U.S. Senator Ken Salazar Member: Finance, Agriculture, Energy, Ethics and Aging Committees 2300 15^th Street, Suite 450 Denver, CO 80202 | 702 Hart Senate Building, Washington, D.C. 20510
For Immediate Release March 29, 2007		CONTACT: Cody Wertz – Comm. Director 303-455-5999
Salazar Supports Bill to Fully Fund PILT & Bolster County Payments Program Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ken Salazar threw his support behind a multi-year proposal to restore funding for the Secure Rural Schools and the Community Self Determination Act, also known as the county payments law. The proposal was included in the Supplemental Appropriations bill passed by the Senate today and provides $5 billion for rural schools, counties and communities through 2011, and includes full-funding for five years for Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT). Fully funding PILT will represent a nearly 30 percent increase in payments for Colorado counties. “Colorado is blessed with over 23 million acres of national parks and forests, BLM and other public lands,” said Senator Salazar. “Unfortunately, counties have not been able to rely on steady tax payments from those public lands and timber revenues to fund schools, roads and other necessary services. I have long supported fully–funding PILT and other payments and this bill would do just that. In addition, this bill dedicates these funding levels long enough so that counties can accurately plan their long-term budgets – it is a win-win for rural Coloradans.” County Payments Since 1908, the Forest Service has shared 25 percent of certain receipts from National Forests to states (and counties) for public education and county roads purposes. Toward the mid- to late-nineties, however, the principle source of those revenues, federal timber sales, declined by over 70 percent nationwide. Consequently, the corresponding revenues shared with rural counties throughout the country declined precipitously, hurting school and transportation funding. In 2006, 43 Colorado counties received $6.4 million in County Payments PILT Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) is compensation for local governments to make up for the presence of federal non-taxable land within their jurisdictions. Under the County Payments formula change, Colorado would receive approximately $19 million per year until 2011. In 2006, 57 Colorado counties received $17.5 million in PILT funds for the 23.7 million acres of federal lands within their counties. PILT funding in 2006 was $236 million of an authorized amount of $340 million # # #