FY 2011 Secure Rural School Payments Released; Reauthorization Process Begins

The Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program provides counties in 41 states and Puerto Rico with a share of revenues from national forests. These payments are awarded to rural counties for the purposes of building schools and maintaining infrastructure. In 2008, Congress reauthorized the SRS program through federal fiscal year (FY) 2011 as a part of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA; P.L. 110-343). While the program received a funding boost in FY 2008, the reauthorization gradually reduced payments. The U.S. Forest Service recently announced FY 2011 SRS payment levels, which declined -21.1% from FY 2010.

Additionally, on February 16, 2012, the House Natural Resources Committee approved the Federal Forest County Revenue, Schools, and Jobs Act of 2012 (H.R. 4019), which would reauthorize and make changes to SRS state payments. This Issue Brief provides details on the FY 2011 SRS state payments and the proposals affecting states in H.R. 4019.