[vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1449540670596{margin-right: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 12px !important;}”][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1449540545958{margin-bottom: 12px !important;}”][vc_custom_heading text=”State and Tribal Budgets Strained While Federal Projects Continue” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” el_class=”cs_customHeader” css=”.vc_custom_1599138901468{margin-top: 10px !important;padding-bottom: 4px !important;}”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1599139699645{margin-top: 12px !important;margin-bottom: 6px !important;}”]The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the ability of State and Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO and THPO) staff to perform their legally mandated environmental and historic review processes for federally permitted or funded projects.  An inability to access paper record or submission systems as staff work remotely, and forced staff reductions due to dwindling budgets are making recent increases in federal project activities difficult to address.

NCSHPO and the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (NATHPO) have called on lawmakers to provide a combination of electronic infrastructure funding for SHPOs and THPOs, and significant historic preservation funding for local governments in legislation responding to the coronavirus pandemic.

We are committed to making sure lawmakers understand the need for a resilient historic preservation program, and the catalytic effect preservation plays in tying communities together.

NCSHPO and NATHPO are advocating for an historic preservation package that includes:

• $30 Million for Survey/Digitization/GIS/E-106 for SHPOs;
• $15 Million for Survey/Digitization/GIS/E-106 for THPOs;
• $30 Million for Section 106 support for SHPOs, if an infrastructure bill moves;
• $15 Million for Section 106 support for THPOs, if an infrastructure bill moves; and,
• $75 Million directed to CLGs for bricks and mortar, survey, education and planning.
• Support for enhancements to the Historic Tax Credit program, including passage of the HTC-Go Act

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, National Alliance of Preservation Commissions, Preservation Action, National Preservation Partners Network, and 27 state and local organizations and private firms have all signed onto our letters to House and Senate appropriators urging them to include these proposals in legislation that aims to respond to the coronavirus pandemic and stimulate the economy.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]