Congress passes Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2025 in victory for counties

Key Takeaways

In a major victory for counties, Congress passed the bipartisan Secure Rural Schools (SRS) Reauthorization Act of 2025 (S. 356) on Dec. 9. Led by U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and U.S. Representatives Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.) and Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), the bill provides payments to counties for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 and FY 2025 and reauthorizes the SRS program through the end of FY 2026. It delivers critical relief to timber-dependent counties that rely on these funds to maintain essential services and transition toward long-term fiscal stability.

NACo is a strong supporter of the SRS program and led sustained advocacy alongside county officials through fly-ins focused on SRS and other public lands payments. County leaders have played an instrumental role in advancing reauthorization by reaching out to members of Congress urging them to support the bill over the past two years, and their persistent efforts helped build momentum for passage. 

In FY 2023, the SRS program provided $281 million to more than 700 counties in 41 states. The SRS program lapsed at the end of FY 2023, cutting revenue-sharing by 63 percent and leaving forest counties with significant budget challenges. As a result of the program’s reauthorization, counties will receive critical funding to support essential government services for their communities, and counties applaud the bill’s leaders and co-sponsors for their work to uphold the federal government’s commitment to supporting to forested communities. 

What is SRS?

The Secure Rural Schools program provides funding that supports critical local government services like education, transportation and public safety to counties with National Forest System land administered by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). Federal land is untaxable, but counties still have government services responsibilities on and around federal land, and payments are especially vital for timber counties as they navigate economic transition and work towards long-term stability.

Since 1908, federal law has directed 25 percent of all revenue from timber in national forests to counties, and that funding supported county budgets for decades. After federal land management priorities changed and timber harvests declined, Congress created the SRS program in 2000 to alleviate financial challenges faced by rural counties. Since the program’s establishment, it has received broad support in Congress and has been reauthorized several times. On Dec. 3, the bill’s leaders and co-sponsors sent a bipartisan, bicameral letter to House leadership urging immediate action on an SRS reauthorization package. NACo worked closely with Congressional champions to secure nearly 90 bipartisan signatures from House and Senate supporters.

What payments does the measure authorize?

The measure reauthorizes the SRS program through FY 2026, with the final payments coming in 2027. It also directs USFS to make back payments for FY 2024 and payments for the current year, FY 2025, within 45 days of the bill’s enactment. Although the funding level depends on exact National Forest System acreages and individual counties’ per capita personal incomes, NACo estimates that the lapse of the SRS program reduced revenue sharing by more than $170 million for FY 2024. Resuming SRS funding also reduces pressure on the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program.

Since many counties have already received revenue sharing payments under the 25 percent framework, the bill directs USFS to provide the difference between that amount and the amount the county would have received through the SRS program. The act gives counties until the end of FY 2028 to initiate projects and until the end of FY 2029 to obligate SRS funding. 

What happens next?

The bill will now be sent to President Trump for his signature. Consistent, reliable funding for national forest counties as they navigate economic transition and work toward long-term stability is one of NACo’s top policy priorities, and NACo will continue to advocate for the SRS program to be reauthorized and extended beyond FY 2026.