Rep. Steube Introduces GATOR Act After Fatal Central Florida Alligator Attack

WASHINGTON-U.S. Representative Greg Steube (R-Fla.) today introduced the Gathering Alligator Treatment, Oversight, and Response Act of 2026, or the GATOR Act, legislation that requires the Comptroller General and the Department of the Interior to study how a decades-old federal species listing affects the ability of state wildlife agencies to remove nuisance alligators from residential and commercial waterways.

The bill follows the death of a 31-year-old Oviedo woman, who was killed by a 13-foot alligator near her home. The attack renewed public attention on how alligators are managed in neighborhoods where growing development has pushed people and gators into closer contact.

"Florida families deserve to protect their children and pets in their own backyards," said Rep. Steube. "The American alligator is an apex predator, and it's been fully recovered since 1987. Federal look-alike rules meant to stop trafficking remain in place, but they may be discouraging Floridians from using our state's nuisance alligator program. The GATOR Act simply studies whether these federal trade enforcements have influenced the way states manage nuisance gators or the way residents report them."

The American alligator is not listed as endangered or threatened. It carries a "threatened due to similarity of appearance" classification because it closely resembles the American crocodile, a status meant to prevent traffickers from passing off protected crocodile hides as alligator hides in interstate commerce. The GATOR Act would examine whether that trade-focused listing has unintentionally slowed the removal of nuisance alligators and invasive caimans from areas where they pose a risk to people, pets, and property.

The legislation directs the Comptroller General, working with the Secretary of the Interior and relevant state wildlife agencies, to determine the effect of the federal listing on state management programs for the American alligator, common caiman, and brown caiman; whether the listing has contributed to more than a full recovery of the American alligator population; whether it has contributed to the common or brown caiman becoming invasive species in Florida; and whether it has made it more difficult to remove nuisance alligators or invasive caimans from waterways in or around residential and commercial areas.

The GATOR Act does not change how any state currently manages its alligator population. It directs a federal study to determine whether the current framework has led states and communities to treat alligators as a threatened population.

The full text of the GATOR Act is available here.

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