Common Sense in Species Protection Act of 2015

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.

[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 112 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 112

To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to require the Secretary of 
 the Interior to publish and make available for public comment a draft 
  economic analysis at the time a proposed rule to designate critical 
                         habitat is published.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 7, 2015

  Mr. Heller introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to require the Secretary of 
 the Interior to publish and make available for public comment a draft 
  economic analysis at the time a proposed rule to designate critical 
                         habitat is published.

    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 ``Common Sense in Species Protection 
Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. DRAFT ECONOMIC ANALYSIS FOR CRITICAL HABITAT DESIGNATION.

    Section 4(b)(2) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
1533(b)(2)) is amended--
            (1) in the first sentence, by striking ``(2) The Secretary 
        shall'' and inserting the following:
            ``(2) Critical habitat designation.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall'';
            (2) in the second sentence, by striking ``The Secretary 
        may'' and inserting the following:
                    ``(B) Exclusions.--The Secretary shall'';
        and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) Draft economic analysis.--
                            ``(i) In general.--At the time a proposed 
                        rule to designate critical habitat is 
                        published, the Secretary shall publish and make 
                        available for public comment a draft analysis 
                        that--
                                    ``(I) examines the incremental and 
                                cumulative economic effects of all 
                                actions to protect the species and 
                                habitat of the species (including the 
                                effects of the proposed designation) 
                                upon each State and locality that is 
                                the subject of, or affected by, the 
                                proposed designation;
                                    ``(II) includes consideration of 
                                public and private economic effects 
                                on--
                                            ``(aa) possible uses of 
                                        land and property values;
                                            ``(bb) the provision of 
                                        water, power, or other public 
                                        services;
                                            ``(cc) employment; and
                                            ``(dd) revenues available 
                                        for State and local 
                                        governments, including school 
                                        districts, any political 
                                        subdivision of a State that 
                                        directly or indirectly provides 
                                        public services, and any other 
                                        instrumentality of a State;
                                    ``(III) complies with the 
                                guidelines issued pursuant to section 
                                515 of the Treasury and General 
                                Government Appropriations Act, 2001 
                                (Public Law 106-554; 114 Stat. 2763A-
                                153); and
                                    ``(IV) assesses such effects on a 
                                quantitative and qualitative basis.
                            ``(ii) Determination factors not 
                        affected.--Nothing in clause (i) adds to, 
                        subtracts from, or otherwise modifies the 
                        factors set forth in subsection (a)(1) or the 
                        bases set forth in paragraph (1) of this 
                        subsection.''.
                                 <all>