Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service relating to "Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Species Status for the San Francisco Bay-Delta Distinct Population Segment of the Longfin Smelt".

The joint resolution would use the Congressional Review Act (chapter 8 of title 5, U.S. Code) to disapprove and nullify a rule published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on July 30, 2024 (89 Fed. Reg. 61029). That rule listed the San Francisco Bay-Delta distinct population segment of longfin smelt — a small fish native to the Pacific Coast — as an endangered species. If enacted, the resolution would render the rule without force or effect, removing the species from the endangered species list for that population segment.

The resolution would not alter the Endangered Species Act itself, but the practical effect would be that the Bay-Delta longfin smelt would lose the habitat protections, take prohibitions, and consultation requirements that come with an endangered listing. Under the Congressional Review Act, the agency would also be barred from issuing a new rule in substantially the same form without congressional authorization.

Water users, agricultural interests, and local water agencies in California's Bay-Delta region whose operations could be constrained by endangered species protections; environmental and conservation groups that sought the listing; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which issued the rule; and the longfin smelt population itself, which would lose federal protections.

An endangered listing for the Bay-Delta longfin smelt triggers federal consultation requirements and habitat protections that can restrict water diversions and operations in one of California's most contested water systems. Nullifying the rule would remove those regulatory constraints, with direct implications for water management decisions affecting agriculture, cities, and ecosystems throughout the region.

The resolution is largely self-executing: upon enactment, the designated rule would have no force or effect by operation of the Congressional Review Act. No agency rulemaking or further federal action would be required to implement the disapproval. The Fish and Wildlife Service would be prohibited from issuing a new rule in substantially the same form without congressional authorization.