Last month (October 2017), the Senate narrowly rejected a proposal from Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) that would have removed intrastate species from federal jurisdiction under the ESA. Current jurisprudence from the Supreme Court extends federal jurisdiction to intrastate endangered species via a very broad interpretation of the interstate commerce clause.

The vote to amend the ESA failed 49-51, with three Republicans voting in opposition to the bill. Somewhat surprisingly, both Republican Senators from Tennessee voted against the bill. However, the narrow defeat of the proposed amendment may encourage additional efforts to pass ESA reform legislation.

Several ESA-related bills have been approved in the House Resources Committee, including bills making listing data available to states prior to a listing decision, a bill forbidding litigation against the delisting of the Wyoming population of the grey wolf, and a bill which would limit awards to environmental plaintiffs in ESA litigation. Also, as previously noted on this blog, a bill is pending which would require that economic factors be considered in listing decisions.

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