Sen. Steve Daines
To create tax parity between small populations and larger counties, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) on March 27 sponsored a bipartisan bill to permit counties with populations under 5,000 to receive increased Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILT) payments where per capita funding increases as population decreases.
“PILT payments are essential for many of Montana’s rural counties, and they provide funding for essential services like emergency response and transportation,” Sen. Daines said. “I’m proud to introduce this bipartisan bill to bring parity to the PILT program and ensure our rural and low-population counties are treated fairly.”
PILT funds are payments from the federal government to county governments to offset the loss of property taxes from federally owned lands in that county, according to a bill summary provided by Sen. Daines’ staff.
If enacted, the Small County PILT Parity Act, S. 1175, which is cosponsored by U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), would create four new tiers in the PILT Formula (1,000, 2,000, 3,000, and 4,000) to allow for higher payments for eligible counties.
Currently, 19 counties in Montana have a lower population than the 5,000 baseline, the summary says.
“This bipartisan bill ensures that our most rural counties are treated fairly when it comes to receiving PILT dollars,” said Sen. Cortez Masto. “These counties rely on federal funding for critical projects and services, and I will always fight to ensure that communities in all 17 of Nevada’s counties have the resources they need to thrive.”
The Montana Association of Counties and the National Association of Counties endorsed the bill, which has been referred to the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee for consideration.