Washington, D.C. - The National Association of Counties (NACo) has joined the growing list of local and national organizations in endorsing the bipartisan "Conservation and Reinvestment Act of 1999" (H.R. 701).

Last week, the National Governors' Association (NGA) approved a statement of policy in support of all three provisions of H.R. 701 - legislation which would share Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) revenues with coastal states while increasing funding for national conservation and recreation programs in all 50 states and territories. The NGA, which includes the Governors of all 50 states and U.S. territories, approved the policy statement during its Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C.

This week, the NACo Board of Directors approved its resolution endorsing the legislation (see Page 2). NACo is the only national organization that represents county governments in the United States. About 2,500 county officials have been meeting in Washington, D.C. for their Legislative Conference during the past week.

In the U.S. House of Representatives, H.R. 701 now has 25 Republicans and 25 Democrats as cosponsors.

Local, State & National Officials Support H.R. 701

"This legislation is designed to not only increase funding for important conservation and wildlife programs, but also to expand the input and resources of local and state governments in the types of programs and projects that work on a local level," said U.S. Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), the Chairman of the House Committee on Resources. "I'm pleased that this landmark legislation now has the endorsement of local, state and national elected officials and organizations.

"This new support from the nation's county officials will greatly assist our bipartisan effort to pass legislation to provide equity to our coastal states while improving conservation and wildlife programs in all 50 states.

"There are also a number of other bills being introduced based upon the concepts of H.R. 701, including the Clinton Administration's 'Lands Legacy Initiative'," Young said. "The most important difference in all of the bills is that the 'Conservation and Reinvestment Act' places its focus on funding mechanisms which enhance each states' ability to fund their conservation and wildlife programs instead of just dumping a majority of the funding into federal programs."

Hearings Scheduled For March 9th & 10th

Young has scheduled two days of Congressional hearings on Tuesday, March 9th, and Wednesday, March 10th, on H.R. 701. The Committee will also hear testimony on H.R. 798, sponsored by U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), which also provides for new funding for conservation and wildlife programs from OCS revenues.

"The Conservation and Reinvestment Act of 1999" (H.R. 701) is bipartisan legislation which will share federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) revenues with impacted states and support national conservation and wildlife education programs. Without creating any new taxes, the legislation will provide substantial increases in wildlife and land conservation funding by reinvesting OCS revenues for environmental programs in all 50 states and provide funding to states which are impacted by OCS development.

County Officials Support New Funding & Local Input Outlined In H.R. 701

In a statement announcing the endorsement of H.R. 701, County leaders termed the legislation as "a pro-environment, pro-community bill that will meet the future needs of the nation's urban, suburban and rural counties."

The NACo statement added: "County leaders firmly believe that communities should be able to enhance parks and preserve open green space for future generations. The limited availability of public funding has placed a great burden on counties and is at odds with the growing public demand for open space. Second, for the first time in over two decades, Congressional leaders have produced a bill that fairly reimburses counties for revenue lost on public lands. As the trend toward the federal government's purchase of private land continues, America's big gain is a county's loss."

"When Uncle Sam takes ownership, the land provides the county virtually no direct fiscal benefit, other than insufficient Payments in Lieu of Taxes and existing revenue sharing programs," said NACo President Betty Lou Ward.

The NACo statement also noted: "The Young/Dingell bill would increase the federal government's investment in the development of resources while recognizing the longstanding fact that the federal government's land holdings are a continuing financial burden on counties."

"In many counties, it is the neighborhood park or nature trail that binds the community," said Ward. "The bill guarantees counties the option to obtain greenways, species habitat and open space to assure communities conserve these most valuable of resources."