71st OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2001 Regular Session
 
NOTE:  Matter within  { +  braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within  { -  braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
 { +  braces and plus signs + } .
 
LC 4261
 
                           B-Engrossed
 
                         House Bill 3981
                  Ordered by the Senate June 12
  Including House Amendments dated May 29 and Senate Amendments
                          dated June 12
 
Sponsored by Representatives JENSON, KROPF
 
 
                             SUMMARY
 
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure.
 
    { - Creates Economic and Social Impact Report Team for each
species that State Fish and Wildlife Commission considers for
listing as threatened or endangered. Directs each Economic and
Social Impact Report Team to report on economic and social
impacts that listing will have on affected communities and
state. - }  { +  Requires State Fish and Wildlife Commission to
create report concerning economic and social impacts of species
recovery efforts for each species listed as threatened or
endangered. Specifies content and uses of report. + }
  Requires State Fish and Wildlife Commission to create, by rule,
safe harbor program for state land lessees and candidate
conservation program for parties affected by listing of species
as threatened or endangered.
    { - Requires commission to consider economic and social
impact report and consult with Economic and Social Impact Report
Team before determining that species is threatened or
endangered. - }
    { - Prohibits State Fish and Wildlife Commission from listing
species as endangered or threatened if species is beyond
recovery. - }
 
                        A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to protected species; creating new provisions; and
  amending ORS 496.172.
  Whereas a recent federal appeals court decision acknowledged
that federal agencies must consider the economic effects of the
designation of critical habitat in regard to threatened and
endangered species and the economic effects of the listing of
threatened and endangered species itself; and
  Whereas it is the intent of the Legislative Assembly that state
agencies involved in the listing of a species as threatened or
endangered also consider the economic and social impacts of the
listing on the affected communities and this state; and
  Whereas it is the intent of the Legislative Assembly that
economic and social impacts are considered when making the
decision to list a species as a threatened or endangered species;
now, therefore,
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
  SECTION 1.  { + Section 2 of this 2001 Act is added to and made
a part of ORS 496.171 to 496.182. + }
  SECTION 2.  { + (1) The State Fish and Wildlife Commission
shall, for each species listed as a threatened or endangered
species under ORS 496.171 to 496.182, create a report that
demonstrates the economic and social impacts that the resulting
species recovery efforts will impose on communities in this
state. The scope of each report shall be species specific, shall
be as geographically broad as practicable and shall take into
account the attitudes and local customs of residents within the
geographic region affected by the species recovery efforts. The
report shall include, at a minimum, consideration of the
following economic and sociological factors:
  (a) The increase or decrease in employment opportunities
resulting from the species recovery efforts and the subsequent
economic and social impacts on the affected communities and this
state;
  (b) The types of employment opportunities that will be gained
or lost in the affected communities and this state because of the
species recovery efforts and the subsequent impact on specific
markets or industries, business owners and wage earners and the
quality of life in the affected communities;
  (c) The impact on natural resources used by businesses in the
affected communities and this state, including but not limited to
wildlife, timber, minerals, land and water, and the subsequent
impact on the number of employment opportunities, types of
employment opportunities, road and building infrastructure and
other quality of life issues;
  (d) The impact on recreational opportunities;
  (e) The impact on individual landowners;
  (f) The impact on individuals in the affected communities in
terms of quality of life issues, including but not limited to the
number and types of employment opportunities available, changes
in school size, school funding and quality of schools,
availability of medical treatment, road and building
infrastructure, availability of housing and land use regulation;
  (g) The impact on local governments;
  (h) Additional expenses for state agencies that have land
management or regulatory authority, or that provide social
services;
  (i) The impact on Indian tribes, the state or federal
relationship with the tribes, memoranda of agreement or treaties
with the tribes and the contributions of tribal practices toward
assisting in the recovery of the species; and
  (j) The infrastructure that must be developed to recover the
species, the costs of the development of that infrastructure and
the moneys available to complete the development.
  (2) After the creation of each report under this section, the
commission shall:
  (a) Deliver a copy of the report to the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, the President of the Senate and the appropriate
legislative committees.
  (b) Make the report available to the public in printed form and
in electronic form through the World Wide Web.
  (c) Utilize the findings of the report to guide commission
action during deliberations or public hearings on species
recovery efforts.
  (3) If the commission determines that the species recovery
efforts for a species listed under ORS 496.171 to 496.182 will
result in negative economic or social impacts for a community,
the state shall, when practicable, assist the affected community
with planning, development and funding to mitigate the negative
economic and social impacts. + }
  SECTION 3. ORS 496.172 is amended to read:
 
  496.172. In carrying out the provisions of the wildlife laws
with regard to the management of wildlife that is a threatened
species or an endangered species, the State Fish and Wildlife
Commission:
  (1) Shall conduct investigations of wildlife species native to
this state and shall determine whether any such species is a
threatened species or an endangered species.
  (2) By rule, shall establish and publish, and from time to time
may revise, a list of wildlife species that are threatened
species or endangered species. Listed threatened species or
endangered species shall be protected as provided in ORS 496.182.
  (3) Shall work cooperatively with state agencies that have land
management authority or regulatory authority to determine their
roles within their statutory obligations in the conservation of
endangered species, as described in ORS 496.182 (8).
  (4) By rule, shall establish a system of permits for scientific
taking of threatened species and endangered species and shall
establish a system of state permits for incidental taking of
state-designated threatened species and endangered species not
listed by the federal government under such terms and conditions
as the commission determines will minimize the impact on the
species taken. An incidental taking permit or statement issued by
a federal agency for a species listed under the federal
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (P.L. 93-205, 16 U.S.C. 1531), as
amended, shall be recognized by the state as a waiver of any
state protection measures or requirements otherwise applicable to
the actions allowed under the federal permit.
  (5) Shall cooperate with the State Department of Agriculture in
carrying out the provisions of ORS 564.105.
  (6) Shall adopt administrative rules to carry out the
provisions of ORS 496.171 to 496.182 and 498.026.
   { +  (7) By rule, shall create a safe harbor program that,
notwithstanding ORS 496.171 to 496.182, permits an affected
lessee of state land to enter into an agreement with the
commission that outlines the lessee's responsibilities in the
protection of a species listed under subsection (2) of this
section that is located on the leased property. Nothing in this
subsection shall be construed to affect the lessee's
responsibilities under federal law.
  (8) By rule, shall create a candidate conservation program
that, notwithstanding ORS 496.171 to 496.182, permits a person
that would be affected by the listing of a species as a
threatened species or an endangered species under subsection (2)
of this section to enter into an agreement with a state agency
that outlines a plan to reduce existing threats or endangerment
to a species to avoid the listing of the species as a threatened
species or an endangered species. + }
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