Small County PILT Parity Act

This provision changes the population thresholds used to determine how federal Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) are calculated for local governments. Previously, a specific calculation applied to populations under 4,999, and a table applied to populations 5,000 and above. This bill shifts those thresholds, so the special calculation now applies only to populations under 999, and the new tiered payment table applies to all populations from 1,000 upwards. This effectively expands the explicit tiered payment structure to include more small counties.

This provision replaces the existing table of per capita payment rates used in the PILT program with a new one. The new table provides updated dollar amounts per person for local governments based on their population size, ranging from 1,000 to 50,000. For counties with populations of 5,000 and above, the new rates are generally higher than the old rates, leading to increased federal payments. For populations between 1,000 and 4,999, these rates now explicitly apply, likely resulting in increased payments compared to previous calculations.