BILL NUMBER: SB 1413	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Wyland

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2014

   An act to amend Section 4213 of the Public Resources Code,
relating to forestry and fire prevention.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1413, as introduced, Wyland. State responsibility areas: fire
prevention fees.
   Existing law requires the state to have the primary financial
responsibility for preventing and suppressing fires in areas that the
State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection has determined are state
responsibility areas, as defined. Existing law requires that,
commencing with the 2011-12 fiscal year, a fire prevention fee not to
exceed $150 be charged on each structure on a parcel that is within
a state responsibility area, collected annually by the State Board of
Equalization, in accordance with specified procedures, and specifies
that the annual fee shall be due and payable 30 days from the date
of assessment by the state board.
   This bill would extend the time when the fire prevention fee is
due and payable from 30 to 60 days from the date of assessment by the
State Board of Equalization.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


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

  SECTION 1.  Section 4213 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   4213.  (a) (1) Commencing with the 2011-12 fiscal year, the fire
prevention fee imposed pursuant to Section 4212 shall be collected
annually by the State Board of Equalization in accordance with the
Fee Collection Procedures Law (Part 30 (commencing with Section
55001) of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code).
   (2) Notwithstanding the appeal provisions in the Fee Collection
Procedures Law, a determination by the department that a person is
required to pay a fire prevention fee, or a determination by the
department regarding the amount of that fee, is subject to review
under Article 2 (commencing with Section 4220) and is not subject to
a petition for redetermination by the State Board of Equalization.
   (3) (A) Notwithstanding the refund provisions in the Fee
Collection Procedures Law, the State Board of Equalization shall not
accept any claim for refund that is based on the assertion that a
determination by the department improperly or erroneously calculated
the amount of the fire prevention fee, or incorrectly determined that
the person is subject to that fee, unless that determination has
been set aside by the department or a court reviewing the
determination of the department.
   (B) If it is determined by the department or a reviewing court
that a person is entitled to a refund of all or part of the fire
prevention fee, the person shall make a claim to the State Board of
Equalization pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 55221) of
Part 30 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
   (b) The annual fire prevention fee shall be due and payable
 30   60  days from the date of assessment
by the State Board of Equalization.
   (c)  Within 30 days of the effective date of this chapter,
  On or before each January 1,  the department
shall  annually  transmit to the State Board of Equalization
 , and each January 1 thereafter,  the appropriate
name and address of each person who is liable for the fire prevention
fee and the amount of the fee to be assessed, as authorized by this
article, and at the same time the department shall provide to the
State Board of Equalization a contact telephone number for the board
to be printed on the bill to respond to questions about the fee.
   (d) Commencing with the 2012-13 fiscal year, if in any given
fiscal year there are sufficient amounts of money in the State
Responsibility Area Fire Prevention Fund created pursuant to Section
4214 to finance the costs of the programs under subdivision (d) of
Section 4214 for that fiscal year, the fee may not be collected that
fiscal year.