LIST Act of 2021
Key claim: The bill would require the Department of the Interior to delist species under the Endangered Species Act when recovery goals are met, expedite removal of erroneously listed species, and bar individuals who knowingly submit inaccurate petitions from filing for 10 years.
Abstract
(HR3973 · 117th Congress) Less Imprecision in Species Treatment Act of 2021 or the LIST Act of 2021 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. Latest action (2021-07-21): Referred to the Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife.
Why this matters
The proposal would change when federal species protections end, potentially affecting conservation safeguards and ESA-related permitting obligations for land use and development. It would also restrict petition access for individuals who knowingly submit inaccurate information; the finding establishes introduced legislation, not an enacted change or measured environmental or cost effects.