This week, RCRC’s national advocacy partner, the National Association of Counties (NACo), sent a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen requesting that “Treasury consult with NACo and state associations of counties in the development of [the] formula” to distribute the $1.5 billion of aid provided to public lands counties as part of the American Rescue Plan Act signed into law by President Biden last week. A key section of the Act, championed by Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), tasks the U.S. Treasury with developing the distribution formula that would provide public lands counties additional monies beyond what is provided to each and every county in the U.S. under the Act. In the Congressional Record, Senator Wyden explicitly stated, “I fully expect Treasury to consult with others in government who have history in this arena on the creation of this new formula such as the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior, as well as the National Association of Counties, state county associations, including the Association of O&C Counties Oregon, and many other groups with a deep understanding of these impacts across the United States.” The $1.5 billion provided in this key section - Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund – should further assist most RCRC member counties that contain large amounts of federally-owned public lands. RCRC looks forward to working with NACo and other state associations of counties to ensure that the final distribution formula properly compensates California’s counties that contain public lands.
