1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Ensuring Meaningful Petition Outreach While Enhancing Rights of States Act of 2018 or the EMPOWERS Act of 2018 . 2. Greater county and State involvement (a) County and State consultation on petitions Section 4(b)(3) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1533(b)(3) ) is amended by adding at the end the following: (E) Listing petition review requirements (i) Not later than 30 days before submitting to the Secretary a petition to list, delist, or reclassify a species that occurs in the United States, or to revise a designation of critical habitat of such a species, the petitioner shall provide to the chief executive of each county and State in which the species is located a notice of intent to submit such petition. (ii) The Secretary shall, upon finding that a petitioned action to list a species as a threatened species or endangered species may be warranted, solicit from the chief executive of each county and State in which the species is located— (I) information regarding threats to the species and efforts by the county or State, respectively, to protect the species; (II) information about the anticipated effects of the action requested in the petition in that county or State, respectively