I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2389
To restore stability and predictability to the annual payments made to States
and counties containing National Forest System lands and public domain
lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management for use by the
counties for the benefit of public schools, roads, and other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 30, 1999
Mr. DEAL of Georgia (for himself, Mr. BOYD, Ms. DUNN, Mr. TURNER, Mr.
PETERSON of Pennsylvania, and Mr. THOMPSON of California) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture,
and in addition to the Committee on Resources, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To restore stability and predictability to the annual payments
made to States and counties containing National Forest
System lands and public domain lands managed by the
Bureau of Land Management for use by the counties
for the benefit of public schools, roads, and other pur-
poses.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘County Schools Funding Revitalization Act of 1999’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings and purpose.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Determination of full payment amount for eligible States and counties.
Sec. 5. Forest Service payments to eligible States for affected counties to use
for public education and transportation.
Sec. 6. Bureau of Land Management payments to eligible counties to use for
the benefit of public safety, law enforcement, and other public
purposes.
Sec. 7. Development of long-term methods to meet statutory obligation of Fed-
eral lands to contribute to public education and other public
services.
Sec. 8. Sense of Congress regarding Advisory Committee recommendations.
Sec. 9. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 10. Conforming amendments.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:
(1) The National Forest System, which is man-
aged by the United States Forest Service, was estab-
lished 
in 
1907 
and 
has 
grown 
to 
include
192,000,000 acres of Federal lands.
(2) The public domain lands known as revested
Oregon and California Railroad grant lands and the
reconveyed Coos Bay Wagon Road grant lands,
which are managed predominantly by the Bureau of
Land Management were returned to Federal owner-
ship in 1916 and 1919 and now comprise approxi-
mately 2,600,000 acres of Federal lands.
(3) Congress recognized that, by securing these
lands in Federal ownership, the counties in which
these lands were situated would be deprived of reve-
nues they would otherwise receive if the lands were
held in private ownership.
(4) Even without such revenues, these same
counties have expended public funds year after year
to provide services, such as education, road construc-
tion and maintenance, search and rescue, law en-
forcement, waste removal, and fire protection, that
directly benefit these Federal lands and people who
use these lands.
(5) To accord a measure of compensation to the
affected counties for their loss of future revenues
and for the critical services they provide, Congress
determined that the Federal Government should
share with these counties a portion of the revenues
the United States receives from these Federal lands.
(6) Congress enacted in 1908 and subsequently
amended a law that requires 25 percent of the reve-
nues derived from National Forest System lands be
paid to States for use by the counties in which the
lands are situated for the benefit of public schools
and roads.
county an amount equal to the average of the three high-
est 25-percent payments, 50-percent payments, or safety
net payments made to that eligible State or eligible county
during the eligibility period.
(b) ANNUAL ADJUSTMENT.—For the second and
each subsequent fiscal year in which payments are re-
quired to be made to eligible States and eligible counties
under this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall adjust
the full payment amount in effect for the previous fiscal
year for each eligible State and eligible county to reflect
changes in the consumer price index for urban areas (as
published in the Bureau of Labor Statistics) that occur
after publication of that index for fiscal year 1999.
SEC. 5. FOREST SERVICE PAYMENTS TO ELIGIBLE STATES
FOR AFFECTED COUNTIES TO USE FOR PUB-
LIC EDUCATION AND TRANSPORTATION.
(a) REQUIREMENT
FOR PAYMENTS
TO ELIGIBLE
STATES.—The Secretary of the Treasury shall make a
payment to each eligible State in accordance with sub-
section (b) as early as practicable in each of fiscal years
2000 through 2005.
(b) PAYMENT AMOUNTS.—Each payment to an eligi-
ble State under subsection (a) shall consist of the fol-
lowing:
(1) The amount of the 25-percent payments ap-
plicable to that State.
(2) If the amount under paragraph (1) is less
than the full payment amount for that State, such
additional funds as are necessary to provide a total
payment equal to the full payment amount.
(c) EXPENDITURE OF PAYMENTS.—Eligible States
shall distribute and expend the payments received under
subsection (a) in the same manner in which the 25-percent
payments are required to be distributed and expended.
(d) SOURCE OF ADDITIONAL PAYMENT AMOUNTS.—
Funds necessary to make the payment required by sub-
section (b)(2), shall be derived, as determined by the Sec-
retary of Agriculture, from any revenues received by the
United States from activities on the Federal lands de-
scribed in section 3(1)(A), funds appropriated for the For-
est Service, or both sources, except—
(1) programs from which the 25-percent pay-
ments are derived and funds which, if paid to eligi-
ble States, would contribute to a reduction in such
revenues; and
(2) funds from trust or other special accounts
established by statute for use by the Forest Service
for specified purposes.
SEC. 6. BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT PAYMENTS TO EL-
IGIBLE COUNTIES TO USE FOR THE BENEFIT
OF PUBLIC SAFETY, LAW ENFORCEMENT,
AND OTHER PUBLIC PURPOSES.
(a) REQUIREMENT
FOR PAYMENTS
TO ELIGIBLE
COUNTIES.—The Secretary of the Treasury shall make a
payment to each eligible county in accordance with sub-
section (b) as early as practicable in each of fiscal years
2000 through 2005.
(b) PAYMENT AMOUNTS.—Each payment to an eligi-
ble county under subsection (a) shall consist of the fol-
lowing:
(1) The amount of the 50-percent payments ap-
plicable to that county.
(2) If the amount under paragraph (1) is less
than the full payment amount for that county, such
additional funds as are necessary to provide a total
payment equal to the full payment amount.
(c) EXPENDITURE OF PAYMENTS.—Eligible counties
shall distribute and expend the payments received under
subsection (a) in the same manner in which the 50-percent
payments are required to be distributed and expended.
(d) SOURCE OF ADDITIONAL PAYMENT AMOUNTS.—
Funds necessary to make the payment required by sub-
section (b)(2), shall be derived, as determined by the Sec-
retary of the Interior, from any revenues received by the
United States from activities on the Federal lands de-
scribed in section 3(1)(B), funds appropriated for the Bu-
reau of Land Management, or both, except—
(1) programs from which the 50-percent pay-
ments are derived and funds, which, if paid to eligi-
ble counties, would contribute to a reduction in such
revenues; and
(2) funds from trust or other special accounts
established by statute for use by the Bureau of Land
Management for specified purposes.
SEC. 7. DEVELOPMENT OF LONG-TERM METHODS TO MEET
STATUTORY 
OBLIGATION 
OF 
FEDERAL
LANDS TO CONTRIBUTE TO PUBLIC EDU-
CATION AND OTHER PUBLIC SERVICES.
(a) FOREST COUNTIES PAYMENTS COMMITTEE.—
There is hereby established an advisory committee, to be
known as the Forest Counties Payments Committee, to
develop recommendations regarding methods to ensure
that States and counties in which Federal Lands are situ-
ated receive adequate Federal payments to be used for the
benefit of public education and other public purposes.
(b) MEMBERS.—The Advisory Committee shall be
composed of the following members:
(1) The Chief of the Forest Service, or the
Chief’s designee.
(2) The Director of the Bureau of Land Man-
agement, or the Director’s designee.
(3) The Director of the Office of Management
and Budget, or the Director’s designee.
(4) Two members who are elected members of
the governing branches of eligible counties, one ap-
pointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate
and one appointed by the Speaker of the House of
Representatives within 60 days of the date of enact-
ment of this Act.
(5) Two members who are elected members of
school boards for, or superintendents from, school
districts in eligible counties, one appointed by the
President pro tempore of the Senate and 1 ap-
pointed by the Speaker of the House of Representa-
tives within 60 days of the date of enactment of this
Act.
(c) ADVISORY COMMITTEE FUNCTIONS.—
(1) DEVELOPMENT OF RECOMMENDATIONS.—
The Advisory Committee shall develop recommenda-
tions for policy or legislative initiatives, or both, to
substitute for the short-term payments required by
this Act a long-term method to generate annual pay-
ments to eligible States and eligible counties at or
above the full payment amount. Not later than two
years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Advisory Committee shall submit to the Committee
on Agriculture, the Committee on Resources, and
the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry, the Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources, and the Committee on Ap-
propriations of Senate a report containing the rec-
ommendations developed under this paragraph.
(2) 
GUIDANCE.—In 
developing 
the 
rec-
ommendations required by paragraph (1), the Advi-
sory Committee shall—
(A) seek to maximize the amount of such
payments contributed by revenues collected
from the Federal lands, so as to minimize ad-
verse budgetary effects and to generate the ad-
ditional revenues, wages, purchases of goods
and services, and other economic benefits to
and for such States and counties; and
(B) ensure that the method is in accord
with a definition of sustainable forest manage-
ment in which ecological, economic, and social
factors are accorded equal consideration in the
management of the Federal lands.