MORE PILT Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2755 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 Payments in Lieu of Taxes program. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 22, 2021 Mrs. BOEBERT (for herself, Mr. SMITH of Missouri, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. NEWHOUSE, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. GOHMERT, Mr. VALADAO, Mr. ROSENDALE, and Mr. FULCHER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 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 Payments 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:14 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2755.IH H2755 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2755 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 1 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 2 (1) Congress agreed with recommendations of a 3 Federal commission that, if Federal land is to be re- 4 tained by the Federal Government and not con- 5 tribute to the tax bases of the units of general local 6 government within the jurisdictions of which the 7 land is located, compensation should be offered to 8 those units of general local government to make up 9 for the presence of nontaxable land within the juris- 10 dictions of those units of general local government; 11 (2)(A) units of general local government rely on 12 the stability of property tax revenues; and 13 (B) Federal programs that are subject to the 14 annual appropriations process, such as the Pay- 15 ments in Lieu of Taxes program, offer far less cer- 16 tainty than property taxes as a form of revenue for 17 units of general local government; 18 (3) Federal agencies have determined that pay- 19 ments to units of general local government under the 20 Payments in Lieu of Taxes program are far lower 21 than what would be due to units of general local 22 government under tax equivalency; 23 (4) payments under the Payments in Lieu of 24 Taxes program help units of general local govern- 25 ment carry out vital services, such as firefighting, 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:14 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2755.IH H2755 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2755 IH police protection, public education, construction of 1 public schools, construction of roads, and search- 2 and-rescue operations; and 3 (5) the technology exists to more accurately ap- 4 proximate what the taxable value of land held by the 5 Federal Government would be if that land were tax- 6 able by units of general local government. 7 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 8 gress that the Federal Government should— 9 (1) determine the amount that payments under 10 the Payments in Lieu of Taxes program would be if 11 those payments were equivalent to the tax revenues 12 that units of general local government would other- 13 wise receive for the same land; and 14 (2) compensate those units of general local gov- 15 ernment accordingly. 16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 17 In this Act: 18 (1) ENTITLEMENT LAND.—The term ‘‘entitle- 19 ment land’’ has the meaning given the term in sec- 20 tion 6901 of title 31, United States Code. 21 (2) HIGHEST AND BEST USE.— 22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘highest and 23 best use’’, with respect to a parcel of entitle- 24 ment land, means the potential use described in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:14 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2755.IH H2755 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2755 IH 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) PAYMENTS IN LIEU OF TAXES PROGRAM.— 22 The term ‘‘Payments in Lieu of Taxes program’’ 23 means the Payments in Lieu of Taxes program es- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:14 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2755.IH H2755 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2755 IH tablished under chapter 69 of title 31, United States 1 Code. 2 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 3 the Secretary of the Interior. 4 (6) TAX EQUIVALENT AMOUNT.—The term ‘‘tax 5 equivalent amount’’, with respect to payments under 6 the Payments in Lieu of Taxes program, means the 7 approximate amount of property tax revenues that 8 would be generated for units of general local govern- 9 ment with respect to entitlement land— 10 (A) if that land were— 11 (i) privately owned; and 12 (ii) subject to— 13 (I) local zoning laws (including 14 regulations); 15 (II) local tax laws (including reg- 16 ulations); and 17 (III) any other relevant law, rule, 18 or authority; and 19 (B) taking into account any maximum or 20 minimum taxable value of land that is imposed 21 by a State or unit of general local government. 22 (7) TOOL.—The term ‘‘tool’’ means the tool or 23 combination of tools developed and maintained 24 under section 4(a)(1). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:14 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2755.IH H2755 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2755 IH (8) UNIT OF GENERAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT.— 1 The term ‘‘unit of general local government’’ has the 2 meaning given the term in section 6901 of title 31, 3 United States Code. 4 SEC. 4. MODELING TOOL, STUDY, AND REPORTS RELATING 5 TO THE TAX EQUIVALENT AMOUNT OF PAY- 6 MENTS UNDER THE PAYMENTS IN LIEU OF 7 TAXES PROGRAM. 8 (a) MODELING TOOL.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 10 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in 11 consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture and 12 the head of any other Federal agency that the Sec- 13 retary determines to be appropriate, shall develop 14 and maintain a market analysis tool, mass appraisal 15 tool, or other appropriate modeling tool (or combina- 16 tion of tools), as determined to be appropriate by the 17 Secretary, that— 18 (A) accounts for— 19 (i) reasonable and customary valu- 20 ation factors; and 21 (ii) if, in the determination of the Sec- 22 retary, data are inadequate to calculate a 23 sufficiently precise estimate of the market 24 value of the applicable parcel of entitle- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:14 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2755.IH H2755 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2755 IH ment land, assumptions of those factors; 1 and 2 (B) calculates, in a timely manner— 3 (i) the approximate market value of 4 entitlement land; and 5 (ii) the approximate tax equivalent 6 amount of payments under the Payments 7 in Lieu of Taxes program for that land. 8 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The tool shall— 9 (A) calculate, in a timely manner, the ap- 10 proximate market value of entitlement land; 11 (B) enable an employee or agent of the 12 Department of the Interior to manually modify 13 factors relating to the valuation model used by 14 the tool to calculate, in a timely manner, the 15 market value of entitlement land based on new 16 assumptions relating to that land; 17 (C) to the maximum extent practicable, 18 provide technical anchors relating to market 19 data— 20 (i) to ensure the ongoing integrity of 21 the tool; and 22 (ii) to ensure that the land values de- 23 termined by the tool are defensible and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:14 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2755.IH H2755 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2755 IH based on sound and generally accepted 1 valuation methodologies; 2 (D) to the maximum extent practicable, as- 3 similate, in a visual interface— 4 (i) market data, including the avail- 5 ability of mineral extraction, energy pro- 6 duction, water management, timber man- 7 agement, agricultural uses, and rec- 8 reational uses with respect to the applica- 9 ble land; and 10 (ii) geospatial data relating to all enti- 11 tlement land; 12 (E) as frequently as practicable, automati- 13 cally adjust to reflect current market condi- 14 tions, as reflected in readily available market 15 sources, as determined by the Secretary, in con- 16 sultation with the Secretary of Agriculture; 17 (F) allow a user of the tool— 18 (i) to estimate the value of entitle- 19 ment land as that land is currently used; 20 and 21 (ii) to estimate changes in that value 22 due to future uses under various scenarios 23 under private ownership; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:14 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2755.IH H2755 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2755 IH (G) provide a variety of estimates of the 1 value of any entitlement land for which there is 2 no comparable non-Federal land from which to 3 derive the information necessary to accurately 4 calculate the market value of the entitlement 5 land, including an estimate based on the high- 6 est and best use of the entitlement land if the 7 entitlement land were privately owned. 8 (b) STUDY AND REPORTS.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 10 the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 11 thereafter for 4 years, the Secretary, in consultation 12 with the Secretary of Agriculture and the head of 13 any other Federal agency that the Secretary deter- 14 mines to be appropriate, shall— 15 (A) conduct a study— 16 (i) to evaluate all entitlement land; 17 (ii) to determine, to the maximum ex- 18 tent practicable, the market value of that 19 land; and 20 (iii) to determine, to the maximum ex- 21 tent practicable, the tax equivalent amount 22 of payments under the Payments in Lieu 23 of Taxes program for that land; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:14 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2755.IH H2755 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2755 IH (B) submit to Congress and make publicly 1 available a report describing— 2 (i) the results of the study conducted 3 under subparagraph (A); and 4 (ii) how payments under the Pay- 5 ments in Lieu of Taxes program could 6 more accurately reflect the tax equivalent 7 amount. 8 (2) REQUIREMENT.—In conducting the study 9 under paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary shall consider 10 any studies conducted by States, counties, or other 11 taxing jurisdictions pertaining to the tax equivalent 12 amount of payments under the Payments in Lieu of 13 Taxes program. 14 (3) PRELIMINARY REPORT.—Not later than 1 15 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 16 Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Ag- 17 riculture and the head of any other Federal agency 18 that the Secretary determines to be appropriate, 19 shall submit to Congress a report that— 20 (A) describes the progress of the Secretary 21 in— 22 (i) developing the tool; and 23 (ii) conducting the study under para- 24 graph (1)(A); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:14 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2755.IH H2755 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2755 IH (B) contains an assessment of the accuracy 1 with which the Secretary will be able to deter- 2 mine— 3 (i) the market value of entitlement 4 land; and 5 (ii) the tax equivalent amount of pay- 6 ments under the Payments in Lieu of 7 Taxes program for that land; 8 (C) describes the models and data that the 9 Secretary has developed or collected, or intends 10 to develop or collect, as applicable, and plans to 11 use in determining— 12 (i) the market value of entitlement 13 land; and 14 (ii) the tax equivalent amount of pay- 15 ments under the Payments in Lieu of 16 Taxes program for that land; and 17 (D) includes any other information that, in 18 the determination of the Secretary, is relevant 19 to— 20 (i) the efficacy of the tool; 21 (ii) the determination of— 22 (I) the market value of entitle- 23 ment land; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:14 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2755.IH H2755 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2755 IH (II) the tax equivalent amount of 1 payments under the Payments in Lieu 2 of Taxes program for that land; or 3 (iii) the effects of providing payments 4 under the Payments in Lieu of Taxes pro- 5 gram that more accurately reflect the tax 6 equivalent amount. 7 (c) CONTRACTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Secretary 8 may contract or consult with any public or private entity 9 to analyze data, conduct research, or develop a model that 10 would contribute to the reports under subsection (b) or 11 the tool. 12 (d) DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may develop 14 reporting methods to allow units of general local 15 government to self-report, not more frequently than 16 annually, data, including, as the Secretary deter- 17 mines to be necessary— 18 (A) property tax values of land; 19 (B) zoning restrictions; and 20 (C) mill levies. 21 (2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 22 may provide technical assistance to units of general 23 local government with respect to the reporting of in- 24 formation under paragraph (1). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:14 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2755.IH H2755 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 2755 IH (e) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.— 1 (1) REQUEST FOR INFORMATION.—Any indi- 2 vidual or entity may submit to the Secretary a re- 3 quest for information relating to the method used by 4 the Secretary to determine— 5 (A) the market value of entitlement land; 6 or 7 (B) the tax equivalent amount of payments 8 under the Payments in Lieu of Taxes program 9 for that land. 10 (2) INFORMATION PROVIDED.—The Secretary 11 shall provide to each individual or entity that sub- 12 mits a request for information under paragraph 13 (1)— 14 (A) any data and models used by the [Text truncated for display. 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