S. 1426: A bill to amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to establish a procedure for approval of certain settlements.

116th Congress · introduced 2019-05-13 · Environmental Protection · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2019-05-13 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

A bill to amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to establish a procedure for approval of certain settlements.

Plain summary

This bill revises provisions governing citizen suits against the Department of the Interior or the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration that allege a failure of the relevant department to perform its duties related to an endangered species or threatened species. Interior must publish the complaint in a citizen suit within 30 days of being served. Affected parties must be given a reasonable opportunity to intervene in the suit. If affected parties intervene, the court must refer the action to a mediation program or magistrate judge to facilitate settlement discussions. The court is prohibited from awarding litigation costs in such citizen suits that are settled. Interior must provide notice of a proposed settlement to each affected state or county. A settlement may not be approved if states or counties object.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

A bill to amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to establish a procedure for approval of certain settlements.

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX] · 10 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

John Boozman (R-AR), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ted Cruz (R-TX), James Lankford (R-OK), James E. Risch (R-ID), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Roger F. Wicker (R-MS)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX] reported raising $8.6 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (1)

Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-116s1426.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/116/s>

Record fed-us-cong116-s1426 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116