Legislation Introduced to Extend SRS

This week, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) introduced bi-partisan legislation in the Senate and House to extend Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act (SRS) payments.  S. 1027 and H.R. 2340 would retroactively reauthorize SRS for two years to complete payments in fiscal year (FY) 2016 and ensure funding for FY 2017.  

The Senate measure, which is co-authored by Senator Dianne Feinstein, would also:

• Clarify the use of unelected Title II funds;
• Eliminate the merchantable timber pilot requirement;
• Clarify, through a technical fix, the availability of funds per section 207(d)(2);
• Extend the time available to initiate Title II projects and obligate funds for the 2-year reauthorization; and,
• Title II and III Elections: due to time-constraints for counties to change their elections, counties will have to stay with current elections.

This is a crucial development for public lands in counties.  California’s rural counties rely on SRS funding to maintain local roads and the reauthorization of SRS is so critical to the day-to-day operation.  Authorization for SRS expired in September 2015.