Counties with national forest lands or certain Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands have historically received a percentage of agency revenues, primarily from timber sales. In the 1990s, timber sales declined substantially from the historic levels in the late 1980s—by more than 90% in some areas—which had led to substantially reduced payments to the counties. Congress enacted the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (SRS) to provide a temporary, optional system to supplant the revenue-sharing programs for the national forests managed by the Forest Service (FS) in the Department of Agriculture and for certain public lands administered by the BLM in the Department of the Interior. The 110 th Congress extended the payments for one year through FY2007, and it then enacted legislation to reauthorize the program for four years with declining payments and to modify the formula for allocating the payments. The 112 th Congress extended the program for one more year through FY2012 and amended the program to slow the decline in payments. SRS expired at the end of FY2015; payments were disbursed after the fiscal year ended, so the FY2015 payment was made in FY2016. P.L. PILT payments to counties are calculated in dollars per acre of federal land and are based on eligible federal lands, as specified in statute. However, Congress passed and the President signed a new version of the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for FY2007 which included a one-year extension of SRS payments. P.L. Four-Year Extension Through FY2011 Enacted in the 110th Congress

In October 2008, Congress passed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act ( P.L. 110-343 ), which extended SRS payments for four years (through FY2011) and made several changes to the program. Title I payments were based on historic revenue-sharing payments (like SRS as originally enacted), but modified based on each county's share of federal land and relative income level. Two-Year Extension Through FY2015 Enacted in the 114th Congress

SRS expired after the FY2013 payments were made in early 2014. 114-10 ), which included a two-year reauthorization of mandatory spending for SRS payments in Section 524. P.L. Legislative Issues

Options under congressional consideration include reauthorizing SRS, with or without modifications, implementing other legislative proposals to address the county payments, or taking no action (thus continuing the revenue-based system that took effect upon the program's expiration). Seven issues commonly have been raised about compensating counties for the tax-exempt status of federal lands: the geographic distribution of the payments; the lands covered; the basis for compensation; the source of funds; the authorized and required uses of the payments; and the duration of the new system. Legislation to reauthorize SRS (with or without other modifications), or to enact a different alternative, would require an offset—increased revenues or decreased spending from other mandatory spending accounts—or a waiver to the budget rules.
Counties containing federal lands often receive payments from the federal government based on the presence of such lands. Counties containing National Forest System lands and certain Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands historically have received payments based on the revenue generated from those lands. Revenue-generating activities include recreation, grazing permits, and land use rentals, among other activities. Starting in the 1990s, federal timber sales began to decline substantially—by more than 90% in some areas—which led to substantially reduced payments to the counties. Thus, Congress enacted the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (SRS; P.L. 106-393) as a temporary, optional program of payments. SRS provided payments to counties based on historic rather than current revenues from land use activities, thus minimizing the effect of reduced revenue streams on those counties.
The last authorized SRS payment was distributed in FY2016. Authorization for SRS payments originally expired at the end of FY2006, but Congress extended the program through FY2015 with several reauthorizations, starting with a one-year reauthorization for FY2007 (P.L. 110-28). In 2008, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (P.L. 110-343) enacted a four-year extension to SRS authorization through FY2011, with declining payments, a modified formula, and transition payments for certain areas. In 2012, Congress enacted a one-year extension through FY2012 and amended the program to slow the decline in payment levels and to tighten requirements that counties select a payment option promptly (P.L. 112-141). In 2013, Congress again enacted a one-year extension through FY2013 (P.L. 113-40). In 2014, the 114th Congress enacted a two-year extension through FY2015 (P.L. 114-10). SRS payments are disbursed after the fiscal year ends, so the FY2015 SRS payment—the last authorized payment—was made in FY2016.
With the expiration of SRS, county payments returned to a revenue-based system and are significantly lower than previous years' payments. The 115th Congress may consider several options to address county payments, including reauthorizing SRS (with or without modifications), implementing other legislative proposals to address the county payments, and taking no action, among others.
Congressional debates over reauthorization have considered the basis and level of compensation to counties (historical, tax equivalency, etc.); the source of funds (receipts, a new tax or other revenue source, etc.); the authorized and required uses of the payments; interaction with other compensation programs (notably Payments in Lieu of Taxes); and the duration of any changes (temporary or permanent). In addition, legislation with mandatory spending, such as SRS, raises policy questions about congressional control of appropriations. Current budget rules to restrain deficit spending typically impose a procedural barrier to such legislation, generally requiring offsets by additional receipts or reductions in other spending.