The Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act has been passed by an almost unanimous vote in Congress. Representative Doug LaMalfa says he led the bipartisan effort to revive the program to provide federal subsidies to counties that had relied on the timber industry. The funding was originally established to make up for timber revenues that declined as environmental protections and automation reduced logging on national forests. The idea is that the population that had been supported by logging still resides in areas where there’s not enough property taxes to support schools and roads because of the vast swaths of tax exempt federal land. Some Northstate counties have more than 80% federal land ownership. The funding has expired a number of times and has been repeatedly revived with increasing pressure to let it die. LaMalfa says communities rely on the money. The bill lapsed in 2023, with funding running dry last year leading to teacher layoffs and deferred maintenance for schools and roads. The reauthorization act restores last year’s payment and authorizes payments for this year and next. It passed the House on Tuesday with a vote of 399 to 5 and awaits the President’s signature.
-Steve Gibson