Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

State may get more fed funds under bill

WASHINGTON -- Nevada could gain 38 percent more federal funds from public land revenues should a pending Senate bill be approved, while Clark County could lose 5 percent of those same funds based on a new formula created in the bill.

The National Association of Counties issued new figures it would like to see the federal government use when calculating "payment in lieu of tax" dollars given to counties and local governments at a Senate Forests and Public Lands subcommittee hearing Thursday.

PILT gives money to counties and local governments to make up for lost tax revenue they cannot collect on federal lands owned by the Interior Department. But like other federal programs, the money must be allocated and approved by Congress each year.

A bill co-sponsored by Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., would change that, permanently funding the program and removing it from the annual process.

"PILT is not just another spending program in the Department of Interior's budget," said Harry Mendoza, county commissioner of New Mexico's McKinley County at the hearing. "It should not have to compete for funding with worthwhile conservation programs administered by the department."

Mendoza testified on behalf of the National Association of Counties.

Nevada has just under 56.8 million acres of land divided among the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation and National Wildlife Refuges that are eligible for PILT payments, according to BLM data.

Nevada's 17 counties received $13.1 million through the program in July, marking a increase from the $11.5 million received in 2002.

Clark County received $1.81 million in June for the 4.8 million acres of land eligible for the program, 3 million of which belong to BLM.

This marks just a small portion of the county's $858 million general fund budget, according to the county's treasurer office.

But should the bill pass with the association's new formula, Nevada would receive $18.1 million, or close to a $5 million increase, with Clark County getting $1.7 million, about $100,000 less, according to the county association's estimates.

Washoe County received the highest PILT amount in 2003 with $1.82 million for its 2.9 million acres owned by the government. Should the new formula be approved, it would also decrease close to $100,000, but other all the other counties would gain funds.

White Pine County would move up from $625,150 to $1.2 million and Humboldt County would increase from $818,663 to $1.4 million in payments.

BLM calculates the payments using a federal formula based on population, the amount of federal land in a certain area and the amount of other federal land payments a local government would receive, such as from mineral leases, livestock grazing or timber sales. Different types of public land earn different funding levels. The amount a county receives can change from year to year.

BLM distributed $218 million in PILT money to states and federal territories this year. The administration requested $200 million for 2004, although it would take $324 million to fully fund the program. The House Interior appropriations bill would provide $225 million and the Senate spending bill, which has not yet been finalized, offers $230 million.

Chris Kearney, deputy Interior assistant secretary for policy and international affairs, said the administration strongly opposed the bill to permanently fund PILT.

"We support protections for local government against the loss of property tax revenue when private lands are acquired by a federal agency," Kearney said. "However, the administration is strongly opposed to creating a new mandatory spending category to fund the PILT program because it would force the federal government either to raise taxes of cut into other programs that are integral to the president's budget and important to the American public."

Kearney pointed out the administration's $200 million request for 2004 is $35 million over its 2003 request. He said the administration is concerned that mandating the funds would increase overall PILT authorization levels, increasing the cost of the bill.

"While we recognize the importance of the PILT program, it should not be viewed in isolation from other departmental and federal programs that bring or will bring benefits to counties in the future," Kearney said, referring to rural fire assistance or other program also funded through the Interior spending bill.

But Mendoza noted the administration has not requested full funding for the program since 1995 and Congress has never appropriated more than two-thirds of the needed amount.

"The federal government should pay the amount due, in full every year, with no questions asked," Mendoza said. " (It's) a simple matter of economic justice."

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