----- Original Message -----
From: "Kim Noyes" <kimnoyes@gmail.com>
To: "CaliforniaDisasters" <californiadisasters@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, August 08, 2011 10:56 AM
Subject: [californiadisasters] Fire Fee Law Needs Repairs
Capitol Journal: It was meant to balance the budget, but critics are
fighting it.
By George Skelton Los Angeles Times Capitol Journal
August 8, 2011
*From Sacramento*
The topic today is fire fees. But it's really more than that. It's also
about how policy is written and politics is played in California's capital.
On the surface, the new state fire fee passed by the Legislature and signed
by Gov. Jerry
Brown<http://www.latimes.com/topic/politics/government/jerry-brown-PEPLT0075
47.topic>seems
prudent and fair. It requires people who live in woodsy and brushy
terrain, being soothed by nature, to pay a larger share of their fire
protection costs.
But this legislation was written in such haste, without public scrutiny or
Capitol vetting, that no one really is sure how it's going to work. It was
cobbled together at the last moment before the Legislature's June 15 budget
deadline in order to help balance the deficit-ridden general fund.
And it smacks of Democratic payback for the
Republicans<http://www.latimes.com/topic/politics/parties-movements/republic
an-party-ORGOV0000004.topic>'
refusal to vote for Brown's tax proposal. Republican legislators represent
most of the rural areas targeted for fire fees.
A couple of obstacles loom, however, before Sacramento can pocket the fee
money.
The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. intends to sue, claiming that the fee
actually is a tax. Therefore it should have required a two-thirds vote in
the Legislature, not a simple majority. The bill passed pretty much on a
party line vote.
Republican state Sen. Ted
Gaines<http://www.latimes.com/topic/politics/government/ted-gaines-PEPLT0000
8185.topic>(R-Roseville)
is trying to generate support for a ballot referendum to
repeal the fee. He needs to collect 505,000 voter signatures by Oct. 6 and
concedes "it's an uphill battle."
The cost of collecting enough signatures will be at least $2 million.
There's not enough at stake for special interests or deep-pocket types to
bankroll such a venture. The proposed annual fee, per habitable structure,
is capped at $150.
"Maybe it'll catch fire," Gaines told me, not really intending the pun. "It
could take off with folks of a populist perspective. It's another intrusion
of government coming at the people's wallet."
But let's back up.
The notion of "beneficiary pays" — or should — has been kicking around for
years.
In 2003, then-Gov. Gray
Davis<http://www.latimes.com/topic/arts-culture/gray-davis-PEHST000519.topic
>and
the Legislature whacked the budget for Cal Fire — the Department of
Forestry and Fire Protection — by $50 million. To replace the money, a $35
fee was imposed on each parcel of property likely to be serviced by state
firefighters.
But there was such a rural stink, plus legal uncertainty, that the
Legislature and new Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger repealed the fee.
In 2009, Schwarzenegger pushed for a surcharge on all property insurance
premiums to improve emergency preparedness, not just for wildfires but also
for earthquakes, floods and potential terrorist attacks. Legally, however,
the surcharge was considered a tax, requiring a two-thirds vote. Republicans
naturally balked.
This year, Brown was desperate to find two Republicans in each house to vote
for placing a tax measure on the ballot. The governor finally gave up just
before the budget deadline.
To generate $200 million annually for the general fund,
Democrats<http://www.latimes.com/topic/politics/parties-movements/democratic
-party-ORGOV0000005.topic>quickly
voted to assess the "fire prevention fee" on an estimated 846,000
homeowners living in "state responsibility areas" — primarily Cal Fire
territory, covering one-third of California.
Again, the goal was not to strengthen firefighting. It was to seize $200
million from Cal Fire and replace it with the fire fee.
<SNIP>
View entire article here:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-cap-fire-fees-20110808,0,6489305,ful
l.column
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