On December 9, Congress passed by bipartisan legislation reauthorizing the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program The bill provides back pay for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 and FY 2025 and reauthorizes SRS through FY 2026, delivering critical relief to timber-dependent counties that rely on these funds to maintain essential services, including counties in Virginia. The bill became public law on December 18.
The SRS program provides funding that supports critical local government services like education, transportation and public safety to counties with National Forest System land administered by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). Federal land is untaxable, but counties still have government services responsibilities on and around federal land, and payments are especially vital for timber counties as they navigate economic transition and work towards long-term stability.
Since 1908, federal law has directed 25 percent of all revenue from timber in national forests to counties, and that funding supported county budgets for decades. After federal land management priorities changed and timber harvests declined, Congress created the SRS program in 2000 to alleviate financial challenges faced by rural counties. Since the program’s establishment, it has received broad support in Congress and has been reauthorized several times.
This significant victory for counties comes after sustained advocacy from the National Association of Counties (NACo) and county officials. VACo provided targeted outreach to members of Virginia’s Congressional Delegation and thanks the Delegation for their support of this bill as no member voted against the measure. More information from NACo on the effort can be found here.
VACo Contact: Jeremy R. Bennett