California Department of Fish and Wildlife owes more than $17 million to 36 counties, and legislation written by state Sen. Lois Wolk would have the state pay those debts.

Senate Bill 1410 has earned a 9-0 endorsement from the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water.

Wolk, D-Davis, is Benicia’s representative in the state Senate. She has been joined in the bipartisan legislation by state Sen. Jim Nielsen, R-Gerber.

She explained that the Department of Fish and Wildlife owes the money in past-due Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT), which are intended to mitigate for losses in property tax revenue when the state acquires property it designates as wildlife management areas.

However, the department has made no annual PILT payments since fiscal year 2001-02, Wolk said.

“In the 13 years since the state stopped making PILT payments, counties have struggled to fill the hole left in their budgets,” she said.

“Small, rural counties throughout the state have particularly felt the weight of this burden. This measure will enable the Department of Fish and Wildlife to pay this debt off and make our counties whole.”

The legislation, designated Senate Bill 1410, would appropriate $19 million from the State’s General Fund to the Department of Fish and Wildlife to make PILT payments owed to counties, Wolk said.

Beyond that, the bill also appropriates $2 million annually, beginning in the 2014-15 fiscal year, to make ongoing PILT payments.

“These payments may help counties make their services more readily available to their residents,” Nielsen said.

“Residents living in rural counties often have to travel far, and services can be sparse.”

Nate Beason, Nevada County supervisor and chairperson of Rural County Representatives of California, said Wolk’s bill needed to pass, if the California counties are going to see any money.

“While the administration has indicated that paying off debts is one of their top priorities, we have yet to see them live up to their obligations to our counties,” he said.

“Meanwhile, local governments are doing everything within their power to reduce expenses and tighten budgets in order to fund critical programs and services for residents.”

In addition to Wolk and Nielsen, a bipartisan group of 18 legislators from most of the impacted counties are co-authors of SB 1410.

Supporters in the state Assembly include Jim Frazier and Mariko Yamada, Wolk said.

SB 1410 also is endorsed by the California State Association of Counties, and the counties of Solano, Butte, Colusa, Del Norte, Fresno, Humboldt, Imperial, Inyo, Lake, Merced, Modoc, Napa, Nevada, San Bernardino and Yolo.

The Senate Appropriations Committee is the next group to hear the bill.