PILT payments are made to county governments that contain federal lands to compensate for lost property tax revenue. The legislation will provide Montana's timber counties with a reliable source of school and road funding and also sets aside funds for stewardship programs in order to maintain timber activity and encourage economic stability in counties that have been hard hit by declining timber sales. 173 school districts would receive increased federal compensation, benefitting 96,896 students. Burns said declining timber sales and faulty policies regarding compensation to counties with federal lands are hurting many areas in Montana. Counties currently receive 25 percent of the revenue from activities on Forest Service lands, of which timber sales are a major contributor.
Federal lands comprise nearly one-third of Montana.
Burns is a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which oversees most public lands policies, and is one of only two senators in the broad-based National Forest Counties and Schools Coalition, which endorsed this bill.