43 U.S.C. § 3008

(a) Definitions In this section: (1) County The term “county” includes a parish, township, borough, and any other similar, independent unit of local government. (2) Covered land The term “covered land” means land that is— (A) public land administered by the Secretary; and (B) not excluded from the development of solar or wind energy under— (i) a land use plan; or (ii) other Federal law. (3) National Forest System (A) In general The term “National Forest System” means land of the National Forest System (as defined in section 1609(a) of title 16 ) administered by the Secretary of Agriculture. (B) Exclusion The term “National Forest System” does not include any forest reserve not created from the public domain. (4) Public land The term “public land” means— (A) public lands (as defined in section 1702 of this title ); and (B) National Forest System land. (5) Renewable energy project The term “renewable energy project” means a system described in section 2801.9(a)(4) of title 43, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on July 4, 2025 ), located on covered land that uses wind or solar energy to generate energy. (6) Secretary The term “Secretary” means— (A) the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to land controlled or administered by the Secretary of the Interior; and (B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to National Forest System land. (b) Disposition of revenue (1) Disposition of revenues Beginning on January 1, 2026 , the amounts collected from a renewable energy project as bonus bids, rentals, fees, or other payments under a right-of-way, permit, lease, or other authorization shall— (A) be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury; and (B) without further appropriation or fiscal year limitation, be allocated as follows: (i) 25 percent shall be paid from amounts in the general fund of the Treasury to the State within the boundaries of which the revenue is derived. (ii) 25 percent shall be paid from amounts in the general fund of the Treasury to each county in a State within the boundaries of which the revenue is derived, to be allocated among each applicable county based on the percentage of county land from which the revenue is derived. (2) Payments to States and counties (A) In general Amounts paid to States and counties under paragraph (1) shall be used in accordance with the requirements of section 191 of title 30 . (B) Payments in lieu of taxes A payment to a county under paragraph (1) shall be in addition to a payment in lieu of taxes received by the county under chapter 69 of title 31. (C) Timing The amounts required to be paid under paragraph (1)(B) for an applicable fiscal year shall be made available in the fiscal year that immediately follows the fiscal year for which the amounts were collected.