Small County PILT Parity Act
- Bill Number
- S. 1175
- Origin Chamber
- Senate
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 1
- Policy Area
- Public Lands and Natural Resources
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2025-12-02: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held.
- Last Updated
- 2026-04-21T22:48:43Z
AI-Generated Summary
Purpose
The "Small County PILT Parity Act" (S. 1175) aims to update the federal Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program. PILT provides financial compensation to local governments for lost tax revenue due to non-taxable federal lands within their boundaries. The bill specifically adjusts payment calculations to better support very small population areas, ensuring fairer distribution for rural and low-population counties.
Key Provisions
- Short Title: The Act is named the "Small County PILT Parity Act."
- Amendment to Population Thresholds: It modifies Section 6903(c) of Title 31, United States Code, which governs PILT payment limits based on local government population.
- Lowers the initial population cutoff for special adjustments from 4,999 to 999 residents.
- Shifts the starting point for a tiered payment table from 5,000 to 1,000 residents.
- Updated Payment Table: Replaces the existing table with a new one covering populations from 1,000 to 50,000. Payments are calculated by multiplying population by a specified factor (e.g., $394.15 per person for 1,000 residents, decreasing to $90.12 per person for 50,000 residents). This creates more tiers for finer adjustments, with higher multipliers for smaller populations to boost overall payments.
Significant Changes to Existing Law
- Expands eligibility for enhanced PILT payments to include even smaller local governments (under 1,000 residents previously ineligible for certain adjustments).
- Introduces a more detailed, granular table of population multipliers, replacing the prior simpler structure. This results in higher per-capita payments for counties with populations under 5,000 compared to current law, promoting "parity" by addressing disparities for tiny, rural areas with significant federal land holdings.
- No changes to overall PILT funding authorization; focuses solely on distributional formulas for low-population units.
Potential Impacts
- On Government Agencies: The U.S. Department of the Interior (which administers PILT) will need to update calculation and distribution processes, potentially increasing administrative workload but without new funding requirements.
- On Citizens: Residents in small, rural counties (often in Western states) may see improved local services like roads, schools, and emergency response, as governments receive more federal support to offset tax losses from federal lands.
- On International Relations: None; the bill is purely domestic, affecting only U.S. local-federal fiscal relations.
- Broader effects include reduced financial strain on low-population areas, potentially slowing rural depopulation by bolstering community infrastructure.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- Primary Beneficiaries: Small counties and other units of local government (e.g., towns, municipalities) with populations under 50,000 and substantial federal lands, particularly in states like Nevada, Montana, and other Western regions where federal ownership is high.
- Federal Government: Agencies managing PILT payments, such as the Interior Department, face adjusted payout obligations.
- State Governments: Indirectly affected through shared local service responsibilities, though the focus is on local levels.
- Rural Residents and Taxpayers: Gain from enhanced local budgets without direct tax increases.
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Legal: This is a straightforward statutory amendment to the PILT statute (originally from 1976), requiring no new appropriations and aligning with Congress's spending power under Article I of the Constitution. It could set a precedent for future tweaks to federal-local compensation formulas.
- Constitutional: No major issues; reinforces federal obligations to support states and localities impacted by national land policies, consistent with the Property Clause (Article IV, Section 3).
- Political: Highlights bipartisan support (introduced by Sens. Daines (R-MT) and Cortez Masto (D-NV)) for rural interests, potentially influencing debates on federal land management and equity between urban and rural areas. Referred to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, it may advance discussions on Western state economics without broader partisan controversy.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Cosponsors (8)
Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV], Sen. Crapo, Mike [R-ID], Sen. Risch, James E. [R-ID], Sen. Hickenlooper, John W. [D-CO], Sen. Sheehy, Tim [R-MT], Sen. Rosen, Jacky [D-NV], Sen. Murkowski, Lisa [R-AK], Sen. Sullivan, Dan [R-AK]
Recent Actions
- 2025-12-02: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held.
- 2025-03-27: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
- 2025-03-27: Introduced in Senate
Bill Versions
- Small County PILT Parity Act — issued 2025-03-27 — PDF (3 pages)