# Plain Language Summary: Endangered Species Transparency and Reasonableness Act of 2025

This bill requires the federal government to be more transparent about how it decides which animals and plants should be protected as endangered or threatened species. Right now, when the government makes these decisions, the scientific data and reasoning behind them aren't always easy for the public to find or understand. This bill says the government must publish all the scientific information it used to make these decisions on the internet where anyone can access it. There are a couple of exceptions: states can ask to keep certain information private if their own laws require it, and the Defense Department can keep classified military information secret.

The bill also makes sure that state, tribal, and local governments have a real voice in the process. Before the federal government officially decides to protect a species, it must share all its data with affected states so they can review it and provide their own information. The law now says that any data submitted by states, tribes, or counties must be considered as part of the "best scientific data available"—meaning local knowledge and observations can't be ignored just because they come from non-federal sources.

Finally, the bill creates a new requirement for tracking money spent on endangered species lawsuits. The government must publish a searchable online database showing how much federal agencies spend defending endangered species cases, how many employees work on these cases, what lawyers' fees are awarded, and which organizations receive federal funding to bring these lawsuits. This information gets updated monthly and reported to Congress annually. The goal is to give taxpayers and lawmakers visibility into how much these legal battles cost and who's paying for them.

Endangered Species Transparency and Reasonableness Act of 2025

McClintock, Tom

Endangered Species Transparency and Reasonableness Act of 2025This bill modifies requirements concerning determinations on whether a species is a threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA),&nbsp;caps attorney's fees to prevailing parties in ESA citizen suits, and makes related requirements.The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) must publish online, subject to privacy or administrative limitations, the best scientific and commercial data available that are the basis for each determination.&nbsp;The bill states that the term best scientific and commercial data available includes all data submitted by a state, tribal, or county government. Thus, such data is automatically deemed to be the best scientific and commercial data available.&nbsp;Before making a determination on whether a species is an endangered or threatened species, the FWS and NMFS must provide affected states with all of the data that is the basis of the determination.The Department of the Interior must also publish and maintain an online searchable database that discloses federal expenditures related to litigation under the ESA.