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1 1 (April 6, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govelet0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Informing the legislative debate since 1914 Updated April 6, 2023 Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT): Section 6902 Payments Introduction Several federal programs exist to compensate local jurisdictions for the presence of nontaxable federal lands. The widest-ranging program is the Department of the Interior's (DOI's) Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program. PILT compensates units of general local government for selected lands administered by several federal agencies. Units of general local government are generally referred to as counties, although a unit could be other than a county. In FY2022, PILT paid $549.4 million to more than 1,900 counties across 49 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. PILT funding is allocated through three payment mechanisms-Section 6902, Section 6904, and Section 6905-which are named for the sections of law in which they are authorized (31 U.S.C. §§6902, 6904, 6905). Section 6902 payments account for the majority of PILT payments and are available to the most counties. Section 6904 and 6905 payments account for less than 1% of PILT payments, are supplementary to 6902 payments, and are made to selected counties for specific purposes as identified in statute. This CRS product discusses Section 6902 payments. Payment Formula Section 6902 payments are made to counties pursuant to a formula provided in statute (Figure 1). Several factors are used to calculate the authorized PILT payment amount for a county: entitlement land and per acre payment rates, population-based payment ceilings, prior-year payments, pass-through laws, and inflation. These factors are described below. Additionally, the level of funding available each year for PILT payments determines whether counties receive the fully authorized payment amount or a lesser, prorated amount. Entitlement Land and Per Acre Payment Rates: Lands eligible under PILT are referred to as entitlement lands in statute (31 U.S.C. §6901) and include federal lands * in the National Park System; * in the National Forest System; * administered by the Bureau of Land Management; * in the National Wildlife Refuge System withdrawn from the public domain; * dedicated to the use of federal water resources development projects; * used for certain dredge disposal areas; * located near Purgatory River Canyon and Piflon Canyon, CO, that were acquired after December 31, 1981, to expand the Fort Carson military reservation; * on which are located semi-active or inactive Army installations used for certain purposes; and * acquired per the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act (P.L. 105-263). The first step in calculating authorized payments is determining the number of entitlement acres within a county, which is the responsibility of the various federal agencies that administer the lands (Figure 1, Step A). Taking into account a population-based payment ceiling as described below (Figure 1, Step B), a county's authorized payment is calculated by multiplying the number of entitlement acres by one of two per acre payment rates-a higher rate offset by prior-year payments (Alternative A) or a non-offset lower rate (Alternative B) (Figure 1, Step C). The higher amount is the authorized payment.

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