Congress locks in stable funding for rural counties on federal lands
H.R. 10593 — Permanently Authorizing PILT Act · Filed by Brittany Pettersen (D-CO) · 10 cosponsors · Introduced Sep 24, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill makes the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program permanent by removing its expiration date. PILT compensates counties and local governments for lost property tax revenue on federal lands within their borders. The change allows the program to continue indefinitely instead of requiring periodic congressional reauthorization.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole function is to remove an expiration date from an existing federal payment program, converting temporary authorization into permanent law. This is a routine legislative housekeeping measure that stabilizes revenue for local governments.
What the text implies
- Removes the need for periodic congressional reauthorization votes, reducing legislative friction for counties dependent on PILT but also reducing periodic opportunities for Congress to revisit program terms or funding levels.
- Shifts PILT from discretionary to effectively mandatory spending (absent future repeal), which may affect federal budget baseline projections and appropriations dynamics in future fiscal negotiations.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Local governments and rural counties dependent on PILT funding gain budget certainty and avoid the administrative burden of seeking periodic reauthorization. Citizens in counties with substantial federal land holdings benefit from stable local services (schools, roads, emergency services) funded by this compensation.
Who stands to gain
- county and local governments in western states with large federal land holdings
- rural school districts and emergency services funded by PILT revenue
Named in the bill
31 U.S.C. § 6906, Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program, county governments, local governments, federal land management agencies
Where it stands
10 cosponsors: 10 Democrats.
- Sep 24, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Sep 24, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (251 characters) on Sep 26, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 15,163 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-09-26.
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