What Happened?

If you live near a national park, forest or other federal land, part of your county likely pays no property taxes, so D.C. sends them checks instead. This year’s checks totaled $733 million, the Interior Department announced Tuesday, June 23, split among more than 1,900 local governments. ​

That’s the most the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program has paid in at least a decade, even after adjusting for inflation, according to a Congressional Research Service overview updated Aug. 31 and summarized by Legis1. The main reason: smaller deductions for timber-related payments counties received the year before.

Why Does it Matter to Me?

That money helps pay for firefighters, sheriff’s deputies, schools and road work in places where the federal government owns much of the land. Congress created the program in 1976, once it became clear D.C. planned to keep those lands for good.

How much your county gets depends on how many acres of federal land it has, how many people live there and how much Congress puts into the program. That last piece has shifted over the years, which makes it hard for counties to plan.

Both Sides, Now

From 1976 through 2007, PILT depended on Congress passing a spending bill each year, and counties often got less than the law promised. In 2007, they received $232.1 million, about 65% of the full $358.3 million authorized, the Interior Department reported at the time.

Congress made the payments automatic starting in 2008, but it went back to yearly bills for 2016 and 2017, and automatic spending cuts trimmed the 2013 payments. County groups such as the National Association of Counties want full, automatic funding made permanent. Others in Congress want to change who qualifies, either by adding more kinds of federal land or by reworking the formula for the smallest counties.

What Happens Next?

As of Aug. 26, Congress had not set aside any money for next year’s payments, which Interior usually sends in June. Lawmakers passed a stopgap that keeps the government funded through Friday, Dec. 11, Federal News Network reported, and they don’t return from their election break until Monday, Nov. 9.

One fix for small counties is moving. The Small County PILT Parity Act, from Sens. Steve Daines (R-MT) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), would change the formula for counties with fewer than 5,000 people and affect more than 160 counties in 25 states. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved it Friday, July 17, so it now needs a full Senate vote and House approval.

---

AllCiv makes it easy to stay politically informed and involved.

---

Spot something wrong? Report an issue with this article