LIST Act of 2023
Key claim: The bill would require the Department of the Interior to remove species from endangered or threatened lists upon receiving evidence of recovery or erroneous listing, while banning individuals who submit inaccurate or fraudulent listing petitions from filing petitions for 10 years.
Abstract
(HR99 · 118th Congress) Less Imprecision in Species Treatment Act of 2023 or the LIST Act of 2023 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 (2023-02-21): Referred to the Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries.
Why this matters
Mandatory delisting could remove species-specific protections and associated permitting constraints, while the petition penalty would restrict participation by individuals who submit inaccurate or fraudulent petitions. These provisions would change how species protections are initiated and ended, but the bill has not advanced beyond subcommittee referral and has no current regulatory effect.