohibition to pay all associated court costs.

Date: 2015-04-23
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Prevent All Soring Tactics Act of 2015 or the PAST Act 

This bill amends the Horse Protection Act to establish a new system for inspecting horses for soring, revise penalties for violations of the Act, and modify enforcement procedures. The soring of horses is any of various actions taken on a horse's limb to produce a higher gait that may cause pain, distress, inflammation, or lameness.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) must establish requirements to license, train, assign, and oversee persons hired by the management of horse shows, exhibitions, sales, or auctions to detect and diagnose sore horses. A license may not be issued to a person with conflicts of interest, and USDA must give preference to veterinarians. USDA may revoke a license for unsatisfactory performance. USDA must assign licensed inspectors after receiving notice that management intends to hire the inspectors. An inspector must issue a citation for violations and notify USDA of violations. USDA must publish information on violations of this bill and disqualify a horse that is sore.

The bill prohibits a person in any horse show, exhibition, sale, or auction from causing or directing a horse to become sore for the purpose of showing, exhibiting, selling, or auctioning the horse.

The bill prohibits the use of specified devices on a Tennessee Walking, a Racking, or a Spotted Saddle horse at a show, exhibition, sale, or auction.

The bill increases the maximum criminal and civil liability penalties for certain violations. USDA may disqualify violators from specified activities related to horse shows, exhibitions, sales, and auctions.

Date: 2015-04-28
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Animals
Native Species Protection Act

This bill prohibits an intrastate species from being: (1) considered to be in interstate commerce; and (2) subject to regulation under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, or any other provision of law under which regulatory authority is based on the power of Congress to regulate interstate commerce under the Commerce Clause.

An intrastate species is any species of plant or fish or wildlife that is: (1) found entirely within the borders of a single state, and (2) not part of a national market for any commodity.

Date: 2015-04-30
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Environmental protection
Horse Protection Amendments Act of 2015 

This bill amends the Horse Protection Act to replace the Designated Qualified Persons program responsible for inspecting horses for soring with a new inspection system. (The soring of horses is any of various actions taken on a horse's limb to produce a higher gait that may cause pain, distress, inflammation, or lameness.)

A sore horse must be disqualified from being shown or exhibited for at least 30 days for the first determination that the horse is sore and 90 days for a second determination and any subsequent determination.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) must establish a single Horse Industry Organization (HIO) in order to establish a formal affiliation with the management of each horse sale, horse exhibition, and horse sale or auction, appoint inspectors to conduct inspections, contract with equine veterinary experts to advise the HIO Board on objective scientific testing methods and certification of testing results, and otherwise ensure compliance with the Horse Protection Act.

The Commissioners of Agriculture for Tennessee and Kentucky must appoint individuals to govern the HIO. Those individuals must appoint individuals representing the Tennessee Walking Horse industry.

Date: 2015-04-30
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Animals
Corolla Wild Horses Protection Act

Directs the Department of the Interior to enter into an agreement with the Corolla Wild Horse Fund, Currituck County, and the state of North Carolina to provide for the management of free-roaming wild horses in and around the Currituck National Wildlife Refuge.

Requires that such agreement:

 allow a herd of no more than 130 free-roaming wild horses in and around the Refuge; provide for cost-effective management of such horses; provide for the introduction of a small number of free-roaming wild horses from the herd at Cape Lookout National Seashore as is necessary to maintain the genetic viability of the herd in and around the Refuge; and specify that the Corolla Wild Horse Fund shall pay certain costs associated with the health, maintenance, removal, and placement of such horses. Bars Interior from excluding free-roaming wild horses from any part of the Currituck National Wildlife Refuge unless: (1) it is found that the presence of such horses on a part of the Refuge threatens the survival of an endangered species for which such land is designated as critical habitat, (2) such finding is based on a peer-reviewed scientific assessment, and (3) a period of public notice and comment is provided on such finding.

Prohibits the removal of any horse from the Seashore for introduction at the Refuge, except with the approval of the Foundation for Shackleford Horses Inc. and consistent with the memorandum of understanding between the National Park Service (NPS) and the Foundation and the management plan for the Shackleford Banks Horse Herd.

Date: 2015-05-06
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Frank Moore Wild Steelhead Special Management Area Designation Act

(Sec. 4) This bill designates approximately 99,653 acres of Forest Service land in Oregon as the Frank Moore Wild Steelhead Special Management Area. The special management area shall be administered by the Department of the Agriculture, through the Forest Service, to:

 conserve and enhance the natural character, scientific use, and the botanical, recreational, ecological, fish and wildlife, scenic, drinking water, and cultural values of the special management area; maintain and seek to enhance the wild salmonid habitat of the special management area; maintain or enhance the watershed as a thermal refuge for wild salmonids; and preserve opportunities for recreation, including primitive recreation. Nothing in this bill creates any protective perimeter or buffer zone around the special management area.

Nothing in this bill prohibits the Forest Service, in cooperation with other federal, state, and local agencies, from conducting wildland fire operations in the special management area, including the use of aircraft, machinery, mechanized equipment, fire breaks, backfires, and retardant.

Nothing in this bill prohibits the Forest Service from conducting vegetation management projects within the special management area.

Nothing in this bill diminishes any treaty rights of Indian tribes.

The bill withdraws the federal land within the boundaries of the special management area's river segments from:

 entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws; location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and disposition under all laws relating to mineral and geothermal leasing or mineral materials.

Date: 2015-05-21
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Wild Horse Oversight Act

 Amends the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act to direct the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture, upon request, to allow a state or an Indian tribe to assume all management and protection functions under the Act with regard to wild free-roaming horses and burros on land within the boundaries of the state or the tribe.

Date: 2015-07-23
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Sanctuary Regulatory Fairness Act of 2015

 Directs the Department of Health and Human Services to promulgate a final rule revising federal regulations regarding the importation of nonhuman primates (i.e., chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, macaques, and numerous other species) to expand the categories of uses for which nonhuman primates may be imported and distributed to include live nonhuman primates imported into the United States by a certified primate sanctuary for purposes of providing lifetime shelter and care.

Requires such rule to establish a process for the certification of facilities as primate sanctuaries for purposes of the importation, shelter, and care of nonhuman primates.

Date: 2015-07-29
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Animals
Conserving Ecosystems by Ceasing the Importation of Large (CECIL) Animal Trophies Act

This bill amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to apply the Act's prohibitions on importing or exporting species listed as threatened or endangered to species proposed to be listed as well.

Date: 2015-08-03
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Environmental protection
Federal Land Invasive Species Control, Prevention, and Management Act

Directs the Department of the Interior (respecting federal land administered through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, National Park Service, or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) (respecting federal land administered through the U.S. Forest Service) to plan and carry out activities on land directly managed by the department concerned to control and manage invasive species in order to inhibit or reduce their populations and to effectuate restoration or reclamation efforts.

Requires the department concerned to develop a strategic plan for the implementation of an invasive species program that endeavors to achieve an annual 5% net reduction of invasive species populations on land managed by that department.

Requires each strategic plan to be developed: (1) in coordination with eligible states, their political subdivisions, and federally recognized Indian tribes; and (2) according to the priorities established by at least one governor of an eligible state in which an ecosystem affected by an invasive species is located.

Requires the USDA and Interior to prioritize the use of the least costly option necessary to perform effectively, based on sound scientific data and other commonly used cost-effective benchmarks in an area.

Requires projects and activities carried out under this Act to be coordinated with affected local governments according to certain criteria regarding the development and revision of land use plans under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976.

Date: 2015-11-04
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
This bill requires the Department of the Interior to reissue: (1) the final rule published on December 28, 2011, that removed the gray wolf in the Western Great Lakes Distinct Population Segment from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and that removed the designation of critical habitat for that wolf in Minnesota and Michigan; and (2) the final rule published on September 10, 2012, that removed the gray wolf in Wyoming from the list and removed the Yellowstone Experimental Protection Area that was established to facilitate reintroduction of the wolf.

Rules reissued under this Act are not subject to judicial review.

Date: 2015-11-10
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Animals
Modernizing the Pittman-Robertson Fund for Tomorrow's Needs Act of 2016

This bill amends the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to make it one of the purposes of the Act to extend financial and technical assistance to the states for the promotion of hunting and recreational shooting.

The bill also prescribes a formula for the allocation of funds apportioned to a state that may be used for any activity or project to recruit or retain hunters and recreational shooters.

Amounts apportioned to the states from any taxes on pistols, revolvers, bows, and arrows may be used for hunter recruitment and recreational shooter recruitment.

The funds apportioned to a state for wildlife restoration management may be used for related public relations.

If a state has not used all of the tax revenues apportioned to it for firearm and bow hunter education and safety program grants, it may use its remaining apportioned funds for the enhancement of hunter recruitment and recreational shooter recruitment.

Up to $5 million of the revenues covered into wildlife restoration fund in the Treasury from any tax imposed for a fiscal year on the sale of certain bows, arrows, and archery equipment shall be available to the Department of the Interior exclusively for making hunter recruitment and recreational shooter recruitment grants that promote a national hunting and shooting sport recruitment program, including related communication and outreach activities.

Date: 2016-03-16
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery Plan Act of 2016

This bill:

 requires the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to publish a revised recovery plan for the Mexican gray wolf populations in Arizona and New Mexico; outlines what must be contained in the plan, including input from states and individuals, a maximum population of the wolf, and a specified range for the wolf; establishes a process for the state wildlife authority of Arizona or New Mexico to assume or supplant the USFWS' authority to manage such wolf in the relevant states if certain conditions are met; requires USFWS to reduce the population of such wolf within the specified range when the wolf's population exceeds the maximum population; and sets forth requirements for removing such wolf from the list of endangered species, threatened species, or experimental populations under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 if the population recovery goal outlined in the plan is met.

Date: 2016-04-28
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Animals
Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act of 2016

This bill reauthorizes for FY2016-FY2021 the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act of 1990 and revises requirements for: (1) funding requests to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for proposals and regional projects that restore the fish and wildlife resources and habitat of the Great Lakes Basin, and (2) cost-share requirements for the proposals and projects.

The bill renames: (1) the Lower Great Lakes Fishery Resources Office as the Lower Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office, and (2) the Upper Great Lakes Fishery Resources Office as the Upper Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office.

Date: 2016-05-18
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Environmental protection
Marine Mammal Research and Response Act of 2016

This bill reauthorizes through FY2022 and revises the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, including by expanding the Act and the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue and Response Grant Program to include assistance for marine mammals that are entangled in material (e.g., fishing gear) and are on U.S. beaches or shores, or in U.S. navigable waters.

(Sec. 2) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) must develop a program to make publicly available certain data collected under the Act.

(Sec. 4) The bill requires sums received for marine mammal conservation (e.g., fines for violations) and sums received from emergency declaration grants for marine mammal conservation to be deposited into the Marine Mammal Unusual Mortality Event Fund.

(Sec. 7) The bill establishes the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue and Rapid Response Fund for providing emergency financial assistance for certain stranded or entangled marine mammals.

(Sec. 8) NOAA must: (1) establish a Marine Mammal Health Map, a national marine mammal health and stranding observing system; (2) analyze gaps in data about marine mammal rescue and response; and (3) report on the response capabilities for sick and injured marine mammals in U.S. Arctic regions.

Date: 2016-06-15
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Animals
Marine Debris Act Amendments of 2016

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Marine Debris Act to revise the Marine Debris Program by requiring the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to work with: (1) other agencies to address both land- and sea-based sources of marine debris, and (2) the Department of State and other agencies to promote international action to reduce the incidence of marine debris.

(Sec. 3) The bill also revises the program by allowing NOAA to make sums available for assisting in the cleanup and response required by severe marine debris events.

(Sec. 4) The bill urges the President to: (1) work with foreign countries that produce the largest amounts of unmanaged municipal solid waste that reaches the ocean in order to find solution to the marine debris; and (2) study issues related to marine debris, including the economic impacts of marine debris.

(Sec. 5) The Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee must expand to include a senior official from the Department of State.

(Sec. 6) This bill reauthorizes through FY2021: (1) the Marine Debris Program, (2) an information clearinghouse on marine debris, and (3) enforcement of laws about discarded marine debris from ships.

Date: 2016-06-22
Topic: Environment (Species & Forest)
Subject: Environmental protection