BILL NUMBER: AB 203	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 17, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Obernolte
   (  Coauthor:   Assembly Member 
 Gipson   Coauthors:   Assembly Members
  Alejo,   Bigelow,   Dodd,  
Gallagher,   Gipson,   Gordon,   Gray,
  Lackey,   Levine,   Mayes,  
Melendez,   Olsen,   Quirk,   Waldron,
  Wilk,   and Wood  )
    (   Coauthors:   Senators   Hill,
  Liu,   McGuire,   Morrell,  
Nielsen,   and Roth   ) 

                        JANUARY 29, 2015

   An act to amend Sections 4213, 4220, and 4222 of the Public
Resources Code, relating to forestry and fire prevention.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 203, as amended, Obernolte. 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 a fire
prevention fee be charged on each habitable 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.
Existing law authorizes a petition for redetermination of the fee to
be filed within 30 days after service of a notice of determination,
as specified.
   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 and would authorize the petition for
redetermination to be filed within 60 days after service of the
notice of determination, as specified.
   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) 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  determines  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 60
days from the date of assessment by the State Board of Equalization.
   (c) On or before each January 1, the department shall annually
transmit to the State Board of Equalization 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) 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.
  SEC. 2.  Section 4220 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   4220.  A person from whom the fire prevention fee is determined to
be due under this chapter may petition for a redetermination of
whether this chapter applies to that person within 60 days after
service upon him or her of a notice of the determination. If a
petition for redetermination is not filed within the 60-day period,
the amount determined to be due becomes final at the expiration of
the 60-day period.
  SEC. 3.  Section 4222 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   4222.  If a petition for redetermination of the application of
this chapter is filed within the 60-day period, the department shall
reconsider whether the fee is due and make a determination in
writing. The department may eliminate the fee based on a
determination that this chapter does not apply to the person who
filed the petition.