BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 301|
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 301
Author: Bigelow (R)
Amended: 6/24/15 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE: 9-0, 6/9/15
AYES: Pavley, Stone, Allen, Hertzberg, Hueso, Jackson,
Monning, Vidak, Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 77-0, 4/30/15 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: State responsibility areas: fire prevention fees
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill requires the Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection (CAL FIRE) to notify a property owner upon whom a
state responsibility area (SRA) fire fee is due to notify such
property owner that if the home is sold, then the apportionment
of the SRA fire fee may be negotiated as one of the terms of
sale.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Requires the Board of Forestry (Board) to classify all lands
within the state for the purpose of determining areas in which
the financial responsibility of preventing and suppressing
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fires is primarily the responsibility of the state (these
areas are known as "state responsibility area" or "SRA.")
2)Declares that it is necessary to impose a fire prevention fee
to pay for fire prevention activities in the SRA that
specifically benefit owners of structures in the SRA.
3)Requires the Board to adopt regulations to establish a fire
prevention fee in an amount not to exceed $150 (which must be
adjusted every year for inflation) to be charged on each
"structure" on a parcel that is within the SRA. Defines
"structure" as a building used or intended to be used for
human habitation, including a mobile home or manufactured
home. Reduces the fire prevention fee by $35 if the structure
is also within the boundaries of a local agency that provides
fire protection services (this reduction applies to most
structures). Defines "owner of a habitable structure" as the
person that is the owner of record of a habitable structure in
the county tax assessor rolls or as recorded in the records of
the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) on
July 1 of the state fiscal year for which the fee is due.
4)Requires the fee be levied upon the owner of a habitable
structure if that person owns the habitable structure on July
1 of the year for which the fee is due.
5)Requires the fire prevention fees to be deposited in the State
Responsibility Area Fire Prevention Fund, which is available
to the Board and CAL FIRE to expend for fire prevention
activities that benefit the owners of structures within the
SRA. Limits fire prevention activities to the following:
a) local assistance grants established by the Board;
b) grants to Fire Safe Councils, the California
Conservation Corps, or certified local conservation corps
for fire prevention projects and activities in the SRA;
c) grants to a qualified nonprofit organization with a
demonstrated ability to satisfactorily plan, implement, and
complete a fire prevention project applicable to the SRA;
d) inspections by CAL FIRE for compliance with defensible
space requirements around structures in the SRA;
e) public education to reduce fire risk in the SRA;
f) fire severity and fire hazard mapping by CAL FIRE in the
SRA; and,
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g) other fire prevention projects in the SRA that are
authorized by the Board.
6)Allows a person to petition CAL FIRE for a redetermination of
whether the fire prevention fee applies to him or her within
30 days after being served with a notice of determination
(i.e., the notice from CAL FIRE stating that a person must pay
the fire prevention fee).
7)Imposes a 10% penalty for each 30-day period in which the fee
remains unpaid after the fee becomes final.
8)Allows the Board to exempt from the fee any habitable
structure that is subsequently deemed uninhabitable as a
result of a natural disaster during the year for which the fee
is due, as well as one subsequent year if the habitable
structure has not been repaired or rebuilt.
This bill requires CAL FIRE to notify a property owner upon whom
a SRA fire fee is due to notify such property owner that if the
home is sold, then the apportionment of the SRA fire fee may be
negotiated as one of the terms of sale.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified 6/23/15)
California Farm Bureau
California Taxpayers Association
Central Coast Forest Association
County of San Diego
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
OPPOSITION: (Verified 6/23/15)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, current law
requires an owner to pay the entire fee for the year even if a
habitable structure changes ownership. AB 301 would change that
by requiring CAL FIRE to notify property owners that if a
structure subject to an SRA fee is sold, then the fee may be
apportioned by agreement between the buyer and the seller.
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All of the supporters agree that the bill will promote fairness
between buyers and sellers, even while they dispute the legality
of the SRA fire fee which is currently being litigated.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 77-0, 4/30/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Chang, Chau,
Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd,
Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia,
Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove,
Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low,
Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin,
Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea,
Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,
Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Campos, Chávez, Gomez
Prepared by:William Craven / N.R. & W. / (916) 651-4116
6/24/15 16:15:23
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