This week, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, chaired by Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) held an oversight hearing to examine federal payments to local governments provided through the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act (SRS) and the Federal Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program. The hearing addressed the need to provide greater fiscal certainty for resource-dependent communities with tax-exempt federal lands.
Representatives for the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Association of Counties, and states provided testimonies. Of significance, Mark Haggerty of Headwaters Economics provided testimony to the Committee members regarding Headwaters’ proposal to create a Natural Resources Trust to safeguard federal payments to counties. Furthermore, witnesses expressed concerns regarding the need for federal forest management reform as counties face the compound threat of decreased forest revenue and declining forest health.
A federal lands payment reform package is expected to emerge from the Senate in the coming weeks. RCRC is fully engaged and supportive of alternative approaches in dealing with forestry reform and federal land payments.
Video of the hearing can be accessed here.