Western governors have reached out to House and Senate leadership, requesting full funding of the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) and Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (SRS) programs for Fiscal Year 2015.
Western governors reminded leadership in the Nov. 12 letter, signed by WGA Chairman and Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval and Vice Chairman and Oregon Gov. John A. Kitzhaber, that the federal government “must fulfill its longstanding obligation to fund these programs for rural counties with tax-exempt federal lands and for timber-dependent counties that rely on this funding.”
State and local governments need PILT and SRS to pay for basic but necessary services such as education, infrastructure and public safety. Because authorizations for PILT and SRS are currently expired, if they are not reauthorized state and local governments may soon be unable to provide these important services.
As a result, western governors urged leadership “to work together to find a permanent funding solution for these programs and end the annual authorization and appropriations uncertainty that interferes with planning and budgeting in these small communities.”