Gardner’s bill supports 10-year reauthorization of Payment in Lieu of Taxes program

U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) this week offered bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program through fiscal year 2029.

Sen. Gardner is among five original cosponsors of the PILT Reauthorization Act of 2019, S. 2480, with bill sponsor U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), which would extend the federal program for another decade to provide critical resources to nearly 1,900 counties across 49 states. The federal payments offset lost property tax revenue due to the presence of tax-exempt federal lands within local jurisdictions.

“The PILT program is an important resource for many counties in Colorado and across the country with large amounts of non-taxable federal land,” Sen. Gardner said. “It’s important that Congress fully funds this program.”

For some 40 years, PILT program funds have been used by local counties for law enforcement, firefighting, and emergency response, among numerous other local services.

“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,” according to an April letter sent to congressional appropriators that Sen. Gardner signed along with almost 40 other lawmakers.

The bill has been endorsed by Delta County (Colo.) Commissioner Mark Roeber and Matthew Chase, executive director of the National Association of Counties.