MORE PILT Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1008 To require the Secretary of the Interior to develop a modeling tool, conduct a study, and issue reports relating to the tax equivalent amount of payments under the payment in lieu of taxes program. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 25, 2021 Mr. LEE (for himself, Mr. RISCH, and Mr. CRAPO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources A BILL To require the Secretary of the Interior to develop a mod- eling tool, conduct a study, and issue reports relating to the tax equivalent amount of payments under the payment in lieu of taxes program. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Making Obligations 4 Right by Enlarging Payments In Lieu of Taxes Act’’ or 5 the ‘‘MORE PILT Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Apr 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1008.IS S1008 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1008 IS (1) Congress agreed with recommendations of a 1 Federal commission that, if Federal land is to be re- 2 tained by the Federal Government and not con- 3 tribute to the tax bases of the units of general local 4 government within the jurisdictions of which the 5 land is located, compensation should be offered to 6 those units of general local government to make up 7 for the presence of nontaxable land within the juris- 8 dictions of those units of general local government; 9 (2)(A) units of general local government rely on 10 the stability of property tax revenues; and 11 (B) Federal programs that are subject to the 12 annual appropriations process, such as the payment 13 in lieu of taxes program, offer far less certainty than 14 property taxes as a form of revenue for units of gen- 15 eral local government; 16 (3) Federal agencies have determined that pay- 17 ments to units of general local government under the 18 payment in lieu of taxes program are far lower than 19 what would be due to units of general local govern- 20 ment under tax equivalency; 21 (4) payments under the payment in lieu of 22 taxes program help units of general local govern- 23 ment carry out vital services, such as firefighting, 24 police protection, public education, construction of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Apr 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1008.IS S1008 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1008 IS public schools, construction of roads, and search- 1 and-rescue operations; and 2 (5) the technology exists to more accurately ap- 3 proximate what the taxable value of land held by the 4 Federal Government would be if that land were tax- 5 able by units of general local government. 6 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 7 gress that the Federal Government should— 8 (1) determine the amount that payments under 9 the payment in lieu of taxes program would be if 10 those payments were equivalent to the tax revenues 11 that units of general local government would other- 12 wise receive for the same land; and 13 (2) compensate those units of general local gov- 14 ernment accordingly. 15 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 16 In this Act: 17 (1) ENTITLEMENT LAND.—The term ‘‘entitle- 18 ment land’’ has the meaning given the term in sec- 19 tion 6901 of title 31, United States Code. 20 (2) HIGHEST AND BEST USE.— 21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘highest and 22 best use’’, with respect to a parcel of entitle- 23 ment land, means the potential use described in 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Apr 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1008.IS S1008 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1008 IS subparagraph (B) that would result in the high- 1 est value of the land. 2 (B) POTENTIAL USES DESCRIBED.—A po- 3 tential use referred to in subparagraph (A) is 4 any use of a parcel of land that, in the absence 5 of Federal ownership of the land, would be— 6 (i) physically possible; 7 (ii) reasonably probable; 8 (iii) legal; 9 (iv) appropriately supported; and 10 (v) financially feasible. 11 (3) MARKET VALUE.—The term ‘‘market 12 value’’, with respect to a parcel of entitlement land, 13 means the value that the land would have in a fair 14 and open market— 15 (A) disregarding any limitation on eco- 16 nomic development and any other development 17 restriction due to Federal ownership of the land 18 or any Federal designation; and 19 (B) calculated within an appropriate mar- 20 gin of error, as determined by the Secretary. 21 (4) PAYMENT IN LIEU OF TAXES PROGRAM.— 22 The term ‘‘payment in lieu of taxes program’’ means 23 the payment in lieu of taxes program established 24 under chapter 69 of title 31, United States Code. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Apr 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1008.IS S1008 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1008 IS (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 1 the Secretary of the Interior. 2 (6) TAX EQUIVALENT AMOUNT.—The term ‘‘tax 3 equivalent amount’’, with respect to payments under 4 the payment in lieu of taxes program, means the ap- 5 proximate amount of property tax revenues that 6 would be generated for units of general local govern- 7 ment with respect to entitlement land— 8 (A) if that land were— 9 (i) privately owned; and 10 (ii) subject to— 11 (I) local zoning laws (including 12 regulations); 13 (II) local tax laws (including reg- 14 ulations); and 15 (III) any other relevant law, rule, 16 or authority; and 17 (B) taking into account any maximum or 18 minimum taxable value of land that is imposed 19 by a State or unit of general local government. 20 (7) TOOL.—The term ‘‘tool’’ means the tool or 21 combination of tools developed and maintained 22 under section 4(a)(1). 23 (8) UNIT OF GENERAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT.— 24 The term ‘‘unit of general local government’’ has the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Apr 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1008.IS S1008 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1008 IS meaning given the term in section 6901 of title 31, 1 United States Code. 2 SEC. 4. MODELING TOOL, STUDY, AND REPORTS RELATING 3 TO THE TAX EQUIVALENT AMOUNT OF PAY- 4 MENTS UNDER THE PAYMENT IN LIEU OF 5 TAXES PROGRAM. 6 (a) MODELING TOOL.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 8 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in 9 consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture and 10 the head of any other Federal agency that the Sec- 11 retary determines to be appropriate, shall develop 12 and maintain a market analysis tool, mass appraisal 13 tool, or other appropriate modeling tool (or combina- 14 tion of tools), as determined to be appropriate by the 15 Secretary, that— 16 (A) accounts for— 17 (i) reasonable and customary valu- 18 ation factors; and 19 (ii) if, in the determination of the Sec- 20 retary, data are inadequate to calculate a 21 sufficiently precise estimate of the market 22 value of the applicable parcel of entitle- 23 ment land, assumptions of those factors; 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Apr 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1008.IS S1008 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1008 IS (B) calculates, in a timely manner— 1 (i) the approximate market value of 2 entitlement land; and 3 (ii) the approximate tax equivalent 4 amount of payments under the payment in 5 lieu of taxes program for that land. 6 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The tool shall— 7 (A) calculate, in a timely manner, the ap- 8 proximate market value of entitlement land; 9 (B) enable an employee or agent of the 10 Department of the Interior to manually modify 11 factors relating to the valuation model used by 12 the tool to calculate, in a timely manner, the 13 market value of entitlement land based on new 14 assumptions relating to that land; 15 (C) to the maximum extent practicable, 16 provide technical anchors relating to market 17 data— 18 (i) to ensure the ongoing integrity of 19 the tool; and 20 (ii) to ensure that the land values de- 21 termined by the tool are defensible and 22 based on sound and generally accepted 23 valuation methodologies; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Apr 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1008.IS S1008 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1008 IS (D) to the maximum extent practicable, as- 1 similate, in a visual interface— 2 (i) market data, including the avail- 3 ability of mineral extraction, energy pro- 4 duction, water management, timber man- 5 agement, agricultural uses, and rec- 6 reational uses with respect to the applica- 7 ble land; and 8 (ii) geospatial data relating to all enti- 9 tlement land; 10 (E) as frequently as practicable, automati- 11 cally adjust to reflect current market condi- 12 tions, as reflected in readily available market 13 sources, as determined by the Secretary, in con- 14 sultation with the Secretary of Agriculture; 15 (F) allow a user of the tool— 16 (i) to estimate the value of entitle- 17 ment land as that land is currently used; 18 and 19 (ii) to estimate changes in that value 20 due to future uses under various scenarios 21 under private ownership; and 22 (G) provide a variety of estimates of the 23 value of any entitlement land for which there is 24 no comparable non-Federal land from which to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Apr 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1008.IS S1008 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1008 IS derive the information necessary to accurately 1 calculate the market value of the entitlement 2 land, including an estimate based on the high- 3 est and best use of the entitlement land if the 4 entitlement land were privately owned. 5 (b) STUDY AND REPORTS.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 7 the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 8 thereafter for 4 years, the Secretary, in consultation 9 with the Secretary of Agriculture and the head of 10 any other Federal agency that the Secretary deter- 11 mines to be appropriate, shall— 12 (A) conduct a study— 13 (i) to evaluate all entitlement land; 14 (ii) to determine, to the maximum ex- 15 tent practicable, the market value of that 16 land; and 17 (iii) to determine, to the maximum ex- 18 tent practicable, the tax equivalent amount 19 of payments under the payment in lieu of 20 taxes program for that land; and 21 (B) submit to Congress and make publicly 22 available a report describing— 23 (i) the results of the study conducted 24 under subparagraph (A); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Apr 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1008.IS S1008 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1008 IS (ii) how payments under the payment 1 in lieu of taxes program could more accu- 2 rately reflect the tax equivalent amount. 3 (2) REQUIREMENT.—In conducting the study 4 under paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary shall consider 5 any studies conducted by States, counties, or other 6 taxing jurisdictions pertaining to the tax equivalent 7 amount of payments under the payment in lieu of 8 taxes program. 9 (3) PRELIMINARY REPORT.—Not later than 1 10 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 11 Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Ag- 12 riculture and the head of any other Federal agency 13 that the Secretary determines to be appropriate, 14 shall submit to Congress a report that— 15 (A) describes the progress of the Secretary 16 in— 17 (i) developing the tool; and 18 (ii) conducting the study under para- 19 graph (1)(A); 20 (B) contains an assessment of the accuracy 21 with which the Secretary will be able to deter- 22 mine— 23 (i) the market value of entitlement 24 land; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Apr 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1008.IS S1008 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1008 IS (ii) the tax equivalent amount of pay- 1 ments under the payment in lieu of taxes 2 program for that land; 3 (C) describes the models and data that the 4 Secretary has developed or collected, or intends 5 to develop or collect, as applicable, and plans to 6 use in determining— 7 (i) the market value of entitlement 8 land; and 9 (ii) the tax equivalent amount of pay- 10 ments under the payment in lieu of taxes 11 program for that land; and 12 (D) includes any other information that, in 13 the determination of the Secretary, is relevant 14 to— 15 (i) the efficacy of the tool; 16 (ii) the determination of— 17 (I) the market value of entitle- 18 ment land; or 19 (II) the tax equivalent amount of 20 payments under the payment in lieu 21 of taxes program for that land; or 22 (iii) the effects of providing payments 23 under the payment in lieu of taxes pro- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Apr 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1008.IS S1008 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1008 IS gram that more accurately reflect the tax 1 equivalent amount. 2 (c) CONTRACTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Secretary 3 may contract or consult with any public or private entity 4 to analyze data, conduct research, or develop a model that 5 would contribute to the reports under subsection (b) or 6 the tool. 7 (d) DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may develop 9 reporting methods to allow units of general local 10 government to self-report, not more frequently than 11 annually, data, including, as the Secretary deter- 12 mines to be necessary— 13 (A) property tax values of land; 14 (B) zoning restrictions; and 15 (C) mill levies. 16 (2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 17 may provide technical assistance to units of general 18 local government with respect to the reporting of in- 19 formation under paragraph (1). 20 (e) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.— 21 (1) REQUEST FOR INFORMATION.—Any indi- 22 vidual or entity may submit to the Secretary a re- 23 quest for information relating to the method used by 24 the Secretary to determine— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Apr 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1008.IS S1008 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1008 IS (A) the market value of entitlement land; 1 or 2 (B) the tax equivalent amount of payments 3 under the payment in lieu of taxes program for 4 that land. 5 (2) INFORMATION PROVIDED.—The Secretary 6 shall provide to each individual or entity that sub- 7 mits a request for information under paragraph 8 (1)— 9 (A) any data and models used by the Sec- 10 retary to determine, as applicable— 11 (i) the market value of any entitle- 12 ment land for w [Text truncated for display. 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