GATOR Act of 2026

This bill, titled the Gathering Alligator Treatment, Oversight, and Response Act of 2026 , or the GATOR Act of 2026 , mandates a study by the Comptroller General of the United States. The study will investigate the effects of treating specific reptiles—the American alligator , common caiman , and brown caiman —as threatened species under the Endangered Species Act due to their similarity in appearance to other listed species. It will assess how this treatment has impacted state management programs for these reptiles and whether it has led to an over-recovery of the American alligator or the common and brown caimans becoming invasive in Florida. Additionally, the study will determine if this regulatory approach has made it more challenging to remove nuisance alligators or invasive caimans from residential or commercial waterways. The Comptroller General will conduct this analysis in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior and relevant state wildlife agencies.