The La Plata County government has a reason to hope.
Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., joined Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, to introduce legislation go restore mandatory funding for the Payment in Lieu of Taxes program, often called PILT.
PILT are federal payments to local governments to compensate for revenue losses from property taxes because of tax-exempt federal lands within their borders.
These funds enable local governments to perform services such as fire-fighting and police protection, construction of public schools and roads in addition to search-and-rescue operations.
"PILT provides crucial resources to counties to help deliver basic services to Colorado communities," Bennet said in a statement. "Restoring PILT to mandatory funding and extending Secure Rural Schools funding will give our rural communities the certainty they need to plan and budget for things like school construction, police and fire protection and road maintenance. There is no reason for Congress to leave them in limbo every year, and this bill will help fix that."
Mandatory PILT funding expired in 2013, which has forced the program to rely on yearly appropriations. Counties with large amounts of federal land have been faced with uncertainty since then, as they have to wait to find out how much they will receive in compensation for lost revenues.
According to data from the Department of the Interior, Colorado counties received $34.5 million in PILT payments during fiscal year 2014. La Plata County received $760,455 during that time.
The Crombibus, a $1.1 trillion spending bill that will fund the federal government through September 2015, provided $372 million in funding PILT. Combined with $70 million included in the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act, total PILT funding for fiscal year 2015 would be $442 million.
The bill also would renew the Secure Rural Schools program, which provides resources for schools, law enforcement, roads and forest restoration and improvement projects.
The program expired in September 2014, and Congress has yet to reauthorize it. The bill would extend the program for three years at 2011 funding levels, providing around $360 million annually for more than 700 counties across the United States.