BILL NUMBER: AB 929	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 21, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Jones

                        FEBRUARY 22, 2013

   An act to amend Section  4210   4212  of
the Public Resources Code, relating to state responsibility areas.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 929, as amended, Jones. State responsibility areas: structures:
fees. 
   Existing law requires the State Board of Forestry and Fire
Protection, on or before September 1, 2011, to adopt emergency
regulations to establish a fire prevention fee in an amount not to
exceed $150 to be charged on each habitable structure on a parcel
that is within a state responsibility area, as defined, and requires
that the fire prevention fee be adjusted annually using prescribed
methods. Existing law requires the State Board of Equalization to
collect the fire prevention fees, as prescribed, commencing with the
2011-12 fiscal year.  
   This bill would require the board, in collaboration with the State
Board of Equalization, to develop a procedure for the reimbursement
of persons who have paid a fire prevention fee covering a structure
that was previously in an area within a state responsibility area,
but that has been determined to no longer be within the boundaries of
that state responsibility area.  
   Existing law states that the Legislature finds and declares that
fire protection of public trust resources on lands in state
responsibility areas remains a vital interest to California and that
it is necessary to impose a fire prevention fee to pay for fire
prevention activities in the state responsibility areas that
specifically benefit owners of structures in the areas. 

   This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to that
law. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no
  yes  . State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Section 4212 of the   Public
Resources Code   is amended to read: 
   4212.  (a) (1) By September 1, 2011, the board shall adopt
emergency regulations to establish a fire prevention fee for the
purposes of this chapter in an amount not to exceed one hundred fifty
dollars ($150) to be charged on each structure on a parcel that is
within a state responsibility area.
   (2) The Legislature finds and declares that a fire prevention fee
of not more than one hundred fifty dollars ($150) is a reasonable
amount for the necessary fire prevention activities of the state that
benefit the owner of a structure within a state responsibility area.

   (b) On July 1, 2013, and annually thereafter, the board shall
adjust the fire prevention fees imposed pursuant to this chapter to
reflect the percentage of change in the average annual value of the
Implicit Price Deflator for State and Local Government Purchases of
Goods and Services for the United States, as calculated by the United
States Department of Commerce for the 12-month period in the third
quarter of the prior calendar year, as reported by the Department of
Finance.
   (c) Emergency regulations adopted pursuant to subdivision (a)
shall be adopted in accordance with the rulemaking provisions of the
Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).
The adoption of emergency regulations shall be deemed an emergency
and necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace,
health, and safety, or general welfare. 
   (d) The board, in collaboration with the State Board of
Equalization, shall develop a procedure for the reimbursement of
persons who have paid a fire prevention fee covering a structure that
was previously located within a state responsibility area, but that
has been determined to no longer fall within the boundaries of that
state responsibility area.  
  SECTION 1.    Section 4210 of the Public Resources
Code is amended to read:
   4210.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
   (a) Fire protection of public trust resources on lands in state
responsibility areas remains a vital interest to California. Lands
that are covered in whole or in part by a diverse plant community
prevent excessive erosion, retard runoff, reduce sedimentation, and
accelerate water percolation to assist in the maintenance of critical
sources of water for environmental, irrigation, domestic, or
industrial uses.
   (b) The presence of structures within state responsibility areas
can pose an increased risk of fire ignition and an increased
potential for fire damage within the state's wildlands and
watersheds. The presence of structures within state responsibility
areas can also impair wild land firefighting techniques and could
result in greater damage to state lands caused by wildfires.
   (c) The costs of fire prevention activities aimed at reducing the
effects of structures in state responsibility areas should be borne
by the owners of these structures.
   (d) Individual owners of structures within state responsibility
areas receive a disproportionately larger benefit from fire
prevention activities than that realized by the state's citizens
generally.
   (e) It is the intent of the Legislature that the economic burden
of fire prevention activities that are associated with structures in
state responsibility areas shall be equitably distributed among the
citizens of the state who generally benefit from those activities and
those owners of structures in the state responsibility areas who
receive a specific benefit other than that general benefit.
   (f) It is necessary to impose a fire prevention fee to pay for
fire prevention activities in the state responsibility areas that
specifically benefit owners of structures in the state responsibility
areas.