Treasury Launches Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund; Formula Benefits Counties with Federal Lands
September 29, 2022
The Treasury Department today launched an application portal for counties with information on how to access funding from the Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund (LATCF). The LATCF, which was created under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA; P.L. 117-2), provides two years of general fiscal aid to eligible “revenue-sharing counties” – or those counties with large amounts of federally-owned public lands – and Tribal governments. The program was largely born out of a recognition that the presence of federal lands can limit a community’s economic opportunities, particularly in the midst of a pandemic. Of the $2 billion available under the program, $1.5 billion is reserved for counties and the remaining $500 million will be distributed to eligible tribes.
In a long and hard-fought victory for CSAC, the formula that the administration will use to allocate LATCF funding will focus predominantly on federal acreage within each unit of local government, as defined by PILT and the Refuge Revenue Sharing program under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Since ARPA was approved, Treasury has asked Congress to clarify which counties would be eligible for the funding. Absent that additional direction, and given a lack of statutory specificity, there was concern that administration officials would misinterpret the congressional intent. In fact, under one funding scenario that was being considered, every county in the country would have been eligible for some portion of the LATCF, significantly diluting the pot for those public lands counties that Congress intended to assist.
CSAC is encouraged that its efforts – along with those of the National Association of Counties and other western state associations of counties – have helped provide the necessary clarity sought by Treasury. In addition to the focus on federal lands, it should be noted that the law also requires Treasury to take into consideration population data and various economic indicators, including poverty levels, household income, land values, unemployment rate, etc.
Counties may view their funding allocation HERE. Treasury is also expected to email all eligible recipient counties later today with more information on the LATCF application process. The Department will also host a webinar for counties on October 4. More information on the LATCF can be accessed here.
Senate Clears Stopgap Budget Bill
Earlier today, the Senate approved legislation that will fund the entirety of the federal government through December 16th. The House is expected to clear the measure this afternoon or tomorrow. With the start of the new fiscal year less than 48 hours away, passage of the bill, known as a Continuing Resolution (CR), guarantees that there will be no pre-election government shutdown.
In addition to providing temporary funding for all federal departments and agencies, the CR includes additional military and humanitarian support for Ukraine, as well as emergency funding to address the water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi. The measure also provides continuing authority for a number of expiring federal programs, including an extension of the National Flood Insurance Program.