(a) In this section—

(1) “payment law” means—

(A) the Act of June 20, 1910 (ch. 310, 36 Stat. 557);

(B) section 33 of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act (7 U.S.C. 1012);

(C) the Act of May 23, 1908 (16 U.S.C. 500) or the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000;

(D) section 5 of the Act of June 22, 1948 (16 U.S.C. 577g, 577g-1);

(E) section 401(c)(2) of the Act of June 15, 1935 (16 U.S.C. 715s(c)(2));

(F) section 17 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 810);

(G) section 35 of the Act of February 25, 1920 (30 U.S.C. 191);

(H) section 6 of the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands (30 U.S.C. 355);

(I) section 3 of the Act of July 31, 1947 (30 U.S.C. 603); and

(J) section 10 of the Act of June 28, 1934 (known as the Taylor Grazing Act) (43 U.S.C. 315i).


(2) population shall be determined on the same basis that the Secretary of Commerce determines resident population for general statistical purposes.

(3) a unit of general local government may not be credited with a population of more than 50,000.


Terms Used In 31 USC 6903

  • Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • officer: includes any person authorized by law to perform the duties of the office. See 1 USC 1
  • State: means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United States. See 1 USC 7

(b)(1) A payment under section 6902 of this title is equal to the greater of—

(A) 93 cents during fiscal year 1995, $1.11 during fiscal year 1996, $1.29 during fiscal year 1997, $1.47 during fiscal year 1998, and $1.65 during fiscal year 1999 and thereafter, for each acre of entitlement land located within a unit of general local government (but not more than the limitation determined under subsection (c) of this section) reduced (but not below 0) by amounts the unit received in the prior fiscal year under a payment law; or

(B) 12 cents during fiscal year 1995, 15 cents during fiscal year 1996, 17 cents during fiscal year 1997, 20 cents during fiscal year 1998, and 22 cents during fiscal year 1999 and thereafter, for each acre of entitlement land located in the unit (but not more than the limitation determined under subsection (c) of this section).


(2) The chief executive officer of a State shall submit to the Secretary of the Interior a statement on the amounts of payments the State transfers to each unit of general local government in the State out of amounts received under a payment law.

(c)(1) The limitation for a unit of general local government with a population of not more than 4,999 is the highest dollar amount specified in paragraph (2).

(2) The limitation for a unit of general local government with a population of at least 5,000 is the following amount (rounding the population off to the nearest thousand):

If the population equals— the limitation is equal to the population times—
5,000 $110.00
6,000 103.00
7,000 97.00
8,000 90.00
9,000 84.00
10,000 77.00
11,000 75.00
12,000 73.00
13,000 70.00
14,000 68.00
15,000 66.00
16,000 65.00
17,000 64.00
18,000 63.00
19,000 62.00
20,000 61.00
21,000 60.00
22,000 59.00
23,000 59.00
24,000 58.00
25,000 57.00
26,000 56.00
27,000 56.00
28,000 56.00
29,000 55.00
30,000 55.00
31,000 54.00
32,000 54.00
33,000 53.00
34,000 53.00
35,000 52.00
36,000 52.00
37,000 51.00
38,000 51.00
39,000 50.00
40,000 50.00
41,000 49.00
42,000 48.00
43,000 48.00
44,000 47.00
45,000 47.00
46,000 46.00
47,000 46.00
48,000 45.00
49,000 45.00
50,000 44.00.

(d) On October 1 of each year after the date of enactment of the Payment in Lieu of Taxes Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall adjust each dollar amount specified in subsections (b) and (c) to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor, for the 12 months ending the preceding June 30.