[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5053 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5053

 To provide full funding for the payment in lieu of taxes program for 
the next five fiscal years, to protect local jurisdictions against the 
  loss of property tax revenues when private lands are acquired by a 
        Federal land management agency, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 27, 2002

Mr. Radanovich (for himself, Mr. Jones of North Carolina, Mr. Simpson, 
  Mr. Cannon, Mr. Otter, Mr. Walden, and Mr. Hastings of Washington) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
   Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a 
 period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide full funding for the payment in lieu of taxes program for 
the next five fiscal years, to protect local jurisdictions against the 
  loss of property tax revenues when private lands are acquired by a 
        Federal land management agency, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``PILT Fairness Act of 2002''.

SEC. 2. FULL FUNDING FOR PAYMENTS IN LIEU OF TAXES.

    Section 6906 of title 31, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``Necessary'' and inserting ``(a) In 
        General.--Necessary'';
            (2) by striking ``Amounts'' and inserting ``Except as 
        provided in subsection (b), amounts''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(b) Full Funding.--For fiscal years 2003 through 2007, amounts 
necessary to carry out this chapter shall be made available to the 
Secretary of the Interior, out of any funds in the Treasury not 
otherwise appropriated and without further appropriation, for 
obligation and expenditure in accordance with this chapter.''.

SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF LOCAL TAX BASE AS PART OF FEDERAL LAND 
              ACQUISITION.

    (a) Election of Payment To Offset Revenue Loss.--
            (1) Notification of local governments.--Whenever a Federal 
        land management agency acquires privately owned land by 
        purchase, exchange, or donation, the head of the agency shall 
        notify the unit of general local government within whose 
        jurisdiction the land lies.
            (2) Election.--If a unit of general local government is 
        notified by a Federal agency under paragraph (1) regarding an 
        acquisition of land by the Federal agency, the elected 
        officials with authority under State law to govern the unit 
        may, within 90 days after that notification, elect to receive 
        from the Federal land management agency a one-time payment in 
        an amount sufficient to offset the long term revenue loss to 
        the local government that will result from the acquisition of 
        the land by the Federal agency.
    (b) Treatment of Land After One-Time Payment.--
            (1) In general.--If a unit of general local government 
        receives, pursuant to an election under subsection (a), a one-
        time payment with respect to land acquired by a Federal land 
        management agency, the land shall not be treated as entitlement 
        land for purposes of chapter 69 of title 31, United States 
        Code, notwithstanding any changes that may thereafter occur in 
        the value of the land, interest rates, taxation rates, or any 
        other economic factor.
            (2) Conforming amendment.--Section 6901(1) of title 31, 
        United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
        following:
``Such term does not include any land with respect to which a unit of 
local government receives a one-time payment under the PILT Fairness 
Act of 2002.''.
    (c) Application.--
            (1) In general.--This section shall apply to any land 
        acquisition by a Federal land management agency completed after 
        September 30, 1998.
            (2) Application to prior acquisitions.--For purposes of the 
        application of this section to an acquisition of land by a 
        Federal agency before the date of the enactment of this Act, 
        the head of the agency is deemed to have notified the unit of 
        general local government concerned in accordance with paragraph 
        (1) on the date of the enactment of this Act.
            (3) No effect on title.--This subsection shall not affect 
        any right, title, or interest of the United States in or to 
        land.

SEC. 4. ONE-TIME PAYMENT.

    (a) In General.--If a unit of general local government elects under 
section 3(a)(2) to receive a one-time payment with respect to land 
acquired by a Federal land management agency--
            (1) the head of the Federal agency shall determine and make 
        such payment in accordance with this section; and
            (2) such acquisition may not occur before the date the 
        payment is made.
    (b) Amount of Payment.--
            (1) In general.--The amount of such payment--
                    (A) shall be sufficient to yield a revenue stream 
                in perpetuity equal to the property taxes currently 
                required to be paid with respect to the land, 
                determined as an annuity amount based on an interest 
                rate equal to the current average yield on outstanding 
                obligations of the United States with remaining periods 
                of maturity of 10 years on the date of acquisition of 
                the land by the Federal agency;
                    (B) shall be determined based on the rate of tax 
                and land valuation in effect for the land under the 
                property tax laws of the unit of general local 
                government that apply in the local tax year in which 
                the land is acquired by the Federal land management 
                agency; and
                    (C) shall include amounts to offset property taxes 
                that were attributable to--
                            (i) improvements on the acquired lands; or
                            (ii) the use of the lands for business 
                        enterprise.
            (2) Federal acquisitions from tax-exempt entities.--If a 
        Federal land management agency acquires lands by purchase, 
        donation, exchange, or other means from a nongovernmental 
        organization or other entity that is exempt from local 
        taxation, paragraph (1) shall apply as if the lands were 
        acquired from the last person that owned the lands that was not 
        exempt from such taxation.
            (3) Deduction of pilt payments.--In the case of a payment 
        under this section to a unit of general local government with 
        respect to land that was acquired by a Federal land management 
        agency before the date of the enactment of this Act, the head 
        of the agency shall deduct, from the amount otherwise required 
        to be paid, the amount of any payment made to the unit with 
        respect to the land after September 30, 1998, under chapter 69 
        of title 31, United States Code.
    (c) Time for Payment.--The payment required under subsection (a) in 
connection with a land acquisition shall be made before the Federal 
land management agency takes possession of the land.
    (d) Use of Payment.--
            (1) In general.--Amounts paid to a unit of general local 
        government under this section shall be deposited into a trust 
        fund established and administered by the unit of general local 
        government.
            (2) Restriction on use of principal.--The principal of the 
        trust fund may not be expended.
            (3) Use of interest.--Interest generated by the trust fund 
        shall be available to the unit of general local government for 
        any governmental purpose.

SEC. 5. RELATIONSHIP OF ONE-TIME PAYMENTS TO PAYMENTS IN LIEU OF TAXES.

    A one-time payment received by a unit of general local government 
under this Act shall not be deducted or in any way used to offset 
payments required to be made to the unit under chapter 69 of title 31, 
United States Code.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    In this section:
            (1) Donation.--The term ``donation'' includes any 
        conveyance of land to the Federal Government that is required 
        as a condition of receipt of any benefit under Federal law.
            (2) Federal land management agency.--The term ``Federal 
        land management agency'' means each of the following:
                    (A) The Forest Service.
                    (B) The Bureau of Land Management.
                    (C) The National Park Service.
                    (D) The United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
            (3) Unit of general local government.--The term ``unit of 
        general local government'' has the meaning given the term in 
        section 6901(2) of title 31, United States Code.
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