Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2025

What this does

This bill reauthorizes the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000, which sends federal payments to states and counties that contain national forest and other federal land. Congress lets the program's payment authority run through fiscal year 2026, striking the old 2023 cutoff. It covers the two fiscal years the program had already lapsed, funding fiscal years 2024 and 2025, and orders the Treasury to make those back payments within 45 days of enactment. Where a county already took a share of the standard 25-percent or 50-percent forest-receipt payment for 2024 or 2025, the bill reduces its Secure Rural Schools payment by that amount so it is not paid twice. It carries each county's fiscal year 2023 payment-use election forward to 2024 and 2025 rather than making counties elect again. It extends the authority to run special projects on federal land through fiscal year 2028, extends counties' authority to spend the funds through 2028, and extends the resource advisory committee pilot program through fiscal year 2026. The rest of the bill makes technical punctuation and wording corrections.

House vote · 399-5

Democrats201–0

Republicans198–5

Independents0–0

How we know · 12 sourced claims

The bill reauthorizes the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000.Source: Sec. 2 heading and Sec. 1 (lines 16, 19): title 'To extend the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000'; Sec. 2 'Extension of Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000'.
The program sends federal payments to states and counties that contain federal land.Source: Sec. 2(a)(1) (line 19): 'Secure payments for States and counties containing Federal land'.
Congress extends the payment authority through fiscal year 2026 by striking the 2023 cutoff.Source: Sec. 2(a)(1)(A) (line 21): Section 101 amended 'by striking 2023 each place it appears and inserting 2026'; Sec. 2(a)(2) (line 29): Section 103(d)(2) 'striking 2023 and inserting 2026'.
The bill funds fiscal years 2024 and 2025, the years the program had lapsed.Source: Sec. 2(a)(1)(B) (lines 22-29): new subsection (e) 'Special rule for fiscal year 2024 and 2025 payments' governing State and county payments for FY2024 and FY2025.
The Treasury must make the fiscal year 2024 and 2025 payments within 45 days of enactment.Source: Sec. 2(a)(1)(B) new (e)(3) (line 29): 'Not later than 45 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary of the Treasury shall make all payments under this title for each of fiscal years 2024 and 2025.'
Where a county already received a share of the 25-percent or 50-percent forest-receipt payment for 2024 or 2025, its Secure Rural Schools payment is reduced by that amount.Source: Sec. 2(a)(1)(B) new (e)(1)-(2) (line 26): State payment reduced by the county's share of the 25-percent payment; county payment reduced by the 50-percent payment.
The bill carries each county's fiscal year 2023 payment election forward to 2024 and 2025 instead of requiring a new election.Source: Sec. 2(b) (lines 34, 37, 43): amendments to Section 102 providing the FY2023 election is effective for FY2024 and FY2025 and that the election otherwise required 'shall not apply' for those years.
The bill extends authority to conduct special projects on federal land through fiscal year 2028.Source: Sec. 2(c)(2) (lines 48-50): Section 208 amended in subsection (a) 'striking 2025 and inserting 2028' and in subsection (b) 'striking 2026 and inserting 2029'.
The bill extends counties' authority to spend the funds through fiscal year 2028.Source: Sec. 2(d) (lines 51-53): Section 305 amended 'striking 2025 and inserting 2028' and 'striking 2026 and inserting 2029'.
The bill extends the resource advisory committee pilot program through fiscal year 2026.Source: Sec. 3 (lines 55-58): Section 205(g) amended 'striking 2023 and inserting 2026' and striking paragraph (6).
The remaining provisions are technical punctuation and wording corrections.Source: Sec. 4 (lines 58-65): 'Technical corrections' striking 'concerned,' for 'concerned', fixing a date reference, and correcting 'to extent' to 'to the extent'.
The bill is single-subject; every section amends the same 2000 Act with no unrelated rider.Source: Sec. 2, 3, 4 each amend named sections of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7111-7144); no other statute or subject appears in the text.

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R194–5D199–0I1–0

Position

Party

State

Republicans

215

Democrats

210

Independents

YeaKevin KileyCA · District 3