Federal legislation worth $3 million a year to Plumas County sailed through the U.S. House of Representatives Dec. 9 on a 399-5 vote. The Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2025 is headed to President Donald Trump for final approval.
Passage in the House comes as a relief to Rob Thorman, director of the Plumas County Department of Public Works. Road crews can now complete paving projects planned for next summer, and they can rebuild a bridge over Spanish Creek, he said. Without the funding, those projects would have been delayed, he said.
“It’s critical funding for us,” Thorman said in a telephone interview with The Plumas Sun.
With the passage of the Secure Rural Schools bill, the Plumas County Office of Education will also receive $1.5 million for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
Kevin Goss, chair of the Plumas County Board of Supervisors, welcomed the reauthorization of SRS for both county agencies.
“We are all just very happy to see this funding come through albeit very late,” he said in a text to The Plumas Sun.
Century of federal support
The SRS legislation is the legacy of a commitment made by Congress in 1908. It is designed to support rural counties nationwide that include large tracts of federal land, which local governments cannot tax.
“Secure Rural Schools funding is not a luxury — it’s a promise.”
Heather Hadwick, California assemblymember
The federal government owns more than 90% of the land in Plumas County. Most of it is managed by the three different forests within the U.S. Forest Service. The Plumas National Forest holds the bulk; most of its 1.1 million acres are in Plumas County. The Lassen National Forest is responsible for nearly 150,000 acres in Plumas County, and the Tahoe National Forest oversees around 11,500 acres.
Over much of the last 117 years, the federal funds allocated to Plumas County were generated by timber sales. As logging on national forests waned toward the end of the last century, Congress acknowledged the effect on rural counties. In 2000, after decades of declining agency revenues, federal legislators passed the Secure Rural Schools Act to help stabilize the funds available to rural counties. Most are designated for the benefit of public schools and public roads.
Rallying bipartisan support
Congress has reauthorized the act almost continuously since 2000. In December 2024, however, the legislation died on the house floor. A reauthorization bill introduced by Sen. Mike Crapo passed the Senate in June but stalled in the House. Congressman Doug LaMalfa, who represents California’s 1st District, mounted an aggressive campaign, introducing a new bill to restore the funding.
The current bill represents the first time in recent history that legislation reauthorizing this program passed as a standalone bill, said LaMalfa. It restores funding for fiscal years 2024-2025 and will fund the program through fiscal year 2026.
That keeps future payments on schedule, LaMalfa said. “What we actually need is to rebuild a strong timber economy so these areas can rely on real revenue again,” he added.
State assemblymember for California’s 1st District Heather Hadwick called the House action a major step towards delivering stable, essential support for rural communities. “Secure Rural Schools funding is not a luxury — it’s a promise. A promise made to rural, forested counties across America, and especially here,” Hadwick said.
The reauthorization bill extends the authority of counties to initiate projects using the funds through fiscal year 2028. Projects proposed by resource advisory committees are extended through fiscal year 2028, according to the legislation.
