President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2016-17 Budget proposal includes an extension of the Secure Rural Schools and Self-Determination Act (SRS) program. Under the President’s proposal, SRS would be extended through FY 2020 with significant funding reductions each year until the program is zeroed out in its final year.
Specifically, SRS would be provided $279 million in FY 2016, $251 million in FY 2017, $158 million in FY 2018, $122 million in FY 2019, and $101 million in FY 2020. Last year Congress provided a two-year reauthorization of SRS for FY 2014 and FY 2015, with the FY 2015 payment being approximately $275 million.
Congress enacted the SRS program in 2000 to provide funding for rural counties and school districts to replace revenue from dwindling forest receipts due to national decline in timber harvesting. When first enacted, SRS provided nearly $60 million annually to California’s forested counties, with half of the funding allocated to school districts, and half of the funding allocated to counties for county roads. SRS initially expired in 2006 and has been reauthorized multiple times since it was first enacted. Each reauthorization has seen a reduction in the amount of funding for the program.
In addition to providing funding for SRS, the President’s Budget request allocates $480 million for the Federal Payment In Lieu of Taxes (Federal PILT) program for one year. Federal PILT payments compensate counties for land that is taken off the private rolls and placed into federal ownership.
While this is welcomed news for these two critical county programs, due to the growing political ideological divide between liberals and conservatives in both chambers of Congress, the President’s Budget is unlikely to advance as proposed. Rather, the President’s Budget will serve as the basis for negotiations amongst House and Senate appropriators.
RCRC will continue to advocate for a long-term reauthorization of both programs as each remain critical for the nation’s forested counties to continue providing programs and services that meet the needs of our local communities.