AJR 9, as introduced, Dahle. Federal Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000: extension.
This measure would urge the 113th Congress to reauthorize and fund the federal Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000.
Fiscal committee: no.
P1 1WHEREAS, From 1908 to 2000, counties in the United States
2received 25 percent of the revenues generated on national forest
3lands in lieu of lost tax revenues that could have been generated
4had these lands remained in private hands; and
5WHEREAS, In the 1990s, the volume and value of timber
6harvested on national forest lands was dramatically reduced, which
7led Congress to enact the federal Secure Rural Schools and
8Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 7101
9et seq.), which provided a six-year guarantee payment option that
10was independent of the revenue generated on the national forest
11lands; and
P2 1WHEREAS, The Secure Rural Schools and Community
2Self-Determination Act of 2000, which has been extended several
3times, most recently by the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st
4Century Act (MAP-21) (Public Law 112-141), expired on
5September 30, 2012, and creates a lapse in funding to critical
6programs in schools and counties across the United States,
7including California, in the coming years; and
8WHEREAS, Rural schools are dependent on federal
9revenue-sharing programs, including federal forest payments, for
10maintaining vital educational services and programs, and to ensure
11a quality education for all students; and
12WHEREAS, Many of California’s county public works programs
13will be crippled without stable, predictable, long-term funding
14from the act, causing the local road network to suffer long-term
15degradation and putting communities at risk for public safety
16emergencies due to cuts in staffing and operational activities; and
17WHEREAS, A number of efforts have been made and are
18continuing to be made in both the United States House of
19Representatives and the United States Senate to reauthorize the
20Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of
212000; now, therefore, be it
22Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of
23California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California
24respectfully urges the 113th Congress to reauthorize and fully fund
25the federal Secure Rural Schools and Community
26Self-Determination Act of 2000 to provide a long-term, stable
27source of funding for schools and counties to maintain vital
28programs prior to September 30, 2013, to avoid any interruption
29in county services and school operations; and be it further
30Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
31of this resolution to the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
32to the Majority Leader of the Senate, and to each Senator and
33Representative from California in the Congress of the United
34States.
O
99