I
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 Wash-
ington) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a pe-
riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con-
sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee 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 man-
agement agency, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives 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 ‘‘Ex-
cept as provided in subsection (b), amounts’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section:
‘‘(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 expendi-
ture in accordance with this chapter.’’.
SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF LOCAL TAX BASE AS PART OF FED-
ERAL LAND ACQUISITION.
(a) ELECTION OF PAYMENT TO OFFSET REVENUE
LOSS.—
(1) NOTIFICATION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.—
Whenever a Federal land management agency ac-
quires privately owned land by purchase, exchange,
or donation, the head of the agency shall notify the
unit of general local government within whose juris-
diction the land lies.
(2) ELECTION.—If a unit of general local gov-
ernment is notified by a Federal agency under para-
graph (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 pay-
ment 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 PAY-
MENT.—
(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 agen-
cy, 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 there-
after 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 pay-
ment 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 para-
graph (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 govern-
ment 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 deter-
mine 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 gen-
eral local government that apply in the local tax
year in which the land is acquired by the Fed-
eral land management agency; and
(C) shall include amounts to offset prop-
erty 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 ac-
quired 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.—