Endangered Species Transparency and Reasonableness Act of 2025

The Endangered Species Transparency and Reasonableness Act of 2025 would overhaul how the Endangered Species Act (ESA) operates by increasing public access to the data behind listing decisions and by broadening the use of state, tribal, and local information. Key changes include: (1) requiring the Secretary to publicly publish on the internet the best scientific and commercial data used to justify listings (including proposed regulations), with limited carve-outs for state-protected information and for classified Department of Defense information; (2) mandating greater decisional transparency with affected states by sharing data that underpins listing determinations before decisions are made, and explicitly recognizing data from state, tribal, and county governments as part of the “best scientific and commercial data available”; and (3) creating a new requirement to disclose ESA-related litigation expenditures through annual reports and a publicly searchable internet database detailing suits, costs, agencies involved, and related information. The bill also updates litigation-cost provisions to align with existing federal cost-shifting rules and expands who is considered a “covered suit” and which agencies’ actions trigger disclosures. Overall, it aims to make regulatory decisions under the ESA more transparent and data-driven, while imposing new reporting and public-access obligations on federal agencies.