Summary
The omnibus spending bill for fiscal year (FY) 2018 included several titles unrelated to FY 2018 appropriations. Among them was a two-year reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) Act, which provides increased revenue-sharing payments to states from timber sales on federal lands. The reauthorization is retroactive to FY 2017 and expires after FY 2018.
On May 8, the Forest Service announced the payments to states for FY 2017 (paid in FY 2018).
This Issue Brief provides background on SRS reauthorization issues, and compares payments for FY 2017 with those for recent years.