Florida's two Republican lawmakers are teaming up to put a clock on Washington when it comes to wildlife conservation. Sen. Rick Scott has introduced the Make State Wildlife Action Plan Efficient (SWAPs) Act in the Senate, which would require the U.S. Department of the Interior to review and either approve or act on State Wildlife Action Plans within 180 days of submission to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Right now, no federal deadline exists for processing those plans — and Scott's office says the resulting delays can stretch a year or more. That matters because State Wildlife Action Plans are what states use to identify species most in need of conservation help before they reach threatened or endangered status, and the plans are also a key gateway to federal wildlife funding.
Rep. Byron Donalds already moved a companion version of the bill through the House of Representatives back in December 2025, so Scott's Senate introduction sets up a potential path to the president's desk.
Both lawmakers framed the legislation as a matter of cutting bureaucratic red tape rather than changing conservation priorities. Scott argued that funding delays leave Florida's wildlife and environment needlessly vulnerable, while Donalds said states that have already done the planning work deserve a timely response from federal agencies.
This story was first reported by Florida's Voice.
