BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 203
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Date of Hearing: April 15, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
203 (Obernolte) - As Amended March 17, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable:
SUMMARY:
This bill extends the period of time owners of structures have
to pay or request redetermination of the fire prevention fee
from 30 days to 60 days.
AB 203
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FISCAL EFFECT:
1)Annual revenue loss (special fund) in the $375,000 to $500,000
range.
Annual fee assessments are due and payable to the Board of
Equalization (BOE) 30 days from the date of assessment.
During FYs 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14, interest and
penalties paid totaled $4,617,894.. Of that amount,
$1,493,882 in interest and penalties was remitted on fees paid
between 31 and 60 days from the date of assessment. Under
this bill, this amount would not have been paid. Assuming
delinquencies were the same over those three years, the annual
average revenue loss is therefore computed as: $1,493,882 / 3
= $497,961.
However, BOE staff notes that the payments made after 60 days
continues to decline, at an average annual rate of two
percent. Meanwhile, timely payments made within the 30-day
period have improved, in part due to BOE outreach efforts.
Given the continued improvement in timely payments, BOE staff
estimates the annual average revenue loss attributable to
penalties and interest at $382,700.
2)Unknown, likely minor, one-time costs (special fund) for BOE
to reprogram computers and revise information and
publications.
3)No additional costs to CALFIRE
COMMENTS:
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1)Purpose. This bill is sponsored by BOE Member George Runner
to provide additional time for feepayers to review their
assessments and either dispute the fee or adjust their budgets
and pay their fees in a timely manner.
2)Background. The state is responsible for wildland fire
protection in state responsibility areas (SRA) which are
generally defined to include most nonfederal timberlands,
rangelands and watersheds thinly populated and not within the
boundaries of a city. Over 31 million acres, much privately
owned, are located in SRA. In the past, SRA lands were
largely unpopulated. In recent years, however, local
governments have allowed increased housing development in SRA
but at a level of density that maintains the state's
obligation to provide wildland fire protection.
As housing development in SRA increased, so did state fire
protection costs. In 1996-97, the department spent $475
million on fire protection; in more recent years, CALFIRE's
annual fire protection costs neared or surpassed $1 billion.
The Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) attributes much of the
increase in CALFIRE's fire protection costs to increased
housing development in SRA. The LAO notes that as housing
development in SRA has increased, the department has spent
greater resources responding to events other than wildfires
for which the state is not legally responsible, such as
structural fires and medical emergencies. Because the LAO
concludes that much of CALFIRE's nonwildfire activities
provide private benefits, LAO has long recommended a fee on
owners of private land in SRA to pay for a portion of
CALFIRE's fire protection costs.
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3)SRA Fire Protection Fees. In 2011 the Legislature passed ABx1
29 (Blumenfield), requiring the Board of Forestry and Fire
Protection to adopt emergency regulations to establish a fire
prevention fee. The fee, not to exceed $150 on each structure,
was to raise $50 million to fund CALFIRE fire prevention
activities. In January 2012, the board issued its regulation,
establishing a fee of $150 per habitable structure on a parcel
located within SRA, with a $35 reduction for each habitable
structure that is also within the boundaries of a local agency
that provides fire protection services. Revenues from the fee
are to be used exclusively for fire protection. In
authorizing the fee, the Legislature recognized that
individual owners within SRA received a disproportionately
larger benefit from fire prevention activities than realized
by the state's residents generally.
As required by law, the fee was adjusted for inflation and is
currently $152.33 per habitable structure outside a fire
protection district and $117.33 for habitable structures
within a fire protection district.
4)BOE Tax and Fee Programs. The BOE administers more than 30
tax and fee programs, none of which provides a 60-day period
to pay the tax or fee or file a petition for redetermination.
5)Previous Legislation. Last year a similar measure, AB 1413
(Wyland) was held on suspense in the Assembly Appropriations
Committee.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
AB 203
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