Senators introduce bill to reauthorize the Federal Lands Access Program

Key Takeaways

On Mar. 18, Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) introduced the FLAP Reauthorization Act, which would reauthorize and extend the Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP). FLAP provides essential funding for transportation projects on or adjacent to federal lands in gateway communities. 

Counties support programs that ensure consistent, robust federal assistance for access to public lands for residents and visitors alike. Ahead of the bill’s introduction, NACo’s Western Interstate Region highlighted FLAP as a key priority for inclusion in the surface transportation reauthorization bill. 

NACO WIR LETTER 

What is FLAP?

FLAP is a surface transportation program—administered by the Office Federal Lands Highway (FLH) at the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)—that provides formula funding to all 50 states for projects that facilitate access to federal public land. The federal government manages nearly 30 percent of America’s surface land, which creates both administrative challenges and economic opportunities for nearby counties. FLAP supports gateway transportation projects in these communities and is a critical program for counties across the country.

Congress created FLAP in its 2012 surface transportation reauthorization bill, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21; P.L. 112-141). Since then, the program has received consistent support and seen increased funding levels in subsequent surface transportation packages. The current surface transportation law, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA; P.L. 117-58), authorized $1.49 billion in total funding for the program for Fiscal Years (FY) 2022 to 2026 and expanded eligible uses of FLAP funding. 

The FLAP Reauthorization Act proposes to reauthorize FLAP through FY 2031 and provide more than $1.6 billion in total funding for the program over the next five fiscal years. It does not impose any additional program requirements or restrict eligible project types.

County Impact

As key partners with the federal government, public lands counties own and maintain gateway roads, bridges, parking areas and visitor infrastructure that facilitates public access to federal land. FLAP is a valuable tool that counties can use to fund this work. Funding from FLAP is sent to states, which convene Programmatic Decision Committees (PDCs) to solicit, consider and select projects for funding with FLAP dollars. Many of these projects are led by counties, in conjunction with federal land management agencies. Additionally, counties often serve on PDCs as the local government representative.

The FLAP Reauthorization Act would ensure that the FLAP program continues to provide necessary assistance for these counties and enhance the impact of the more than $60 billion that counties invest annually in America’s transportation systems.

NACo strongly supports reauthorizing and increasing funding for FLAP and other federal lands highways programs as Congress develops the next surface transportation bill.