Congress Extends Secure Rural Schools!
Pres. Obama Signs "Doc Fix" Bill that Also Extends SRS
President Obama has now signed the so called “doc fix” bill which also extends the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program–a substantial victory for California’s counties. Congress overwhelmingly approved legislation (HR 2) earlier this week. The bill also extends several key health and human services programs. In addition, the bill would permanently correct the Medicare program’s physician payment formula (the “doc fix”). The long-awaited extension of the SRS program – a top CSAC priority, will provide payments to California counties for fiscal year 2014 (retroactive) and fiscal year 2015.
In addition, the measure requires the U.S. Forest Service to provide the fiscal year 2014 payment in a timely manner – within 45 days of enactment. The fiscal year 2015 payment will be distributed early next year.
The SRS program provides a vital source of funding for rural communities in California facing declining revenues from timber sales on federal lands. These funds are used to maintain local roads and schools, operate search and rescue missions, and provide many other essential local services. Because SRS funding expired last year, the most recent distribution of payments had been guided by the Twenty-Five Percent Fund Act of 1908. The Act essentially requires the federal government to share with states 25 percent of the receipts generated on national forest land. While this model worked well for a number of years, declining federal timber production and sales ultimately led to the development of the SRS program.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Forest Service distributed approximately $50 million to 746 timber counties under the 1908 law. Of the $50 million, California counties only received about $8.7 million. By comparison, a little more than $300 million was allocated under the SRS program last year, with $35.6 million going to California counties. Furthermore, unlike SRS, the 25-percent payments do not allow states to allocate funds for work similar to Title II (conservation work on national forests) or Title III (county projects for Firewise programs, emergency services or community wildfire protection plans).
It should be noted that the interaction between SRS and the federal Payment-in-Lieu-of-Taxes (PILT) program is such that a cut in SRS would have had a significant impact on fiscal year 2015 PILT payments. If Congress failed to extend SRS, a number of California counties would have experienced a significant decline in their PILT allocation this year.
Children’s Health Insurance Program
The legislation also includes a two-year extension of funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP/Healthy Families), which helps provide health coverage to children and pregnant women from low-income households. Without the enhanced federal funding provided through the program, California’s Health and Human Services Agency had estimated a loss of up to $533 million annually.
Home Visiting Program
Finally, the bill provides a two-year extension of funding for the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program. This program supports pregnant women and families and helps at-risk parents of pre-school children by using evidence-based, cost-effective models that improve maternal and child health, prevent child abuse and neglect, encourage positive parenting, and promote child development and school readiness. California received $22.6 million in fiscal year 2015 funding last month. As of February 2015, 21 California counties participated in the federal program.