U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) today joined Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Mike Crapo (R-ID), and 29 of their colleagues in urging Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, and Richard Shelby (R-AL), Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, to fully fund the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program for fiscal year (FY) 2023. PILT provides payments to counties with non-taxable federal land within their borders to offset the lost property tax revenue.
“Without full funding for the PILT program, counties across the nation will be unable to provide essential services such as law enforcement, education, search and rescue, road maintenance and public health to their residents and millions of visitors to our public lands,” the senators wrote. “Moving forward, we look forward to working with you to enact a fiscally responsible, long-term solution to fully fund PILT and eliminate the uncertainty that counties face each year.”
Throughout the country, PILT provides critical resources to nearly 1,900 counties across 49 states. With two-thirds of Utah held as public land, the PILT program helps to fund local services including road and bridge maintenance, law enforcement, and emergency medical, in many of Utah’s rural counties. As communities continue to contend with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, this funding also supports communities’ recovery efforts. Romney and his colleagues continue working toward a long-term solution for PILT that will provide counties and local governments sustained funding and more predictability.
The text of the letter is available below.
Dear Chairman Leahy and Vice Chairman Shelby:
As Members of Congress representing counties with federal public lands within their boundaries, we write to request that you work to ensure the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program is fully funded in fiscal year (FY) 2023.
PILT provides critical resources to nearly 1,900 counties across 49 states to offset lost property tax revenue due to the presence of tax-exempt federal lands within their jurisdictions. It supports the many critical services that counties provide on federal public lands. Without full funding for the PILT program, counties across the nation will be unable to provide essential services such as law enforcement, education, search and rescue, road maintenance and public health to their residents and millions of visitors to our public lands.
Moving forward, we look forward to working with you to enact a fiscally responsible, long-term solution to fully fund PILT and eliminate the uncertainty that counties face each year. As cash strapped counties across the country work to address budget cuts exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, full-funding and a long-term solution for PILT is essential to provide certainty that the federal government will continue to uphold its long-standing commitment to public lands counties.
We look forward to working with you and other Congressional leaders to resolve this pressing issue facing our communities by fully funding PILT in FY 2023 and ensuring long-term predictable funding for this important program.
