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Senate Holds Hearing on ESA Reform Bills by Ashley Remillard JD Supra, May 7, 2015

On May 6, 2015, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing on several Endangered Species Act (ESA) reform bills, including at least three that are similar to bills introduced in 2014 in the House of Representatives. The bills that were discussed include the following:

• S.112 -- Entitled the "Common Sense in Species Protection Act of 2015," the bill would require the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to consider short-term economic costs when protecting critical habitat for endangered species.

• S.292 -- Entitled the "21st Century Endangered Species Transparency Act," the bill would require the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to publish on the Internet all data used for an endangered species listing decision.

• S.293 -- The bill would amend the ESA to establish a procedure for approval of certain settlements.

• S.655 -- The bill would prohibit the use of funds by the Secretary of the Interior to make a final determination on the listing of the northern long-eared bat.

• S.736 -- Entitled the "State, Tribal, and Local Species Transparency and Recovery Act," the bill would redefine the "best scientific data" to include data provided by states, tribal governments, or localities.

• S.855 -- Entitled the "Endangered Species Management Self-Determination Act," the bill would, among other things, require the consent of the governor of each state in which a species is present prior to listing the species under the ESA.

• S.1036 -- The bill would require the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to provide certain Western States assistance in the development of statewide conservation and management plans for the protection and recovery of sage-grouse species, and for other purposes.