December 2013 - The Michigan Association of Counties

December 19, 2013Legislative

ACTION ALERT

Michigan County Commissioners

Need to Take Action TODAY

Federal PILT Funding in Jeopardy

Dear MAC Members, Below you will find information and 3 steps needed to take action on this critical issue. The first action is to have all county commissioners sign on to a NACO letter of support for PILT funding. The second action is to contact your Congressional House members and staff to urge them to fight for PILT funding. The third action is being completed by MAC Executive Director Tim McGuire, who has personally called Sen. Stabenow to ask her to sign the letter; Sen. Levin has already signed on. We need you to focus on steps 1 and 2; signing the letter and talking to House members. Please contact me with any questions you may have. Deena Bosworth MAC Director of Governmental Affairs 517-282-1647 bosworth@micounties.org

FY2014 Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) Payments in Jeopardy

Urge Congress to Fund the PILT Program In the Final FY2014 Appropriations Measure

Please join the National Association of Counties (NACo) in urging Congress to fund the PILT program! Congress has not yet acted to provide FY2014 funding for the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program (administered through the U.S. Department of the Interior), which has caused much concern for counties that have already begun the budget process for next year. Without congressional action, counties will be forced to implement budget contingency plans-making cuts to critical local government services. Immediate Action Needed on PILT

1. NACo is sending a letter to House and Senate Appropriations Committee leaders calling on them to fund PILT in FY2014. We need as many county officials, state associations of counties and other stakeholder groups to sign the letter as soon as possible!

PLEASE DISTRIBUTE THIS TO YOUR NETWORKS! Click here to view the letter and here to sign on.

2. Urge your House Members to contact House leaders and members of the House Appropriations Committee to request that PILT funding be included in the final FY2014 spending measure.

Click here to view a list and contact information for House Leaders and Members of the House Appropriations Committee. Staff contact information has been provided.

3. Urge your Senators to sign on to the PILT “Dear Colleague” letter sponsored by Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) and Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY).

The deadline for Senators to sign on to the letter is this Friday, December 20. Click here to view the letter.

If your Senator would like to add their name to the letter, please have their congressional staff contact Darrin Munoz (Sen. Enzi) at Darrin_Munoz@enzi.senate.gov or Jeanette Lukens (Sen. Udall) at Jeanette_Lukens@tomudall.senate.gov. Background on PILT

The PILT program provides payments to counties and other local governments to offset losses in tax revenues due to the presence of tax-exempt federal land in their jurisdictions. Counties with federal land in their jurisdictions often provide vital services on those lands, such as solid waste management, search and rescue and emergency medical services. Any delay or reduction of PILT dollars will disrupt county operations. Counties nationwide request swift passage of legislation to extend mandatory PILT funding for FY2014 and beyond.

NACo Resources on PILT