[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9971 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9971
To amend the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to affirm that the prohibition
on the unauthorized take or killing of migratory birds of that Act
includes incidental take, and to direct the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service to authorize such incidental take, and for other
purposes.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 11, 2024
Mr. Huffman (for himself and Mr. Fitzpatrick) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
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A BILL
To amend the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to affirm that the prohibition
on the unauthorized take or killing of migratory birds of that Act
includes incidental take, and to direct the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service to authorize such incidental take, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Migratory Bird Protection Act of
2024''.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE MIGRATORY BIRD TREATY ACT.
(a) In General.--The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703 et
seq.) is amended--
(1) by striking ``of Agriculture'' each place it appears;
(2) by striking ``of the Interior'' each place it appears;
(3) in section 5 (16 U.S.C. 706), as amended by paragraph
(1) of this section, by inserting ``of the Interior'' after
``employee of the Department'';
(4) in section 6 (16 U.S.C. 707), as amended by paragraph
(1) of this section, by adding at the end the following:
``(e) Authorizing Civil Penalties for Incidental Take.--
``(1) In general.--A person who incidentally takes a
migratory bird without an authorization issued pursuant to
section 14 or in violation of the terms and conditions of an
applicable permit or regulation issued by the Secretary to
administer section 14 may be assessed a civil penalty by the
Secretary of not more than $10,000 per violation, except that
unpermitted incidental take which is caused by conduct that is
reckless or grossly negligent shall be subject to the penalties
of subsection (a).
``(2) Civil action.--The Secretary may commence a civil
action for appropriate relief, including a permanent or
temporary injunction, for any incidental take of a migratory
bird without a permit or any violation of the terms and
conditions of a permit issued or regulation promulgated
pursuant to section 14.''; and
(5) by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 14. INCIDENTAL TAKE OF MIGRATORY BIRDS.
``(a) In General.--It shall be a violation of this Act to
incidentally take any migratory bird, and any part, nest, or egg of any
such bird, except as authorized by the Secretary. The Secretary shall
promulgate regulations to authorize the incidental take of migratory
birds pursuant to this section, including issuing general permits.
Before the Secretary promulgates regulations for an industry, the
Secretary shall continue to enforce the document titled `Director's
Order No.: 225' (published October 5, 2021). No penalty shall be
assessed unless such entity is given notice and opportunity for a
hearing on the record in accordance with sections 554 and 556 of title
5, United States Code. In determining the amount of the penalty, the
Secretary shall consider the gravity of the violation and the
demonstrated good faith of the entity. For good cause shown, the
Secretary, in an extraordinary case, may remit or mitigate any such
penalty.
``(b) Authorization of Fees.--The Secretary may collect fees
pursuant to authorizing and administering the incidental take of
migratory birds. The fees may be used to cover the administrative costs
for the permit program and conserving populations of bird species--
``(1) affected by the authorized activities; or
``(2) identified as birds of conservation concern under
authority of section 13 of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Act of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 2912).
``(c) Deposit of Fees.--There is established in the Treasury a
separate account, which shall be known as the `Migratory Bird Recovery
Fund'. The fund shall be managed by the Secretary and may consist of--
``(1) amounts received from fees pursuant to regulations
under subsection (b);
``(2) amounts received pursuant to section 6(e);
``(3) amounts made available from appropriations; and
``(4) amounts received by the Secretary in the form of
donations.
``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated $10,000,000 for each fiscal year beginning after the date
of the enactment of this section to carry out this section.
``(e) Report to Congress.--Not later than 5 years after the date of
enactment of this section, and at the end of each 5 year period
thereafter, the Secretary shall submit a report to the Chair and
Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee and to the
Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works
Committee on--
``(1) the conservation status of migratory birds;
``(2) the impacts upon migratory birds of activities for
which authorizing regulations have been issued under this
section; and
``(3) the Secretary's progress in carrying out the
functions and responsibilities given to the Secretary under
this section.
``(f) Research Program.--The Secretary shall establish and
maintain, through direct programming, contracts, or other form of
agreement, and in consultation with research institutions, institutions
of higher education, wildlife conservation groups, and representatives
of authorized activities regulated under this section, a research
program to--
``(1) better monitor the status of bird populations;
``(2) understand the stressors to bird populations;
``(3) identify opportunities to reduce the impact of such
stressors; and
``(4) deploy and validate mitigation measures to conserve
bird populations.
``SEC. 15. DEFINITIONS.
``For the purposes of this Act:
``(1) Institution of higher education.--The term
`institution of higher education' has the meaning given the
term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1001(a)).
``(2) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary
of the Interior, acting through the Director of the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 7(b) of the North American
Wetlands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 4406(b)) is amended by inserting
``subsections (a) through (d) of'' before ``section 6 of the Migratory
Bird Treaty Act''.
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